Feature: Delicious Street Food

By Golden Reejsinghani

Food sold in these great metropolitans streets has gained more popularity then some of the swanky restaurants doting the city because the street food is not only irresistibly delicious but also affordable.

Whole Mumbai is dotted with people making food in the make shift stalls dotting the streets. On reaching hill road bandra your olfactory senses take control of your legs and lead you inexorably towards the aromatic aromas coming from the Elko arcade the famous shopping arcade of Bandra.Here you can taste the mind blowing Pani puri which is famous for its tangy taste which just explodes in your mouth with all its glory?

Other eats available here are dahi wadas, ragda patties, samosas, Pani Puri with tikhi mithi chutneys and tikis which you can wash down with cold and namkeen lassi. Or spiced sugar cane juice iced to perfection.

A little ahead is the Dahipuri wala who sells out of this world Dahi puri combined with sweet and sour chutneys and garnished with coriander leaves. There are also piping hot medu wadas, dosas and idlis sold here.

These stalls not only get page 3 people visiting the shopping arcades but people from all walks of life come to eat here. From lowly to the richest, from ordinary people to the businessmen to the filmstars.For everyone this is a Mecca of fine eating. From here you can walk up to linking road Bandra a road running close to M.M.K College is full of yummy street food. Here you get fantastic sandwiches. Which are dear to every young collegians heart? Every college student is seen converging on the stalls either munching sandwiches or piping hot vada pavs served with fiery hot chutney which can bring tears to your eyes and fire to your mouth.

From here you can go down to Bade Miyan behind Taj Mahal hotel whose kebabs are famous throughout Mumbai all the glitterati of Mumbai park their cars outside the stall and savor scrumptious kebabs and baida roti.

Bade Miyan is famous because of its kebabs. Like him Noor Mohammadi in Bhendi Bazaar is famous for the ‘ Naali Nihari’.Naali Nihari is a thick spicy soup which is made from Buffallo marrow cooked in a variety of spices and loads of ghee. It is served in the mornings with naans.People start their day in Bhendi Bazaar with Naali Nihari and Naan.

If you are a die hard egeterian then you should make a trip to church gate station here, you can savor a vast variety of omelet’s which are served here piping hot with pav or bread these will make your day once you have eaten them.

If you are the one who loves ice creams then you should head to the chow patty beach here you can get a variety of tasty ice creams available in many tasty concoctions like the berry,kachha kery, cream butter scotch etc.You ask for the flavor and you get it here

If you want hearty food then head to Sion Koliwada which can be termed as mini Punjab you get here delicious and enticingly flavored koliwada fish, prawn fry and tandoori chicken denizens from all over Mumbai flock here to get a taste of Punjab.

But the paradise of street food lovers is the Khau Galli at Kalbadevi.You get everything to eat here right from piping hot kachoris accompanied with sweet and spicy hot chutney to sizzling samosas chili hot pakodas to crunchy pattice,delicious dosas with sambar to steaming soft idlis with coconut chutney. Spiced Papads,tangy bhelpuris and many other chaats savories and sweets are available here prepared just in front of you and served to you with spicy chutneys and sauces and what is more you get all these delicacies at affordable rates.

You can wash these down with a number of flavored sherbets, juices, smoothies and ice creams. Mumbai is chockfull of street food every locality has developed its own khau galli specific to the character of population living there Street food is not only dirt cheap but also very hygienic.

These days the owners of food stalls have become very hygiene conscious because they know if they play hanky panky with the people they will loose their business besides unlike restaurants they serve freshest and best food.

They do not keep the food for the next day to serve in the buffet which mostly consists of dishes made on the previous day. I can write reams about this food but because I wanted to keep this precise I have written about the best and outstanding buys.