Monday 12 May 2014

Food walking in Dadar

2 days later, and I still feel stuffed: panna, thali peeth, amba daal, bharli wangi, chawli bhaji, matki usal... Need I say more? You get the picture? Saturday I went to explore Maharastrian food, in Dadar.

You know, India is making a huge impact on our kitchen, and I am learning - day by day. I enjoy finding out about the origin of the dishes, be amazed by the variety of flavors and blown away by the use of spices. And let me tell you: Indian food is simply not just Indian food. All over the country there are different ways of cooking, and a bouquet of variations and recipes, from south to north. Lucky me who get to dive in and explore that ocean of culinary threats. And what could be more natural than increasing my knowledge on our local cuisine: Mumbai or Maharashtra. So, off I went on a food walk to find out.

The walk was advertised " for you if you thought that Maharashtrian food starts and ends with the iconic vada pao" Hm. Well, we started off at the popular Aaswad, and get ready to drool, people, because this was yummy:
Batata vada with chutney 
And to go with the food: panna, a drink made by raw mango

After countless dishes at Aaswad, I think people were already started to feel a bit full, but at least we managed to get up, and walk out, and after a short walk we came to our next stop: Gypsy Corner, another place known for serving local food. I noticed chairs were put on the side walk, so people could sit and wait for an available table - another popular place (a good sign). And what do you know? - we did had room for more food after all!! Delicious missal pao, bhareli bhindi, bharli vangi, pitla and aamras:
Divine puris' with the most delicious mango dip ... Ohhhhhhh heaven

Oh, now we are talking filled up: we more stumbled than walked out to the busy streets and headed for some air, exercise and shopping - a chance to buy pickles, masalas and snacks. Pretty impressive that some of my fellow walkers (hello sweetie) managed to buy snacks and start to eat them then and there (and that most of us attempted to try).  
We ended our walk at a Malvani restaurant: Sindhudurg, to get a taste of the food from the coastal region of Maharashtra. So, Surmai thali and prawn fry was waiting for us, and a new miracle happened: we still had some room for those delicious bites..: 

Thali with fried shrimps and kingfish
So, no wonder, dear reader, that I still feel full, right? Delicious food and new knowledge. Our tour was all organised by Finely ChoppedTo me the walk was more about food and less about walking, and I was thinking it might benefit with a bit more walking, but on the other hand:  if I then would have to choose less food in return, I am not sure what to give up. For sure, that would not be those puris with mango - they are mine:-) All mine:-)

PS: this tour was not sponsored. And as always: my opinion is mine and mine alone:-) Like those puris:-)

Ta ta:-)

56 comments:

  1. Taste Yummy and u making me miss all the food in Mumbai.

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  2. That is a lot of food and it has scuttled my plans to eat only healthy food :D

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  3. This is a droolicious post!!

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  4. Dearest Eli,
    Oh sure we too LOVE Indian food and had a lovely dinner together with dear friends in Florida at an Indian restaurant. Their mango dishes are heavenly and it is such a great fruit!
    Glad you enjoyed it.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Thanks dear Mariette! Yes, that mango is awesome! So happy you love the Indian cuisine too! Its awesome:-) Big hugs back to you:-)

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  5. Oh wow now thats a delicious walk

    PhenoMenon
    http://phenomenal-cuisines.throodalookingglass.com/2014/05/baby-potatoes-in-a-tangy-sauce/

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  6. Wow! You sure had a yummy and a delicious walk. Brought back so many memories of our stay in Mumbai and I want that Vada Pao and Misal Pao and that Panna and that Aamras now!!!! :)

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    1. Aaaahh - Shilpa - come and visit!! :-) Big hugs

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  7. I'm wondering how you managed to put all this down in one walk, Eli! ;) What I love about Maharastrian food is the simplicity of ingredients and preparation.

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    1. I started out with a "small-bite-strategy"... It fell apart after a few dishes, and when the puris came... ahh.. So true Corinne:-) Hugs

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  8. What a mouth watering post... Mumbai street food is one of the best...and these pics are wanting me to go there right now... ( drooling...)

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    1. Thanks Prasad! Happy you enjoyed:-) So true - its so great:-)

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  9. Loved the write up and your openess to try out the authetic cuisine of Mumbai and Maharashtra. I can understand when you are trying out new dishes its impossible to remember the names and I am impressed with your first line with all the names wiuth spellings correct. Just some corrections. What you labeled as "Thali peeth - with chutney and chili masala" is a batata vada with kanda -lasun (onion -garlic) chutney. It's bharleli bhendi instead of bhareli bhindi though it means the same the later is Gujarati and former Marathi.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing. You are so right:-) Fortunately I had some kind help from Kalyan from Finely Chopped- to remember those names... So many dishes:-) All the best to you, happy to see you here:-)

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  10. Yum! Yum! Yum! Can I get some of those puris, please?!!

