Roadside

For all the BUDGET TRAVELLERS to BANGALORE (BENGALOORU)
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Food expenses can range from mega cheap to expensive. I am refering to pure veg south indian stuff.

But Halsur is the mecca for real cheap southie food. Outlets located
along the Old Madras Road are the haven for cheap madrasi veg food. Checkout the roadside shops near the bus stand.. they taste helluva great and are very easy on the pocket.

Filter coffee for INR 5 !! served piping hot over the counter in small steel tumblers.. Forget starbucks.. u cant beat the taste of a hot tumbler of FC !!

Idli-s, Dosa-s, Bhajji-s, Bonda-s.. none of them above INR 20 (USD 0.50)
and the taste is heavenly and they are gentle on your gastric system.

Just tip the staff handling the works inside 2-5 bucks and see the ROYAL treatment meted out to you !!

This is more of a home delivery joint. Deliver in most parts of Secunderabad - call to find out. Nothing like ordering or picking up a set of fresh, hot phulkas and rotis on your way home. Clean, hygenic and affordable. They also have pickup points in parts of Marredpally and Vikrampuri at select hours in the evening. Also cater to bulk or party orders.

Negative: No other side dish or curry available. Also home delivery seems to be restricted to parts of Secunderabad only.

I'm surprised that there is no mention of Corner-house ice-cream shop till now. This is one of the older places (of late they've opened in other places too) and legendary among Bangaloreans. Though not exactly a road-side, it is a bit cramped and gets annoyingly crowded during weekends. This is an exclusive ice-cream shop and they serve mind-blowing variety of ice-creams. The menu is quite inviting and they can serve customized ice-cream too. Pick any flavor/combination, it is bound to be good. A must visit place.

Irresistible Kulfis and Juices. Try their Lassi, Musambi and Mango Juices. I have seen customers trying different combinations also - Lassi + Grapes, Lassi + Mango, Grapes + Mango.

They have started serving Milkshakes and Ice creams also which was not there earlier.

If you decide to have the Kulfi after Dinner , try also the Magai Pan at the corner shop beside Koshy's restaurant (some how I have felt it appropriate to have the Magai pan only during the night!).

I read about Sarvi in a recent issue of "Time Out Mumbai" which listed down the best dishes in Mumbai - ranging from a Rs 1500 Camembert Dariole at Taj to a Rs 25 seekh kabab (at Sarvi). A collector's edition - but hey, we're not reviewing Time Out - we're reviewing Sarvi.

And being the adventurous sort when it comes to food, I took time off from work to seek out this curious place which serves the "best seekh kabab" in Mumbai.

The toughest part of the whole adventure was locating the restuarant. As instructed by the reviewer in Time Out, I got down at Nagpada Junction. Looked for a signboard sponsored by Pepsi or Coke with giant "SARVI" in garish colours. Didn't find one. Walked all over the junction. There were many restuarants, but didn't find Sarvi.

Wait. From where I was standing, I smelt delicious Tandoor smoke. Yes, I turned around - ahh - there it was. No signboard, nothing. Just a place with as many doors as there were windows. All open, probably to let the noise and vehicle fumes in ;-)

This is a typical Muslim place in a predominantly Muslim locality. Vegetarian food just doesn't exist. Neither do good manners, clean tables, or polite waiters. It's all rough and tumble and yell, eat, eat more, pay and go. It was love at first sight!

So I seat myself in a round two-seater in a corner, opposite a gent dipping tandoori roti in greasy curry. A waiter comes and looks. "Kya hai?" I could make out only "Alu Gosht" in his distracted, rushed reading of the menu. So Alu Gosht, tandoori roti ("Kitna?" "Ek") and seekh kabab it was.

The anticipated seekh kabab comes in a small plate with a generous helping of "kuchumber" and mint leaves. I break off a piece - it breaks easily. And the first taste is just awesome. The texture is just right. I can't describe the taste of meat, but this was just the best meat I ate. It was so soft, I almost didn't need to chew. I just let the taste seep in, savouring every morsel.

Apparently the secret of the Sarvi seekh kabab is the use of animal fat for cooking, and turmeric, instead of maida that many restuarants use to economize on the quantity of meat. Just to know the difference, I took home a couple more seekh kababs, and bought another couple from a reputed restuarant in south Mumbai. Sure enough, it was the Sarvi kabab that brought out the full taste of the mutton. It was much softer, even when cold (I live an hour long train journey away!) while the other one had become quite chewy. I'm no chef, but I suspect it's the flour and the oil that makes the difference. But am not sure whether animal fat is healthy :-(

So back to Sarvi. The rest of the food is nothing to write home about. The Alu Gosht was only okay - it was just something to dip the Roti in. I ordered one more seekh kabab. I've also tried a couple of other chicken and mutton curries on later visits. But I'll recommend only the seekh kabab here.

And yes, the atmosphere of old Bombay, at its chaotic best.

My favourite Vada Pav is CTO Vada Pav at Ashok Satam’s stall on the Flora Fountain (Hutatma Chowk) side of the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) in Mumbai.

The Vada is served freshly fried piping hot and is crisp and crunchy on the outside. That’s how a good Vada should be from the outside, nice and crisp, not soft and soggy like most of the fare dished out elsewhere.

