Street foods from Kolkata to Mumbai, Delhi and beyond

The social media loves to showcase street foods from all corners of India and also from abroad. There are prestigious hotels and restaurants that cater to one section of society. However, those who operate outlets of street foods are in a class of their own. They love to experiment with food and offer unique dishes that mesmerize their customers who keep coming back for more. The word spreads and people throng to the counters – sometimes they come as individuals, or with their near and dear ones to share a few moments of tasting the preparations.

Mumbai is famous for its bhel puri. This is similar to the jhal muri of Kolkata. Both are dry mixtures of a whole lot of ingredients. The bhel puri is usually served on paper plates while the jhal muri is served in open-mouthed paper packets known as thongas. Then there is the fuchkas of Kolkata aka gol guppa in Delhi and pani puri in Mumbai. The product is the same. Crisp balls made of flour and stuffed with a mixture of mashed potatoes and other ingredients. The combination is dipped in a liquid before being served to the customer. And – there is always a queue of them around the person who keeps count of the items sold.


Popular stories on this and related sites –

Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans are two new teams in TATA IPL 2022

Delhi Capitals won the title in 2009, Royal Challengers Bangalore have yet to win

Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad won one title each and will try to improve their tally in TATA IPL 2022

Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings – film stars own these two teams of TATA IPL 2022

Street food rules the roost, regular food joints must innovate to survive

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings - top two teams of TATA IPL 2022

Prince William and Kate on a week’s visit to Belize to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Owners of the 10 teams in TATA IPL 2022

Tidbits of the 15th edition of TATA IPL 2022

A cat has nine lives, I have many more – 4

A cat has nine lives, I have many more – 3

KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE FOR MORE ON IPL2022

The fast food culture in India

People eat food for various reasons. They do so when they are hungry, when they are in a celebration mood, or when they want to let down their hair and experiment with new cuisine and food outlets. The street food culture has spread because at times, people get fed up of dining at home or in hotels or restaurants. They want to enjoy their foods in the open and in the company of strangers. Thanks to the social media, this variety of food has flourished. You name it and they have it. They have very little overheads, hence can offer foods at unbelievable prices. Their patrons love to go to the street-side food outlets with others in queue. The menus offer South Indian items like dosa and idli to North Indian items like chana bhature, and biryani to egg based snacks. There are also the universal favorites like golguppa or fuchka and bhel puri or jhal muri.

The popularity of fast foods has encouraged them to set up their own and unique business models. Any person who operates one of these outlets tries to offer something unique. He wants his customers to keep coming back. He does not need to rope in PR teams – his foods do that. He has the uncanny ability of maintaining an inventory that will never run short of the ingredients. Each of them is a successful businessman or a business woman. Yes, many women are also into these ventures.