Indian

Cooking with Raw Bananas


Enjoy the goodness and health of Raw Bananas by including them in your diet. Easily available throughout the year. Here are three delicious and easy recipes to try out.

Stuffed Raw Bananas

Stuffed Raw Bananas

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 Big Raw Bananas
  • ¼ cup coconut
  • 4 green chillies
  • ½ cup coriander leaves
  • ½ tsp. mustard seeds
  • 2 to 3 red chillies
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp. Salt or to taste
  • Half lemon juice

Method

  1. Peel the bananas and soak in water to prevent oxidation and turning black.
  2. Cut the bananas into 2 inch pieces lengthwise. 
  3. Cut each piece into half, halfway down the centre. 
  4. Grind together coconut, green chillies and coriander leaves. 
  5. Mix in salt, turmeric and lemon juice.
  6. Stuff the paste into the bananas. 
  7. Heat 1 tbsp. Oil or ghee and put in mustard seeds and red chillies. 
  8. When the seeds stop popping, put in the bananas. 
  9. Cover tightly and cook till bananas are done. 
  10. Serve hot.

Raw Banana Fry

Raw Banana Fry

Raw Banana Fry

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 Raw Bananas
  • ½ tsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 to 2 tbsp. Vinegar or Lemon juice, or to taste
  • ½ tsp. turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp. chilli powder or to taste
  • 3 to 4 tbsp. rice flour
  • 2 tbsp. corn flour
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ cup curry leaves for garnish
  • Oil for frying

Method

  1. Peel the bananas and soak in water to prevent them turning black.
  2. Slice the Bananas horizontally into thin slices. 
  3. Mix the ginger garlic paste, chilli & turmeric powder, rice flour, corn flour, vinegar and salt and make a thick paste using as much water as required.
  4. Mix the slices with the batter. 
  5. Heat oil for deep frying, when hot reduce flame and fry in small batches till crisp and golden.
  6. Drain on kitchen towel. 
  7. Fry the curry leaves in the hot oil for a minute and remove.
  8. Garnish the fried bananas with the curry leaves and serve as a side with a main meal or with tomato ketchup as a snack or appetizer.

P.S.: The same batter can be used to fry arbi, egg plant, zucchini, bread fruit, potatoes, yam, mushrooms, etc.

Raw Banana Bhaji

Raw Banana Bhaji

Click on the above link for the recipe.

15 Minute Breakfast Recipes


Leftover Dosa Upma

Leftover Dosa Upma

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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A simple and easy upma recipe to use-up leftover dosas, sannas, idlis, etc. Similar Upma can even be made of leftover bread. Transforms into a completely new and delicious dish which you will certainly enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup yogurt
  • 2 cups Dosa, chopped into pieces
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1tsp. urad dal
  • 2 tbsp. coriander, chopped
  • Few curry leaves
  • ¼ tsp. turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp. ghee

Method

  1. Beat the yogurt and add the dosa pieces and set aside. 
  2. Heat a kadai, add the ghee, when hot add the mustard seeds and allow to splutter
  3. Add the urad dal, let it turn lightly brown.
  4. Add the curry leaves and green chillies. 
  5. Saute lightly. 
  6. Add turmeric and the marinated dosa pieces. 
  7. Mix well and heat through. 
  8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
  9. Serve hot for breakfast or as tea-time snack or a mid-morning snack.

Check-out more fifteen minute recipes:-

  1. Vermicelli Upma
  2. Bacon & Eggs
  3. Low Carb Toad in a Hole
  4. Egg Roll
  5. Toad in a Hole
  6. Egg Omlette with Cherry Tomatoes
  7. French Toast
  8. Rava Adai
  9. Poha Upma
Poha Upma

