Street Food: Malpua and Rabdi in Mumbai

The malpua that I grew up eating in Kolkata is a different creature from the one that I encountered in Pune and Mumbai. 

The malpuas of the east were akin to an appam, soft in the centre and a tapering crunchy edge--almost shaped like a flying saucer. 

The ones that I have had in Pune and Mumbai are akin to a deep fried pancake.

For a change I was struck at the lack of information in Wikipedia compared to http://www.ifood.tv/network/malpua. (Mental note to myself to update the Wikipedia article.)

So, I'd just come home after a gruelling session at office when I wandered away from my quest to buy chappatis and chanced upon the aroma of fresh malpuas in Tawakkal. 

Now this is not the Tawakkal of much fame and glory in town. This is smallish sweet shop in Mahim in  the lane that connects L J Road to Cadel Road and the Baba Makdum Shah Dargah.

The interesting part of the pricing is the jump of Rs 20 if add an egg. In my experience it changes the texture of the batter and makes it a little bit more fluffier. So I went ahead and before I could pay and fish out my phone, the eggs were cracked into the mixture, whisked and spread into the smoking hot oil.

Here is a video that shows how it is fried and then generously slathered with Rabdi. 

Very yum and all umami inducing!

Burnt Chilly Garlic dressing Marinated Pan Fried Chicken Thighs

I have Titin to thank for discovering FabIndia's Burnt Chilly and Garlic salad dressing as a marinade. This is an interesting concoction with heat, an piquant Indian 'spicy-ness' along with a nice tangy from the coconut vinegar.

I had bought some chicken thighs to cook for people who I'd invited one weekend. All of them had microscopic appetites so I still had the thighs sitting around in the refrigerator since even the drum sticks had not been consumed.

Chicken thighs, I realised, are a better deal than drumsticks since you get a large slab of meat with a little bone to trap the juiciness (drumsticks have lesser meat per piece) or even boneless meat (which tends to be less juicy since it lacks a bone).

Such realisations alert kitties about meat emerging from the freezer, and soon I was ankle deep in swirling cats and kittens. Ignoring the yowls of half a dozen always hungry kittens I plopped the dressing on the thighs.
Then I pacified the hungry felines with some milk before settling down to read the newspaper while the marinade did nice things to the meat.

As hunger struck I whipped out my trusty non-stick pan...

... and added oil with generously and put it on the fire...

The oil warmed to the occasion and soon the chicken sputtered happily in the oil...

A quick turn browned the other side and voilà! I had chicken ready for lunch. 

This is very easy to cook and difficult to go wrong with. The chicken cooks quickly and leaves the core nice and moist while the marinade tastes awesome as an enrobement.   

Pan Crisped Egg Noodles

On a lazy morning you just want to make something quick and yummy and then go back to snooze mode. This prompted me to make this nice and quick noodle from some left over noodles in the fridge.


I quickly smashed and chopped some garlic and kept the noodles ready...

Then I quickly fried an egg, well beaten till fluffy with a fork...

I kept the eggs aside and drizzled a little oil in the non-stick pan and gently fried the garlic on high heat till I saw the stirrings of brown at the garlic edges...

The noodles and eggs went in and got tossed around to absorb the garlicky flavour from the noodles

I turned on the high and left it on high (without stirring or tossing for the bottom layer to turn nice and crispy...


And then I dug in to my Sunday breakfast... :)

Bangali Hinger Kochuri

I remember that we used to go to this shop in Entally that fried piping hot hinger kochuri along with some amazingly consistent aloor torkari (potato curry).


I tried it again after many years. Baba got this for breakfast today...

Again this came in a recycled newspaper thonga (handcrafted paper bag) and the torkari came in a earthenware bhar (Bengali for kulhar or terracotta earthen vessel made by a potter). Little things that have not changed perhaps in the last 50 years or more... 

Dal Puri and Halwa Puri

Every time I land up at home in Kolkata, I remember and crave for the crunchy and *deep fried* Dal Puri and Halwa Puri that I have always known in Ripon Street.


The old shops are still there. The new ones are ALSO doing great business... Time stands still about these things...