Mumbai Street Food

With this kind of iconic, scenic backdrop, probably the last thing you would expect us to be thinking of is Indian food! But there we were, a merry band of American Women's Group members, sipping mango-yoghurt smoothies on our friend Minal's terrace, getting ready to make some serious Mumbai street food. Born in Mumbai and now living in Paris, Minal offers Indian cooking classes every couple of months or so to her fellow AWG members. I had missed the last two, so was happy to be able to grab a spot on this one.

Paris is home to quite a large Indian population. The Passage Brady, in the 10th arrondissement, for example, has several restaurants, dress shops, beauty parlors and Indian food stores.

Up around the Gare de Nord you'll find all kinds of Indian shops...

...including a number of Indian grocery shops, with a big selection of all the ingredients you need for preparing Indian food...

...even though I don't quite know what I am looking at sometimes!

Minal had planned a menu of what she calls "Mumbai Street Food", items that are sold at stalls throughout the city, catering to commuters who need a snack before taking the long train ride home, or just passers-by, who are in too much of a hurry to sit down to a meal. We were going to be making "Vada Pav" (spicy potato burger), "Bhurji Pav" (spicy scrambled eggs), "Ragda Patties" (potato cutlets with dried peas gravy), and "Sev Puri" (sweet and spicy snack)

You might have noticed that the word "spicy" is attached to almost each dish! And, like every good Indian cook, Minal keeps a well stocked spice tray that includes chili powder, turmeric, salt, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. The tray sits on the counter, next to the stove, and is constantly dipped into adding flavor and spice to each dish.

 We quickly got down to work, separating the leaves from a bunch of mint and two large bunches of cilantro. A few handfuls of these, combined with chopped green chilis, chopped curry leaves, lime juice, sugar and salt were pulverized in a little blender to make the most refreshingly bright, spicy chutney. (I know one member of my family who is going to love this!)

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Minal was frying up more chilis and curry leaves, adding mustard seeds, turmeric powder, another handful of cilantro, and a pinch of "Asafoetida" powder. Also known as "Hing", this is derived from some kind of giant fennel and is considered a crucial ingredient in Indian vegetarian cooking. I noticed a pinch of it going into just about everything we were cooking!

Smashed up cooked potatoes went in next, a few more spices, and the dish was set aside to cool, before being gathered into small balls, dipped in a batter made from chick-pea flour and water...

...and then deep fried to a golden, crispy ball. These were our potato hamburgers!

Whilst this was going on, a bowl of yellow peas had been soaking in water, and was then put into a pressure cooker -- another essential staple of an authentic Indian kitchen...

...and spicy scrambled eggs -- onions, tomatoes, cilantro, chillies, and pinches from just about each container in the spice tray -- were stirred with a wooden paddle.

We were definitely getting hungry!

At last we were ready to go back to the terrace and enjoy our appetizer -- "Sev Puri". On each crisp cracker you put a small dollop of cooked potato topped with some chopped onion and chopped fresh tomato. Then you add a drizzle of the green cilantro-mint chutney, a smear of the red sweet tamarind chutney on the left, then a sprinkle of the dry garlic-coconut chutney (upper left), a squeeze of lemon juice and one or two fresh cilantro leaves, and pop the whole thing in your mouth! The flavors and textures all come together and you just cannot believe how delicious it is. Before you can stop yourself, you've eaten four or five, just like that!

By this time, the remainder of the food was ready and we moved indoors to continue the feast. Not only did everything looks so pretty and colorful, it all tasted just divine. And when you stopped to think for a moment you realized that the basic ingredients were all so simple -- potatoes, eggs, yellow peas, tomatoes, onions and a bunch of spices.

Under the steady, creative hand of Minal, though, they were transformed into food fit for the Gods.  And they were so appreciated by us mere mortals!

Although Matthew has been many times to India, I have never been. One day I will go, and when I pass under the famous Gateway to India arch, I'll be looking for those stalls that sell this wonderful Mumbai Street Food!

À bientôt!

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