Methi Murgh Fenugreek Chicken


Methi Murgh Fenugreek Chicken

Methi Murgh

  • Servings: 8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 1 Kg. Chicken
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • Salt
  • 2 tbsp.ghee/oil
  • Whole garam masala
  • 5 Green cardamoms
  • 1 black cardamom
  • 5 cloves
  • 1″ cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • A pinch mace (optional)
  • 2 large onions
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2″ ginger
  • 1/2″ ginger juliennes
  • 4 green chillies
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp. coriander powder
  • 1 tsp. red chilli powder
  • 1 cup tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp. fenugreek (kasoori methi)
  • 1/4 cup coriander leaves

Method

  1. Clean, remove the skin and cut chicken into medium pieces or 8 large pieces if you wish.
  2. Whisk yogurt in a large bowl, add salt and leave the chicken in this marinade for at least 30 minutes.
  3. Peel, wash and chop onions.
  4. Peel and chop garlic and ginger.
  5. Remove stems and chop green chillies.
  6. Wash and chop tomatoes.
  7. Clean, wash and chop coriander.
  8. Heat ghee in a pan, add whole garam masala and saute over medium heat until it begins to crackle.
  9. Add onions and saute until golden brown.
  10. Then add chopped ginger, garlic and green chilles, stir for 2 minutes
  11. Dissolve turmeric, coriander powder and red chillies in 1/4 cup water and add.  Stir for 30 seconds.
  12. Now add tomatoes and fry until fat leaves the masala
  13. Add the marinated chicken alongwith the marinade and 3/4 cup water
  14. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked and fat leaves the masala once again.
  15. Adjust the seasoning.
  16. Sprinkle fenugreek, ginger juliennes and coriander.  Cover with a lid.
  17. Seal the pan if desired and keep on low heat for 15 mintues.
  18. Serve with an Indian bread of your choice.

P.S.: Kasoori methi may be replaced with fresh fenugreek.  If using fresh, clean, wash and immerse in salted water for 10 minutes to remove the bitterness.  Drain and add to the marinade.

Mince Jeere Meerem


Mince Jeere Meerem

Mince Jeere Meerem

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 Kg mince (Beef or Lamb)
  • 3 to 4 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 green chillies, chopped
  • 3 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
  • 3 tbsp. Jeere Meerem masala powder
  • 1 cup green peas (or Potatoes, cubed)
  • 1 small cup coriander leaves
  • 1 to 2 tbsp. vinegar
  • ½ tsp. sugar (optional)
  • 2 tbsp. ghee
  • 1½ tsp. Salt or to taste

Method

  1. Heat oil/ghee in a vessel
  2. Fry the chopped onions and green chillies till onions turn slightly brown. 
  3. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for few minutes.
  4. Drain the mince completely and add to the pan with a tsp of salt.
  5. Saute till the mince turns brown and the water completely dries up.  Continue to brown the mince till fat begins to separate.  Do not hasten this step.  The browning of the mince brings out the flavor in the meat.  Should take 10 to 15 minutes.
  6. Once nicely browned, add the jeere merem powder, mix, add two cups of hot water and bring to a boil.
  7. Lower flame and cook on medium for 30 minutes.
  8. Open after 10 to 15 minutes and give it a good stir. 
  9. If water dries up, add some more hot water as per the consistency you desire. 
  10. Add the peas and cook further 10 minutes. 
  11. Add the vinegar and sugar and simmer 5 minutes.
  12. Garnish with coriander leaves.
  13. Serve with Pao or Parathas or Pooris or steamed rice or pulao.

A Typical Konkan Coastal Fish Curry Rice Meal for Four persons cooked in less than 30 minutes


A Typical Konkan Coastal Fish Curry Rice Meal for Four persons cooked in less than 30 minutes (excluding preparation)

To keep it real have used my daily regular utensils 😉 😉

A meal for four persons

  1. Raouns (Rawas, Indian Salmon) Fish Curry
  2. Cabbage Vegetable
  3. Lepo (Sole Tounge Fish) fry
  4. Steamed rice
  5. Mango pickle (homemade)
  1. Rawas/Raouns (Indian Salmon) Fish curry