The moment you bite the sharp zesty effect of the spices and greens hits you – there is an abundance of tangy greens in the tasty fusion inside: green chillies, coriander, curry patta, ginger-garlic. Don’t chew, just roll your tongue and press the hot stuff against your palate and let it dissolve. You’ll feel stimulated for sure! It’s not only mouth watering; it may be even nose-watering too if you have a delicate tongue. So might as well put the vada in a pav and savor the CTO Vada Pav gazing at the Hutatma Memorial, the Fountain and nice faces in the crowd rushing by towards Churchgate.

Can anyone tell me where I can enjoy a good Vada Pav in Pune? I’ve tasted a few so far, and found them quite soggy and insipid compared to the Mumbai’s ‘CTO Vada’.

VIKRAM KARVE
vikramkarve@sify.com
http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

I can never forget the bowl of “green chilli ice cream” I relished one winter evening on Marine Drive and the zestful taste still lingers on my tongue. Never before had I enjoyed eating ice cream so much. It was indeed a unique gustatory experience. Let me tell you about it.

I love ice cream. One morning a friend of mine told me that there is a place opposite the Mumbai Chowpatty Sea Face that serves “green chilli” ice cream. I didn’t believe him. I have savored myriad flavours of ice cream but “green chilli ice cream” seemed a bit far fetched. On questioning, my friend confessed that he had only heard about it, not eaten it himself.

The very concept of green chilli ice cream whetted my curiosity so much that at sunset I was standing in front of Bachelorr’s (that’s the spelling on the menu card) Ice Cream and Juice Stall, my appetite fully stimulated by a long brisk walk.

It was there on the menu card – Green Chilli Ice Cream. I ordered it and walked with the bowl to a lonely bench nearby to enjoy the eating experience in glorious solitude.

The ice cream looks a creamy pink (not chilli green as I had expected it to be). I close my eyes and smell the ice cream – a nice sweet milky fragrance, a bit fruity; certainly no trace of the piquant penetrating sting of chillies. I spoon a bit on my tongue. My taste buds are smothered by a sweet mellifluous sensation as the cold creamy ice cream starts melting on my tongue. I am disappointed, feel conned – it seems it was just hype. This is run of the mill stuff. Or is it? Wait a moment. As the ice cream melts away I suddenly feel a sharp piercing fiery taste that sizzles my tongue, stings through my nose and penetrates my brain. My tongue is on fire and, like instant firefighting, I instinctively spoon a blob of ice cream onto my tongue. The cool ice cream quenches my burning tongue with its almost ambrosial taste but the moment it melts away I am zipped like a rocket with the sharp punch of the green chillies.

So that was the art of eating green chilli ice cream. Hot and cold. Burn and quench. Sting and soothe. Contrasting sensations. Like alternating current. Sharp tangy kicks burning through the cool syrupy sweetness till your system is fully perked up. And a trace of the biting flavour of the green chilli remains within me for a long long time as I walk away.

Green chilli ice cream doesn’t satiate – it excites, gives you a “kick”, zests you up. Try it. And let me know if you liked it.

VIKRAM KARVE

vikramkarve@sify.com

http://vikramkarve.sify.com

Some of the best Kakori Kebabs, Mutton Tikkas and Burras I have ever had. Melt in the mouth kebabs. Been there quite a few times but never gone beyond the Mutton Kebabs as they're just incredibly fantastic. Definitely one of the upsides about Delhi is the generally decent mutton but this place just elevates it to another level.

Opens only in the evening from 7ish and closes by 11ish. Go early to avoid missing the Kakori kebabs. Order one of the crispy Parathas and the half decent dal for variety from the meat. But for gods sake focus on the meat and nothing but the meat.

Kapila's Kathi Kababs are legendary in Pune. It is a small kiosk operated from opposite the huge Kapila Bar.

Makes excellent Kathi Kababs and only Kathi Kababs. You can order a double or single which is about 35 or 60 bucks.

If I remember correctly you also have an option of either choosing mutton or 2 or 3 types of chicken. And a choice of cold drink. That's about it.

It's easy to spot Bademiyan. When you turn the corner from the Colaba Causeway, you can faintly smell the aroma of chicken in the tandoor. Turn right again, and you can cruise straight into the restuarant.

First you see the smoke, then the bright lights and the visitors gawking at the cooks. Then you hear the sizzle of meat on tandoor, and by this time, the smoky smell of tandoor already has your tongue salivating in anticipation.

Don't loll around, I humbly suggest. Grab the nearest empty table (they're hard to find; but a ten-buck note pressed into the boy's hands works wonders), and stay put.

Order a Chicken Baida roti (egg-roti stuffed with chicken) first, and then take a look at the rather small menu-card (I wonder why they don't put the prices there!). I'll recommend that you buy Tandoor Chicken Leg, Bheja fry, and a roomali roti to go with it. I'll also suggest that you order a coke or packaged water here.

While the above dishes are the highlights, many people like the chicken roll, which is quite filling. I also like the boti kebab, chicken and mutton seekh kabab, chicken tikka and gurda (kidney) fry. The tangdi kabab is also pretty good.

The portions are not very generous, but filling all the same. The vegetarian menu is not inspiring. This isn't a place for vegetarians.

All dishes are served with tangy green and red sauces and a generous portion of onions. I never touch them - I don't like any other taste interfering with the succulent chicken!

This place is a legend on it's own. It is the only streetside joint in Mumbai city which has been allowed to exist legally - rumour has it that a past police or municipal commissioner was a regular of this place and gave it legal sanction, rather than pack them up in one of those infamous BMC trucks...