Twenty- five Seven

Personally speaking

International Street Food #FlavoursomeTuesdays

The streets of Bombay they say are paved with gold . I definitely haven’t seen any gold on Mumbai’s streets but I do know it’s pavements are filled with hawkers.

Apart from the regular vegetable and fruit sellers, you have all kinds of vendors . Come December you have Tibetans selling sweaters. All year long you can find there people selling newspapers, vegetables and odds and ends like herbal medicines, toys and trinkets and even kitchen knives.

So Mumbai is like one big open air bazaar where you can find everything on your way to or from work. That is if you are walking to a bus stop or train station.

Food for thought

Mumbai is a busy city which seems to be in a constant state of motion . There are some commuters who literally travel miles to work. It is no wonder then that roadside food stalls are so common . Every now and then you will find tea stalls and sandwich stalls. People selling samosa , Bhaji Pao and dosas .

International flavours

For a long while now, dosas have changed avatar from traditional to Punjabi with Palak paneer dosa and even International with the oriental Manchurian Cheese dosa which I must admit does taste good .

Infact these dosas are very popular at Mehndis and other minor wedding functions and I always make a bee line for the Manchurian cheese dosa.

But last week , while walking down to Nana’s Chowk, I was amazed to see this vendor selling pan fried VEG PIZZA on the road.

The fact that pizza has become street food means that Pizza is now part of the Indian culinary tradition.

And taking fusion to yet another level was this vendor selling a vegetarian Manchurian Bhel and a vegetarian Chinese Bhel.

Both stalls were doing brisk business with office goers and commuters grabbing a quick bite before jumping onto the local train from Grant Road station a few 100m away.

And finally, a little while away and closer to the Maharaja Bar , was the ubiquitous Boiled Egg seller that I had referred to in an earlier #FlavoursomeTuesdays.

Well, the Tibetan Sweater sellers haven’t yet descended on the pavement but a new flavour of international cuisine has made its presence felt.

Have you seen any innovative street foods in your city?

Do you have any  memories,  sweet and sour, revolving around food? If yes, then do share them with me and Shilpa, using the hashtag #FlavoursomeTuesdays, and have fun!

See you around !

24 responses to “International Street Food #FlavoursomeTuesdays”

  1. Street food for us in the Malabar region of Kerala involves stuff like banana fry, potato filled bondas and Vadas usually. I have so many fond memories of eating Pani Puri on the streets of Pune a decade ago.

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    1. Next time you come to Mumbai Doctor we will try these new foods

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  2. Oh yes, I have seen it – the Manchurian bhel and stuff. I haven’t tasted it, yet. I have come across quite a few such international-Indian dishes…a beautiful marriage between two cultures and cuisines. Frankly, though, not every marriage brings love! I mean, not every such dish pleases the taste buds! :P

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    1. Well then like I told Kala we should all
      go out together to try out some of these dishes . What say ?

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  3. Food sure has evolved and so have tastes. Pizzas are now becoming increasingly Indianized in their avatars. What with Chatpata paneer and Alu tikki toppings, the Italian dish is getting a total makeover just like the Dosa. The Chinese dishes in turn are getting the Indian treatment too when you see, kadipatta, yes, I tell you, kadipatta in hakka noodles!! Each to his own taste I guess!

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    1. My God ! We need to explore street food together sometime Kala

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  4. We definitely are a Creative nation when it comes to food. This must be the only place in the world selling Chinese bhel and I would love to try it ?

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  5. Mumbai is full of smell, I was warned before relocating to this vibrant city. And it did turn out to be one! Take any suburb and it has its own taste and aroma of street food. Mulund, the suburb where I live, has a vibrant food culture and street food here is awesome! This is the only smell of Mumbai that I have loved so far!!!

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    1. Yes ! I agree the Eau de Toilette ( odour toilet ) is hardly the smell we enjoy. Not is the smell of the tide going out or fish drying in the sun

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  6. I used to be a bit of snob when it came to food fusion. I’ve eased up now and I agree with the idea that whatever appeals to your tastebuds is good, as simple as that. Yeah, I’ve seen Chinese Bhel but that Manchurain Dosa is a first for me. Never heard of it.

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    1. Oh there is Palak paneer dosa too! And I’ve been served dhokla as sushi at a very fancy do … won’t be long before Japanese food reaches our pavements too !

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  7. Fantastic food fusion; wonder if it tastes well too? Though if crowds throng there, it must be good! I recently had Wai Wai noodle bhel and it was a stunner for me; infact I have been twice since for another taste of it ;-)

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    1. Really? More and more I admire our jugad with food. Only in India can you change noodles to bhel !

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  8. […] Bellybytes & Shilpa are the brains behind #flavoursometuesday, where all of us who love food post pictures and write a little note about a food memory. You are welcome to share yummy updates .. ? […]

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    1. thanks for this great shout out!

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  9. […]  Bellybytes & Shilpa are the brains behind #flavoursometuesday, where all of us who love food post pictures and write a little note about a food memory. You are welcome to share yummy updates .. […]

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  10. […] Bellybytes & Shilpa are the brains behind #flavoursometuesday, where all of us who love food post pictures and write a little note about a food memory. You are welcome to share yummy updates .. […]

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    1. Thanks for joining up !

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  11. I don’t eat street foods. But these two international foods look good. I will definitely try if I got a chance to visit India to taste these street foods.

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    1. I wouldn’t really advise eating street food inIndia unless you have a cast iron stomach. But you could find someone who made the same stuff at home ;)

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  12. […] Bellybytes & Shilpa are the brains behind #flavoursometuesday, where all of us who love food post pictures and write a little note about a food memory. You are welcome to share yummy updates .. […]

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    1. Thanks for joining up. Could you tell me how you link your post to mine ? Don’t know how this works

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  13. Eating local and safely on the street for some might seem rather risky. And while there is no guarantee against getting sick, street food and local food can be safe to eat.

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    1. thanks for stopping by and I do agree with you that street food is the best way to experience local flavour

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