Ingredients

  • 8 pieces Raouns fish
  • ½ medium onion
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1” pc ginger
  • 1 raw mango
  • 1 tsp. Salt or to taste

To grind to a paste

  • 4 Kashmiri chillies
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp. coriander seeds
  • 6 peppercorns
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 tbsp. coconut powder
  • 2 flakes garlic
  • ½ medium onion

Method

  1. Clean and wash & cut fish.  Apply a little salt and set aside. 
  2. Grind the masala to a smooth paste. 
  3. Slice the onion, green chillies and ginger. 
  4. Wash and peel the raw mango and cut into wedges.
  5. Heat 1 to 2 tbsp. coconut oil and add the sliced onion, green chillies and ginger.  Saute till lightly brown. 
  6. Keep the flame low so the flavors of the onion, chillies and ginger release and give off a nice aroma. 
  7. Add the masala paste, the masala water, raw mango pieces and salt. 
  8. Stir and increase the flame and bring to a boil, simmer till oil appears on the edges. 
  9. Add the fish, stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce flame to medium low and cook for ten minutes. 
  10. When curry is done it will leave fat and appear glossy.
  11. Remove from flame.

P.S.: Same recipe may be used for Pomfret, Gole fish (Hammour), Mandeli (Golden Anchovies), Surmai (Kind Fish).  This curry is called sweet fish curry where chillies are less and coriander seeds are more. Other curries are the amotik (Spicy hot) usually made with Tarle (Sardines), Bangde (Mackerels), Bhing (Herring) Tato (Shark) etc., Green curry with fresh green masala for Pomfret, Fresh Bombay duck, etc. and the Kane  (Lady Fish) where curry to similar to above but Ajwain is added to the masala and onion and garlic are increased. 

2. Cabbage vegetable

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 cups shredded cabbage
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1 small tomato (Optional)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 4 flaked garlic
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
  • 1 tsp. salt or to taste

Method

  1. Shred the cabbage and soak in salted water for few minutes. 
  2. Slice the onion and green chillies, chop the tomato.
  3. Crush the garlic cloves and wash the curry leaves.
  4. Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. 
  5. Add the garlic and curry leaves, followed by the chillies and onion and saute for a minute. 
  6. Add the cabbage and salt, mix.
  7. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes till done.  Do not add any water.
  8. Garnish with fresh coconut.

3. Lepo fry (Sole Tongue fish fry)

Ingredients

  • 8 to 10 Lepo
  • 3 tsp. red chilli powder (or to taste)
  • ½ to 1 tsp. salt (to taste)
  • 2 tbsp. vinegar
  • Rice flour or Rava to coat the fish

Method

  1. To clean the fish, cut the head and pull out the skin from both sides and the intestines.  Wash and leave aside to drain.
  2. Mix the red chilli powder, salt and vinegar to a paste and apply to the fish and marinate for half hour.
  3. Heat some oil to shallow fry the fish. 
  4. Take some rice flour or rava in a plate. 
  5. Roll the fish to coat evenly and fry on medium flame for 5 minutes on each side till crisp.

4. Steamed Rice

  • 1.5 cups basmati rice or boiled rice if you wish
  • 1 tsp. salt
  1. Wash the rice and soak in water for atleast 15 minutes.
  2. Bring water to a boil in a vessel. 
  3. Add the pre-soaked rice, salt and bring to a boil. 
  4. Reduce flame and simmer till rice is tender.  Strain the water. 

Tip: Cook the rice on low flame so the grains remain whole and separate and do not break.

Succulent Kebabs


Kebabs are various grilled or baked meats cooked on skewers or may also be shallow fried on a pan. The meats typically used are lamb which is very common but chicken and beef are also used. Kebabs for vegetarians would include a variety of roasted or grilled paneer or vegetables on skewers or the Hara Bara Kabab.

The meat used for kebabs can be minced or cut in chunks like the Malai Kabab, Chicken Tikka or the Kastoori Kabab.

