Vada Pav at Swati Snacks

It's slightly ridiculous. I've been here for nine months and I have not a) eaten a Vada Pav or b) been to the famous eatery Swati Snacks. Yesterday I killed to birds with one stone.

I had taken Mr Jules to tie up the coffee table deal at Moorthy's (yaaaay success, delivery in two weeks!) but we were feeling rather peckish en-route. Having spotted Swati Snacks nearby to Moorthy's warehouse, we decided to go in and sample what was on offer.

For the folks back home, Vada Pav (pronounced Wadder Pow) is one of the most famous of all Mumbai street foods. Along the same lines as Masala Dosa and Pani Puri which I previously tried at Soam. It consists of a mildy spicy potato mixture which is fashioned into a patty, lightly fried in gram flour and then placed between two well buttered halves of a bread bun with a slathering of chutney. Unlike me, Mr Jules has had Vada Pav on occasion and loves them. He describes the dish as a 'spicy chip butty'. (You can take the man out of Yorkshire....)

Vada Pav! With extra chilli of course

Being of fragile British constitution in the stomach department, I have not been brave enough to try one from the roadside, but in the sanitary surroundings of Swati Snacks, I was very happy to give it a go. And I was not to be disappointed! Delicious! Mr Jules said it was the best he has had so far. Delicate, squidgy potato mixture fragrant with curry leaves and mustard seeds, all sown up in a light fluffy bread bun. Yum.

We also had some of my favourite 'chaat' commonly served on Mumbai streets - Sev Puri. This tasty dish consists of small discs of crispy puri (tiny breads) layered with finely chopped veg - potatoes and red onions - and then topped with dahi (yoghurt), chutney and a generous sprinkling of sev (the deep fried vermicelli like you find in Bombay Mix), coriander and cucumber. It's crunchy and tangy! Seriously more-ish.

Sev Puri

On top of that (although bursting at this point) we sampled the veg dhansak which was a simple lentil curry with pulao rice. Really good. The whole lot - including two Pepsis, came to 500 Rs. Can't wait to go back!

Dhansak with Pulao topped with crispy onions - a very Parsi dish.

Inside Swati Snacks - very clean and full of locals (always a good sign)

Swati Snacks

Karai Estate

Opp Bhatia Hospital

Tadeo Road, Mumbai 400007

www.swatisnacks.com

History of this Mumbai institution, taken from the Swati Snacks website:

40 years ago, Asha’s and Anand’s mother, Minakshiben, started a little fast food restaurant in Bombay; the food was cooked at home and served at the restaurant. Over the years it has grown in size and reputation but firmly remains a family run restaurant. Asha has made innovative additions to the menu, based on delicacies that have been traditionally made in homes. In 2003, under Asha’s watchful eye, Anand and his family started Swati in Ahmedabad.Today, Swati has become an institution, trusted for its commitment to quality and hygiene, dependable for consistent flavours, food that is served simply and without fuss, mouthwatering flavours that tempt you time and again.

How to Spend 48 Hours in Mumbai

Mumbai is not really what I would describe as a ‘holiday’ destination where people stick around for very long.  48 hours is usually just enough time to get a taste of the city before moving on to the tourist trail of the Golden Triangle, ‘God’s Own Country’ Kerala, beachy Goa or the crisp, fresh air of the Himalayas.  If you are stopping off in Mumbai before a 'grand tour', or if indeed you live here as I do and are entertaining guests in the city for a couple of days, the following is a compact guide on what to do and where to go.

 

I will show you how to see the beautiful and not so beautiful sights of the city, where to go for an introduction to Indian street food and where to go shopping for good souvenirs. My guide assumes that you have access to a car and driver.  If you don't have your own driver, it is possible to hire one quite cheaply and will mean you can pack an awful lot more in than if you got the train or bus.  (I am also not ‘at one’ with the Mumbai public transport system!) It also assumes that you will do a bit of pre-planning with a street map.

 

(This is all tried and tested by BombayJules by the way!)

