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.


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

Street foods have become a craze not only in India but also all over the world. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact time when the first street food outlet was born. There used to be jhal muri and fuchka at locations that had attractive footfalls like in front of cinema halls or parks. As far as my memory goes, one of the first street food outlets appeared in Kolkata in the 1970s. They came in the form of handcarts and the products used to be egg rolls. The owner was usually an unemployed young man who chose this method to earn a living. He did not have to pay any rent, employ people, or provide any seating arrangement. In fact, his overheads were minimum. He had to have adequate stock of ingredients like eggs, flour, cooking oil, onions, chilies, utensils, kerosene stove and kerosene etcetera. LPG was non-existent in those days. Of course, he might have had the blessings of people who matter. The fact is that the culture spread like wildfire. Restaurants had to innovate in order to survive the challenges posed by street food.

Taking food on the roadside with a background music of honking vehicles is a unique experience. The men and women who are clamoring for the food would be strangers and the heady fragrance of perfume might create a spell. It might force you to turn your head around for a moment. In the early days, street food outlets would open in the evening and the only problem would be the rainy season. However, with the passage of time things have changed. (To be continued ..)

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The world of fuchka, golgappa and panipuri

Fuchka, golgappa and panipuri all mean the same – an exotic street food that falls in the category of ‘you cannot be happy with one’. It is loved by not only Bengalis but by people of North India a well as western India – they love it by its other names like golgappa and pani puri. Golgappa because it is round in shape, like a ball. And pani puri, as its name implies, means puri filled with pani or water.
For some strange reason, it is not very popular down south - they have their own version of fast foods like idli and wada that have penetrated into other parts of the country but they have yet to embrace the wonder fuchkas that must, necessarily, be taken in one motion – directly popped from the plate into the mouth.

Whatever be the name, these wonder balls are in a class by themselves. Shaped like half-inch diameter brittle balls made out of flour, these are stuffed with a heady mix of mashed potato into which go some powdered spices.
The process of preparing these delicious quick-fixes is simple – the seller picks up one of the balls in the fingers of his left hand, pierces it with his left thumb and inserts the mashed potato mix with his right fingers.
Simultaneously, he transfers the ball to his right hand, dips it into a jar that contains tamarind water and serves it on the plate usually made of leaves (shalpata). One fuchka is never enough, it cannot satisfy. Hence these are sold in lots – each lot contains five or six of the fuchkas or golgappas or pani puris.
The patrons never come in singles - there is always a crowd of fans, either giggling girls or serious looking boys or bunch of friends out to enjoy freedom.
I have seen these being served in restaurants – but, they never taste the same. Served on plates, there are usually four to six of the balls with small containers containing tamarind water and the filling of mashed potato. A spoon is given to help in filling and then dipping into the tamarind water. Unfortunately, such fuchkas never taste like the ones served in street corners.
Wonder whether anyone has ever thought of patenting fuchkas, including the process of manufacture. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Kolkata mango festival delights young and old alike

Kolkata is crazy for festivals and it is immaterial whether it is for books or movies or music or fish or food. There was a hilsa festival and now, the recently concluded Amantran festival (27th and 28th June 2015) was another example – it was a festival of mangoes or ‘aam’ – hence, the name ‘Amantran’. Actually, the word also means invitation.
Anyway, I was not there in person but enjoyed watching bits of it on TV and it appeared to be yet another proof of the innovate character of Bengalis. A video report on the festival is here.

The event was held in a park called the Taltala Math – and mango lovers had come to watch the innovations and taste the beautiful preparations – the mango-fuchka really bowled over the public. There is hardly any Bengali who is not a fan of the fast food known as fuchka (or gol-gappas as the North Indians call them) and, in the Amantran festival the delightful concoction was mango all the way. Then there were the sweets made of mangoes. In our childhood we loved the taste of mango sandesh – its color was green, its shape was like a mango (thanks to special clay or wooden molds) and there was the distinct flavor of mango. Other well-known and popular products of mango were the mango lassi and ice-cream. And, of course, in the festival there were mangoes of many varieties – both ripe and raw. I remember a mango festival that I had seen in Bangalore. It was held in the Glass House at Lalbag and there was a large variety of mangoes. But – no eatable products of mangoes. It was only mangoes – full, ripe and charming to just look at. (to be continued …)

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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