Just two words can classify dining, the classy and the street food!!! This weekend, I had an interesting mix of both the worlds. And for the record, both turned out to be hell of an experience, in its own way...
Let me start off with the interesting street food. It’s no news to anyone that during Ramzan, every Koran abiding Muslim goes on a day long, harsh fast wherein they don’t even touch water all day. But as the sun sets, they start a night long fiesta which I think is called Iftar. Mohd Ali Road in Mumbai is one of the most favourite spots to get iftari. And why shouldn’t it be, you get everything possible to be made from meat and eggs in a short distance of 1 km stretch. And not to mention, a few special items that you get only during this period of Ramzan. But every dinner here comes with
a cost. Don’t get me wrong here, I really don’t mean the monetary one. This has the cheapest food available. But the cost is made even when you have to sail past a crowd of a million in that same 1 km stretch. For the weak hearted, this place is a nightmare. The traffic jam starts at least 2 kms from the road. And once you get there, a maddening crowd will welcome you.
For an incorrigible foodie, this place is a heaven. Each stall you pass ha
s a distinct aroma to itself. You will find everything starting from Haleem to kheeri to a spl kind of egg malpua. Kheeri is a kind of kebab, well marinated and deep fried. Ah! Sounds like any other kebab that you have eaten... Right?? But its secret lies in the ingredients, which are used to make this very spl kebab. The meat used in Kheeri happens to be the Balls of a goat, which by the way tastes yum. Trust me when I say that you just can’t stop yourself from having another one. I don’t know what is more tempting, eating it or the ‘pleasure’ of eating ‘it’.
Moving to another stall, for the first time in my life, I ate Shandil or Meethi Idli as was translated to me. Though it was not something very unique, still I kind of liked the innovation that somebody thought of. These were nothing but sweetened rice cakes, layered with some sweet rice mix and Pista. Priced at Rs 5 a piece, it was quite an amusing thing to have.
After having, a few m
ore kebabs and soups, we decided to go for the kill of the road, The Egg Malpua. Being a bong, I have had many different varieties of malpua, but never ever in my life did I think that you can make yummy Malpuas with egg. Basically it is a sweetened Malpua batter wherein they use egg instead of milk or water. And once the batter is of the right consistency, they pour a generous dollop of the mix onto hot oil and deep fry it. It comes with a packet of sweetened cream and believe me when I say; it’s a sin to have even a bite of it. The crisp malpua can easily be the queen of all malpuas that I have ever had. I have even heard th
at this delicacy is made only in Mohd Ali Road and that too during the Ramzaan period. Though personally I have no clue how true this fact is, but I can safely agree that yes, it is the perfect way to bid adieu from Mohd Ali Road.
Let me start off with the interesting street food. It’s no news to anyone that during Ramzan, every Koran abiding Muslim goes on a day long, harsh fast wherein they don’t even touch water all day. But as the sun sets, they start a night long fiesta which I think is called Iftar. Mohd Ali Road in Mumbai is one of the most favourite spots to get iftari. And why shouldn’t it be, you get everything possible to be made from meat and eggs in a short distance of 1 km stretch. And not to mention, a few special items that you get only during this period of Ramzan. But every dinner here comes with
a cost. Don’t get me wrong here, I really don’t mean the monetary one. This has the cheapest food available. But the cost is made even when you have to sail past a crowd of a million in that same 1 km stretch. For the weak hearted, this place is a nightmare. The traffic jam starts at least 2 kms from the road. And once you get there, a maddening crowd will welcome you.For an incorrigible foodie, this place is a heaven. Each stall you pass ha
s a distinct aroma to itself. You will find everything starting from Haleem to kheeri to a spl kind of egg malpua. Kheeri is a kind of kebab, well marinated and deep fried. Ah! Sounds like any other kebab that you have eaten... Right?? But its secret lies in the ingredients, which are used to make this very spl kebab. The meat used in Kheeri happens to be the Balls of a goat, which by the way tastes yum. Trust me when I say that you just can’t stop yourself from having another one. I don’t know what is more tempting, eating it or the ‘pleasure’ of eating ‘it’.Moving to another stall, for the first time in my life, I ate Shandil or Meethi Idli as was translated to me. Though it was not something very unique, still I kind of liked the innovation that somebody thought of. These were nothing but sweetened rice cakes, layered with some sweet rice mix and Pista. Priced at Rs 5 a piece, it was quite an amusing thing to have.
After having, a few m
ore kebabs and soups, we decided to go for the kill of the road, The Egg Malpua. Being a bong, I have had many different varieties of malpua, but never ever in my life did I think that you can make yummy Malpuas with egg. Basically it is a sweetened Malpua batter wherein they use egg instead of milk or water. And once the batter is of the right consistency, they pour a generous dollop of the mix onto hot oil and deep fry it. It comes with a packet of sweetened cream and believe me when I say; it’s a sin to have even a bite of it. The crisp malpua can easily be the queen of all malpuas that I have ever had. I have even heard th
at this delicacy is made only in Mohd Ali Road and that too during the Ramzaan period. Though personally I have no clue how true this fact is, but I can safely agree that yes, it is the perfect way to bid adieu from Mohd Ali Road.