 

Day 1

 

I will usually try and make an early start before commuter traffic peaks at 10am, aiming to get to Banganga Tank at the bottom of Malabar Hill by 9am.  Banganga tank is the oldest and most sacred Hindu site in the city where Lord Rama is said to have brought forth water from the Ganges by firing an arrow into the ground.  It is a place of rare serenity and there are usually photogenic pilgrims and worshippers to be seen ‘purifying’ themselves in the waters.   You might even see some of the many ducks that reside there floating around.  Surrounding the tank are a few Hindu and Jain temples – take your pick at which one to look at, remembering to take off you shoes before you go in.  Hop back in the car and take the five minute drive to The Hanging Gardens of Malabar Hill from which you can get your friends to line up at the in front of the wonderful view of Marine Drive.  Passing back via the giant boot (if you’ve got kids, let them go up to the top) and crossing the road, you will enter Kamala Nehru Park with its perfectly manicured hedges and topiary animals, green benches and colourful flowerbeds.  This is a rare haven in Mumbai – verdant, well kempt and rubbish free.

 

By now you are probably feeling a little peckish - so get back in your car and drive past the almost completely hidden Towers of Silence - you can just get a glimpse through the trees on your left.  The Towers of Silence are where the Parsis (Zoroastrians) place their dead. I suggest you look up the reason for this on Wikipedia so you can amaze yourself/your friends with the information! Keep going straight until you are back on Babhulnath Marg.  If you want to, hop out here and take a look at Babhulnath Temple (another one of the city’s holiest Hindu sites) – the steps leading up to it are lined with traditional Gujarati houses for temple workers.  Having done that, get your driver to park up whilst you cross back over the main road for a nice, reasonably priced lunch at Soam.  Soam is my favourite place in Mumbai to experience street food in a safe, clean and quality environment.  If you’re new to Bombay street food yourself, get the friendly restaurant owner to show you and your guests how to eat Pani Puri. You should also try to sample the amazing masala dosas, sev puri, and farsans.  Yum.

 

After lunch, you are now ready for a quick/optional diversion to nearby Anokhi off Hughes Road – especially if there are women in the group, (well women like me that can’t resist a quick shop!)  At Anokhi, you will find irresistible hand block printed items from Jaipur, all at very agreeable prices.  Cotton tops, long skirts, fabulous table cloths and printed notebooks. 

 

Now, get your driver to drop you at the start of Marine Drive so that you can take a 20 minute stroll along Girgaum Chowpatty.  Chowpatty means ‘beach’ in Marathi.  If you go right down to the sea, you will unfortunately witness the rubbish that is so prevalent in and around Mumbai.  But don’t worry, you'll soon get used to it!  Oh, and I don’t need to tell you not to go anywhere near the water. 

 

Next, pick up your car again and come away from the beach by heading east - asking your driver to go towards Crawford Market.  Get out here and go through the front entrance where you will be immediately greeted by the hustle, bustle, sights, sounds and smells of Mumbai’s most famous shopping bazaar.  Try not to veer into the caged animal section where birds, cats and dogs are for sale, Kept in small cages without visible evidence of water, it can be very upsetting to see.  After mooching around for a bit in the market you will find that it’s almost time for a cup of tea.    Get back in the car and head down DN Road so that Victoria Terminus (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in new money) is on your left hand side.  No need to get out of the car, just enjoy the ‘Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival’ architecture of Mumbai’s main transport hub, built in 1808.  There is plenty of similar Raj-era architecture to admire in the vicinity, such as the Bombay High Court and the University of Mumbai and The Prince of Wales Museum.  Carry on going straight towards the sea, getting off at the next stop – The Gateway of India. 

 

Get out here and proceed through the (defunct) security gate. Take a few photos with your clan in front of the Gate, have a look out to sea, do your best to avoid the photo-touts and giant balloon sellers (I still haven’t fathomed why on earth one would need a balloon the size of a small car) then turn around, go back and cross the road.  You will now be right in front of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel on Apollo Bunder.   Admire the grandeur of the building, pass through the lobby and go up to the SeaLounge on the first floor.  Here you must sample a very expensive cup of the divine Silver Grove White Tips Darjeeling tea whilst looking out to sea - as smooth as a silk sari.  Whilst chatting, you can think about the 2008 Terrorist Attack centred around the hotel where 200 hostages were rescued but 31 guests were unfortunately killed.

 

Get collected again and go around the back left hand corner of the Taj Palace Hotel and find the small Good Earth Shop on BEST Marg.  Delight in the Indian themed cushion covers and crockery etc...but beware of the western prices. 

