Street food for street smart Indians

With festivals around the corner one thing which we Indians cannot resist is binging on all the delicacies endlessly. We worry about weight but postpone the worry to the end of December or may be New-year so that we take the new-year resolution to reduce weight only to break it later on in the year when festive season starts  :- ) :- ). Jokes apart, the first and the foremost thing which people in India miss when they move to abroad is the food here. Street foods are lavishly spread everywhere in India. Street foods / fast foods are pretty famous in India as they are tasty, economical and comprise a wide variety including local , regional , national and international cuisines.

Everyone is well acquainted with chaat bhandaars in India. Chat ke thele (the mobile chat shops) are pretty famous here and if you haven’t tasted chat at least once, you are missing out the spice in your life! Just a memory of the tangy flavour tickles my taste buds and my mouth starts watering.  Pani Puri , Aloo tikki , Sev puri , Samosas, Pav bhaji, Vada Pav are few to name.  The masalas, chutneys, tamarind, black salt are all carefully selected and mixed in correct proportions to bring that godly taste to the dishes. It’s an art to make a yummilicious chat.

Rajasthan and Maharashtra are famous for chats but  tasty chat counters are available in all the cities and the dishes are even regionalised as per the taste of localities’ and few foods are given local names too. My most favourite foods are Ragda Samosa and Mirchi Bajji . The bajji / Bhajiya topped with onion coriander and nimbu (lemon) is heavenly. It goes well with heavy rain by your window side ;)! The more I write about chat, the hungrier I become.

Dosa is a famous street food in South India. One cannot leave Bangalore without tasting a Mysore masala dosa. Similarly the Mughlai Cuisine is famous in places like Delhi and Hyderabad. Hyderabad is famous for its Biryani but street foods like grilled chicken and widely available haleem during Ramzan month are also famous here. One has to go to Charminar in the festive season to have visual and tasty treats! We love our snacks with Irani Chai and Osmania biscuits in Hyderabad!

We even have the chin-Indianese noodles everywhere. Many street vendors become famous for their Indianised noodles.  We turn it to an Indo-chinese dish as much as we can. Maggi is an instantaneous food present everywhere in India. Chinese may not be aware of maggi but here a person around every street corner knows what maggi is. When you visit mountain regions maggi is their street food, staple food, lunch, dinner and everything as it is easily available and is easy to cook.

Our street foods also comprise of momos, Lebanese rolls which taste yummy at Saket in Delhi. Momos is the most loved food by many in India.  We have varieties for all. Veg momos , chicken momos and chocolate momos- All these can be made in no time and you can gobble them to subside your hunger! We are particular about our chai and lassi too. We gorge on our paranthas and wash it down with lassi or fruit juices, nimbu soda or even chai. In Hyderabad tea is served even in weddings as it is believed that tea is good for digestion.

If someone wants an elaichi chai, some other wants ginger tea or lemon tea. A chai vendor selling all kinds of tea is a common sight during tours and in railway stations and at many places when you are on the road. We have innumerable varieties of sweets too which grab our eye balls and we get drawn to the counters to have a piece or two. Jalebis, rasmalai, Halwa puri are few to name.

If I keep on writing about street food in India my diet plan will go to toss and I will have to do a triple-work out in gym ;- )  For now I am taking a break to have some diwali festive delicacies ! How many ever Mc. Donalds or KFC and Dominos branches open up they can’t beat the street food in India! Enjoy your food and enjoy the festive season. Happy Diwali!

Afshan Khan