स्ट्रीट फ़ूड!

 Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good. -Alice May Brock

Its amazing how many different cuisines there are in the world and how wonderful and distinct they are from each other. Each a different taste. Each a different colour. Each a different smell. And yet sometimes you don’t have to visit a 5 star hotel and pay am exorbitant amount to be introduced to the best kind of food in India because the cuisines are where they should be- on the street and for everyone. This post is necessary because whenever anybody travels around a new place one of the things they look for after accommodation are places where you get the best food fro the best prices and this post could just be your guide as to what a place can offer you. For starters, its one of the major misconceptions that street food is characteristic to only the rural places in India when infact one of the best places to begin your journey of eating street food is Mumbai. After all what better place to start from that from the city that never sleeps!

I remember waking down the lanes of Mumbai, taking in the smells and the sights of the place when I stumbled into this little lane where I could smell the spice in the curry, see the sweet gooey juices around the colorful ‘jalebis’ and like any other Indian teen who likes the idea of street food…I galloped into that little street and savored what I would call one of the most exquisite food I had eaten in a while. I’m not complaining that mom makes bad food…but its “chaat” and “vada pav” we are talking about here.

Its not just Mumbai that serves appetizing street food. In July 2010 I visited Calcutta- the city of joy and what an eye-opener it was. The ’puchkkas’ (crispy rice balls stuffed with  
potato and dipped in a special water that is made with spices) were outstanding to the point that when they broke in your mouth, it was a taste that I knew for sure that I was going to remember for life. And its not just the puchkkas- they serve chicken rolls, ’beguni’(fried brinjal), aloo and pyaas chops( fried potato and onion)and if you are someone with a major sweet tooth then you are in the right place. Mark my words-The variety of sweet food will astound you. Every street and lane has atleast two such shops. So if you think you have missed one, just turn the corner and another one awaits your arrival.

Everyone down south in India believes that Mumbai is the king of all good things that India has to offer and I choose to disagree. India on a whole- state by state- city to city, and every nook, corner and little ‘galli’ (small street) provides something special to relish and make an experience out of- and that includes the South of India as well.

The Kerala street food market is so huge because it has a particular dish for every district- so it ranges from the ‘thattukadas’ that serve ‘thattu-dosas’(a light rice-flour   Crepe [dosa] fried in coconut oil and served with coconut chutney) to crispy chicken fry and quail eggs fried with a ‘parotta’(which is like a naan but beaten and mixed with oil). They also serve the famous banana fry and ‘parripuvada’ which is deep fried balls made of lentils. Tamil Nadu ,Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh offer delicacies in the areas of starters and desserts that will fill you with the essence of the place itself. The ghee filled ‘mysore pak’ to the‘obbattu’ to the ’kabab skewers’ its all there and it’s one adventure anyone would want to take.

The capital just like Mumbai and the other metropolitan cities in India offers a wide range of street food all over the place and so finding a good place to sit down and eat will not be difficult at all. As someone rightly put it, India is a continent on its own and there is no country in the world probably that will give you this much of a variety all stuffed into 25 states. Pierre Auguste Renoir says: ‘It is after you have lost your teeth that you can afford to buy steaks’. So what are you waiting for. Listen to the call of the street food that awaits you- its right down that corner.
Bon Appetite!