 

After the thrill of Good Earth, you’ll need to come back down with a cocktail.  Drive back to Marine Drive and find the Intercontinental Hotel about a third of the way up on the right hand side.  Clear security and take the lift up to the magnificent (and trendy) DomeBar on the top floor.  I actually like to ask for a white wine spritzer (you have to explain to the waiter - white wine with soda with ice) which is a perfectly refreshing accompaniment to what I consider to be one of the best views in Mumbai.  You can while away a few hours watching the stunning sunset and chatting before going to a restaurant of your choice to sample some more Indian food – or perhaps just stay at the in-house restaurant Kebab Corner where you’ll find some of the tenderest Chicken Malai to be had in the city.

So that’s the end of Day 1.

Day 2

 

And now for something a bit different.  Do you think I am going to show you the street markets of Mumbai (Colaba, Fashion Street, Linking Road etc) or an art gallery or museum? Wrong!  Day 2 of my itinerary is an optional alternative to the usual tourist trail.

 

Today starts in the “Queen of Suburbs” - Bandra - at 10am.  If you are coming from South Mumbai, come via the Sealink – the city’s best and most scenic feat of engineering.  Find your way to Carter Road (starting at Otter’s Club), hop out of the car and walk along the sea promenade. Get some of that sea air into your lungs!  After 20 minutes or so, drive back towards Pali Market, going up and down some of the streets in order to admire the Art Deco bungalows of a bygone era. Some are decrepit, but some have been restored to stunning effect.

 

Heading back in the direction of Carter Road along Hill Road, find Ben Hur Chemist opposite pretty St Andrew’s Church.  Get out of the car here and walk down Waroda Road which is off at an angle just before the chemist’s.  Waroda Road and its offshoot Chapel Road, are part of Ranwar Village - a charming bohemian enclave, with colonial bungalows, narrow streets and artistically graffitied walls.  Ranwar (now favoured by French hipsters) is one of the original 24 pakhadis (hamlets) that made up Bandra since the earliest documented history in early 1700s, and has managed to retain its village character even as present-day development has hemmed it in on all sides.  The street art is fun to look at – some of it is slightly naïve, some of it highly artistic. 

 

Get your driver to pick you all up again from Hill Road and then drive 30 minutes (max) to Matunga, south of Mahim (and not via the Sealink). You will probably go past Dadar Flower Market on the way.  Matunga is famous for its South Indian restaurants, very much favoured by the local vegetarian Gujurati community.  Head for the most famous of these restaurants - Café Madras (Bhaudaji Road, Kings Circle) for brunch.  At weekends it can get very busy and you may have to queue.  Café Madras is an excellent place to sample a traditional Indian breakfast – food items such as idlis, dosas, wadas and rassam.  Perhaps stay away from the coconut chutney accompaniments in case of fragile stomachs!  But it should all be perfectly safe.

 

After your brunch/lunch, you can browse some of the pavement bookstalls or take a look around the local vegetable market to give your guests a true flavour of local life. If you want, take a peek at the King’s Circle nearby, another rare area of greenery.

 

You then need to get yourselves to Mahim station by 2.30pm where you will meet one of the tour guides of Reality Gives Tours & Travel (www.realitytoursandtravel.com).  You are going on a tour of Dharavi which you have prearranged. It is hard to ignore the shanty towns of Mumbai so why not educate yourself and your companions about the amazing enterprise that goes on in Asia’s biggest and most profitable slum?  It’s not half as scary as you might think and the tour seeks to break down negative or misinformed attitudes towards less developed communities. You will be led around a pre-organised route where you are encouraged not to gawp and you will come out with a completely different view of the ‘Heart of Mumbai’.  No photos are allowed and you will have to try and be subtle about unfavourable smells.  I have taken several people on this tour and they have all appreciated the experience and been enlightened by it. The cost is only 600 Rs per person or 3,000 Rs for a private tour for up to five persons. 80% of profits made by Reality Gives are ploughed back into the community.

 

Two and half hours later, the Reality Tours tour guide will speak to your driver and tell him to collect you from their office on the other side of Dharavi - where you can also by some mementos of the tour.  Now you can relax!  Gather yourselves up, get in the car and drive to Phoenix Mills shopping mall in Lower Parel (around 30 minutes depending on traffic).  This is partly to show the immediate contrasts between rich and poor and partly for them to pick up some more souvenirs.  Plus it’s nice and cool in there.

 

Admire the Gucci, Burberry and Jimmy Choo outlets in Palladium and then go down to the ubiquitous FabIndia and Bombay Stores where you can pick up some more quality souvenirs.  For dinner, there is a multitude of safe bets here – I would particularly recommend Rajdhani for an excellent and never-ending Gujurati thali experience (if you are sticking with Indian food) or Serafina, the Italian Pizzeria if you want a change of scenery.

