Jilebi and Vada-pau make it to a list of 50 of the best street foods in Asia

Street foods have become the norms in any country. The world today has much to offer and one of these is the mouthwatering street foods. Those who operate these joints try their utmost to promote the cuisine unique to their own country. These could be in the raw or fried, baked, or even refrigerated. A list of 50 of the best street foods in Asia shows jilebi and vada pav as favorites of India. For our neighbor Pakistan, it is falooda and for Bangladesh, it is fuchka. Both are favorites of India also.

Jilebi is a sweet and people in Kolkata and Bengal love to take it as a part of breakfast. It is easy to make and cheap. Obviously, there are many takers and a combination of kachuri and jilebi is always on the cards for the common man. Kachuri is also very popular and ovens begin making these items even before the day breaks. Customers literally queue up to share the hot kachuris with a few jilebi. In Maharashtra, jilebis do not find a place at breakfast but are a welcome treat later in the day. They also appear during marriage feasts.

Vada pav is an Indian version of the burger and is popular in Mumbai. The outer portion is a bread-like casing stuffed with a mixture of mashed potato, onion, chilly, chopped coriander leaves and spices. The mixture is made into balls. These are then dipped in a batter of besan (powdered gram) and are deep-fried. Each of these balls is then stuffed into the bread (better known as pav) and then served.

Other street foods country wise (alphabetically) are –

Bangladesh – Fuchka
Bhutan - Ema datshi
Brunei - Kuih cincin
Cambodia - Lort cha
China - Jianbing, Jiaozi, Laping, Tibet, Rou jia mo, Xiao long bao
Hong Kong - Cheong fun, Curry fish balls, Egg waffles
Indonesia - Gado gado, Getuk, Kerak telor
Japan - Sofuto kurimu, Takoyaki, Yakitori
Laos - Khao jee, Nam khao
Malaysia - Asam laksa, Nasi lemak, Rojak
Maldives - Kavaabu, Khuushuur
Myanmar - Lahpet thoke, Mohinga
Nepal - Momos,
Pakistan - Bun kebab, Falooda,
Philippines - Halo-halo, Kwek kwek
Sri Lanka - Achcharu, Hoppers
Singapore - Chili crab, Kaya toast
South Korea - Kimbap, Tteokbokki
Thailand - Crab omelets, Khao soi, Sai krok Isan
Taiwan - Salt & pepper fried chicken, Stinky tofu
Vietnam - Banh mi, Iced coffee, Pho

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Dahi Handi with human pyramids is a part of Krishna Janmashtami festival

India celebrates many festivals and the dahi handi festival is unique. It is to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. He is one of the most beloved Gods of Hindus and loves milk and all milk products, especially butter. To commemorate his birth, his devotees offer him butter. This is called ‘dahi’ in Hindi. They hide it in a pot (known as ‘handi’) and hang it high up. The festival is for his devotees to climb and get that pot of butter. It is difficult and the young men and women form human pyramids to get not just the butter but also the prize – nowadays, this incentive runs into a sizeable amount in lakhs of rupees. The festival has become popular because some Bollywood movies have used this theme in their movies. One of these is 'Govinda Aala Re' from "Bluffmaster" - the Shammi Kapoor film of 1963. This year, the dahi handi festival has been revived after two years – it was banned due to COVID-19. Dahi Handi Celebrations: 12 ‘Govindas’ Injured, 7 Remain in Hospital in Mumbai. The youngsters (called Govindas), dress in colorful attire and climb on each other to create human pyramids. This way they try to reach the ‘handi’ containing butter. It signifies victory through unity.

The government of Maharashtra had announced that there would be no restrictions on celebrating religious festivals this year. These include Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi. In the last two years, COVID-19 restrictions had played spoilsport. Incidentally, those who join groups and form the human pyramids are experienced and work as a team. It is not restricted to the boys but girls also participate and they practice regularly. The prizes carry handsome amounts and, at times, there are accidents. The participants treat these as a part of the game.

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Playing duplicate bridge in Nashik at the state level

Obtaining sponsorship of HAL meant we got two days off to participate and free transport to and from the venue which was in Nashik City.
Once we arrived and got our names registered, we met the players who had come from different corners of Maharashtra. They played bridge regularly and belonged to various clubs. Some of them had played in international tournaments while others played for national teams and were champions within the country.

There were men and women in their 70s and 80s alongside young men and women who were the junior levels of renowned teams of Mumbai and Pune. A couple of the old-timers had remarkable memory and, that was important for bridge players – they had to remember the bids, and proceed with the game based on what they had learned from the bidding.
They had to, also, keep count of how many cards of each suit had been played and which cards still remained. In short, contract bridge was in their blood and they did a lot of study and research on the subject.
The event was an annual one in order to select the best from the state who would represent at the national level and, from there, go to the international level. It was just like any other game and, in the open room, there would be fans hovering around them. Since many of them attended the event every year, they were acquainted with the local authorities as well as the local press.
Our team of HAL appeared to be in an unknown territory – and, in the initial stages of the games, we had the opportunity to sit at the same table and play with well-known names of the Indian bridge world.
However, as the games progressed, there was an automatic filtration because, the teams with high IMPs moved towards the elite end of the open room while the teams with low IMPs remained at the other extreme. (to be continued …)

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Russians adapt themselves to Indian conditions

The MiG-factory in Nashik had been started in a village called Ojhar. There is an interesting story about the selection of the site. The Defense Minister in the 1965 era was from Maharashtra and, after the Chinese invasion in 1962, a decision had been taken in Delhi to set up the MiG factory in Maharashtra.
Accordingly, a team of senior officers of the Indian Air Force was traveling from Delhi to Mumbai by road to meet the Defense Minister.
Why they opted for a road journey instead of flying is not known but, they stopped at Ojhar for a break and got to talking with the locals. One of them happened to be the owner of huge chunks of land in Ojhar and its surrounding areas and he was willing to make a deal with the government.
That is how the factory came into being and took up manufacture of the MiG-21 fighter aircrafts with the involvement of Russians. If the team had taken a flight, the factory might have been set up somewhere else.
The Russians supplied the materials and the Indian technicians built the flying machines. There was a huge work force drawn from different corners of the country and, within no time, a mini town grew up in Ojhar to house the employees. Provisions were also kept for accommodation for the Russians.
Since Ojhar was situated nearly 15-Km from Nashik, there were buses on Sundays to take people to the city for marketing.
Well – while the Russians mixed freely with us, it was rumored that they were always suspicious and never trusted anyone. It was rumored that every second Russian spied on the other. Moreover, while they would talk in Russian among themselves, many of them could converse in English and, even, in Marathi but would keep that a secret!! Therefore, we had to be careful of what we talked about in their presence. (to be continued …)


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