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    1. Ha ha ha - sorry Arti - all gone! ha ha - Come with me next time dear:-)

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  11. So happy to see you enjoy our food,Eli!! Amazed at the fact that you all used hands to eat.Love your style of writing! My parents loved your post too :) Manisha

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    1. Wow, thank you so much, you are very kind:-) Happy to see you here.

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  12. OMG!! so much of food...in different arrangements and platter...Hope you are taking care of your stomach :-)

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    1. Small bites Jayanta - and Im not making a habit of it..:-)

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  13. Oh my! Now that I have read your delightful post I am so hungry!! I am going to have to eat! HA HA HA

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    1. That's great Kathy:-) Happy you enjoyed dear:-)

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  14. Like this idea of food walking... walking to create an appetite for all of this scrumptious food.. loved the pics... made my mouth water :)

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    1. Thanks a lot. Yes it is a great concept:-)

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  15. Incredible variety and all the sauces, etc. I don't think I could have made it all the way through the walk. Pics are great - we love Indian food and my hubby makes some 'mean' dishes --- he does African curry.

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    1. Aaaww-that is great Carol - African curry sounds interesting:-) Thanks for sharing and for your kind words. Happy to see you here:-)

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  16. Eli, your post made me hungry that too after i had eaten my lunch :) I hope to try these dishes when I am in Mumbai next.

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    1. Oh, please do Sulekha, and let me know if you're in town:-) Happy to see you here:-)

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  17. I would like one of those pooris! Lucky you love the food because there is so much to choose from :-)

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    1. Oh yes, Amelia:-) True:-) Happy to see you here dear friend:-)

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  18. The food on your post is making me hungry even though I have had breakfast of Idlis and chutney.
    We go to Dadar sometimes and have usal-pao. I love the food there.
    Walk and eat and then eat and walk.

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    1. Thanks for sharing Kalpana, and for your kind words:-) Perfect combo: walk and eat:-)

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  19. Nice post with insights on Mumbai street food.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words:-)

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  20. All those food pics made me drool..I think titanic can sink in my mouth now..sigh..
    Lovely post Eli..

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    1. Thank you so much Preethi:-) Happy to see you here

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  21. Eli, It all looks wonderful. I would need a LOT more walking! (http://www.reflectionsenroute.com)

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  22. Hi Eli maam,
    If you are around Dadar, Mahim or you may be visiting Kalbadevi, then try on the Jhunka Bhakar at Jhunka Bhakar kendras a Maharashtrian dish- a traditional chickpea or besan based wet mix which is then tempered with mustard seeds, garlic paste and curry leaves. This zunka is then stirred with fried onion mix and is enjoyed with hot jowar or bajra bhakris or rotis.... This was introduced to me by one of my Maharastrian collegue and I loved it, a simple dish, but easy to digest...
    And Maam, pls do try Gujarati dish especially in this mango season Ras Puri and Undhiyu at Thackers Gujarati in Girgaum ....
    Thanks for sharing maam
    Have a fantastic day ahead
    Regards
    Bhavikk shah
    https://www.facebook.com/Bhavikks

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    1. Thank you so much Bhavikk:-) So happy for your kind words, and noting down your tip! Ready to try:-)

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  23. OMG!!! Yummy! Still drooling over the puri and mango dip (aamras) :D

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    1. Ha ha ha - Aditi dear .. I know...:-) :-)

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  24. Now this is what they call as a yum-ilicious post! Wow, Eli, you really had quite a walk, girl :) I remember the long walk we walked in search of a Parsi restaurant in Mumbai someone had recommended to us....finally found it but it wasn't that great :( But if that walk would have been something like this walk with all these great stops in between, I am sure all we have had at that Parsi restaurant would be a glass of water. Wonderful write-up and even better pictures!

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    1. Ha ha ha - thank you so much for sharing dear Beloo! I can imagine:-) So happy for your kind and encouraging words, and as always so happy to see you here:-) Hugs

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  25. Thank you so much for coming to the walk Eli. It was lovely meeting and great to see your enthusiasm about discovering our city. Thanks so much for the blog post. Relived our walk through it. Cheers, Kalyan

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    1. Thank you Kalyan! The pleasure was all mine.-) It was so great:-) See you again for sure:-) All the best

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  26. Eli, I'm thrilled you are enjoying my native cuisine and in my hometown. I do miss it. If you haven't been there already, you should also try the pohe-samosa (samosa filled with beaten rice) at Shri Krishna outside Dadar station. :)

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    1. Oh, great- will check out that one:-) Thank you for your kind words - so happy to see you here:-) Hugs, dear

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  27. Wow ..the way you njoy our Indian food ...really love the way you have written...

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    1. Thank you so much Nalini - sooo happy you loved it:-) Hugs

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