Your BombayJules tour is now finished!
 

 

Left to right, top to bottom

1. Banganga tank 2. Topiary of Kamala Nehru Park 3. Anokhi prints 4. Pani Puri at Soam 5. Bustling Crawford Market 6. Gateway of India 7. Dome Bar 8. Colonial bungalow of Bandra 9. Graffiti of Waroda Road 10. Matunga Vegetable Market 11. Dharavi 12. Phoenix Mills Mall.

SOAM : A beginner's guide to Pani Puri

Pani Puri is possibly the most famous of Mumbai's street foods and Soam is my new favourite place for eating it - safely.

Build your own Pani Puri (pillowy puris, sprouting beans, potato, pani (minted water) and chutney

Pani Puri (otherwise known as golgappa in Northern India) varies from street stall to restaurant to cafe but generally consists of the Puri, a round, hollow, fried crispy semolina pastry, filled with a mixture of minted spiced water ('Pani'), tamarind chutney, potato, onion and chickpeas/yellow peas and sprouts. It is small enough to fit completely into your mouth.  They are so moreish that you end up eating one after the other until you're fit to burst.  In a restaurant, all the components will be served separately and you build your own.  Firstly by gently making a hole in the Puri with your finger, and then filling it up with each of the ingredients in turn, finally spooning the minty chilled water over the filled pastry.  The Puri is pretty fragile, I normally end up breaking it before I've completed the process with the result of everything landing on my chin rather than in my mouth.  This is definitely another Indian gastronomic artform!  Note, due to water being one of the ingredients, us Westerners normally stick to eating this at places where Bisleri or other bottled water is used - it is NOT advisable to brave this delicacy at an unrecognised street stall!  Hence why I recommend Soam as a good place to get stuck into Pani Puri.


Step by step instructions for creating your perfect Pani Puri mouthful (left to right, top to bottom)

1.  Gently make a hole in the top of your Puri with handle of spoon or your finger. 2. Line with yellow pea mixture. 3. Spoon in a morsel of potato 4. Add a few sprouted beans.  5. Mid creation. 6. Drip in some tamarind chutney.  7. Make sure you've filled your Puri adequately.  8.  Chilled minted water, Pani.  9.  Carefully spoon in the Pani. 10 Get it into your mouth before it leaks all over the place (not photographed!)

Soam is a mostly Gujurati pure vegetarian restaurant in South Mumbai near Chowpatty Beach.  There are also elements of Rajasthani Cuisine on the menu.  I am not expert enough to tell you whether the cooking is up to exacting Indian standards but I have had two very nice dining out experiences there.  Inside the restaurant is modern and clean and Soam is always busy.  Sometimes you may have to wait to be seated.  The service is excellent and the manager tries to take personal care of diners by explaining how to eat various street foods (including Pani Puri) to novices like me.  I have also tried the Farsan Platter  (snacks) which included tiny samosas stuffed with paneer and methi leaves (fenugreek) and dhokla (a soft bread-like food made with gram flour) and I have tried the delicious Sev Puri, another popular Mumbai Street food.  Sev Puri consists of crispy panis or papads, topped with finely chopped potatoes, onions and topped with chutneys and the sev - a crisp vermicelli made out of gram flour.  This is what gives the Sevi Puri its lovely crunch and again, you should be able to fit one piece in your mouth. (Errr not always succesful!).  The time before last, we also had lovely soft and light masala dosas - large potato pancakes filled with a spicy potato mixture.  Surely the next most popular street food in Mumbai! 

Here are a few more close ups of the food at Soam:

Enormous Mysore Masala Dosa - prior to being demolished, a perfect triangular envelope.
Sambar and coconut chutney in the background- these are the usual accompaniments to Dosas.

 

The contents - a delicious spicy potato mixture

Soam : very buzzy

 

Divine, crunchy, tangy Sev Puri (available at Masala Zone in London folks!)

Most of the items are 100-200 rupees - a meal for two or three with lassis or sweet lime sodas comes in at around 6-700 rupees.

There is a link to the menu here although the prices seem to be out of date: http://mumbai.burrp.com/listing/soam-pure-vegetarian_chowpatty-girgaon_mumbai_restaurants/14857861__CA__menu

SOAM
Sadguru Sadan
Ground Floor
Chowpatty, Girgaon
(opposite Babulnath Temple and not far before you turn left on to Marine Drive)

With thanks to the various hand models used in this blog!