Here are three additional varieties of kebab using minced lamb/Beef and chicken which includes the delightful seekh kabab! The seekh kebabs are best roasted in an open outdoor grill, but can be roasted in a closed oven as well, as I have done. Besides, due to the Covid-19 lockdown there was no way we could venture outdoors!

  1. The quintessential Seekh Kebab typically made of lamb or beef mince.
Seekh Kebab

2. The Reshmi Kebab made of chicken mince & cashewnut paste

Reshmi Kebab

3. Kebab Jeera – Beef, Lamb or Chicken mince may be used, pan fried and makes an excellent cocktail snack!

Kebab Jeera

Hope you enjoy the variety of Kebabs and don’t forget to rate and comment on the posts and recipes. Stay Safe!

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Cooking with Spinach


Leafy green vegetables are high in nutrients, low in calories, important for skin, hair, bone and overall health, while providing the necessary protein, iron, vitamins and minerals.  It is advisable to incorporate a leafy vegetable daily into our diets for optimum health.  It is also affordable and easy to prepare.

Here are a few easy recipes using spinach:-

  1. Mutton Palak – A delicious non-vegetarian dish using spinach with the least amount of spice, yet full of flavour.
Mutton Palak

2. Hara Bara Kabab – Spinach, Green Peas and Potatoes combined to make the famous Tikkis. Serve as a starter, appetizer or a healthy snack!

Hara Bara Kabab

3. Kashmiri Saag – Spinach cooked with a exorbitant amount of garlic and red chillies, but does not overwhelm the dish, just makes it superbly but mildly spiced with the flavors of garlic.

Kashmiri Saag

4. Dahi Palak – A dish you can throw together in minutes yet turns out delicious. Serve with steamed rice, Khichidi, Pulao or with rotis or any Indian bread.

Dahi Palak

5. Tuna & Braised Onion Salad – A salad which doubles up also as a main course! Just enjoy it with some crusty bread or Pita bread or any Indian bread and your meal is done for the day!!

Tuna & Braised Onion Salad

More ways to cook with leafy vegetables –

Spinach and leafy vegetables can also be cooked using the simple mangalorean ‘Thel Piao” method using green chillies, onion, garlic, a little oil and water and cooking till done and then garnishing with fresh coconut.

Curries like spinach or Valchi Bhaji with prawns, or black-eyed beans are some of popular recipes using leafy vegetables. My recipe for Alun stem with Alasande can be used for these dishes.

The book “Mais Recipes” has the recipes for these dishes.

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Mutton Palak


Mutton Palak

Mutton Palak

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 kg. Mutton
  • 3 bunches fresh spinach or ½ kg. frozen (whole leaf) spinach
  • 1” pc. Ginger
  • 10 cloves garlic
  • Small bunch coriander leaves
  • 4 to 6 green chillies
  • 1 tsp. mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp. fenugreek seeds
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt or to taste
  • 1 tbsp. ghee
  • 2 medium sliced onions
  • 1 medium tomato chopped

Method

  1. Clean and wash mutton, cut into 2” cubes. 
  2. Wash spinach and soak in salted water for 10 minutes, rinse and chop finely.
  3. If using frozen spinach, step 2 is not required. I have used frozen spinach. 
  4. Grind all the ingredients from ginger to salt to a fine paste. 
  5. Heat ghee, fry onions for a couple of minutes till soft. 
  6. Add the paste and fry well for further 2 inutes. 
  7. Add the mutton and saute till it changes color and ghee begins to separate. 
  8. Add sufficient water to cook the mutton till almost done. 
  9. Add the tomato and spinach and continue cooking on low flame till mutton is tender.

P.S.: Same recipe may be made using Chicken.

Hara Bara Kabab


Hara Bara Kabab

Boil potatoes, peel and grate.  Boil the peas and mash coarsely.  Blanch the spinach in salted water, refresh in cold water and squeeze out excess water and chop finely.

Chop ginger, chilles and coriander leaves.  Mix the grated potatoes, peas and spinach with the chillies, ginger, coriander leaves, chaat masala and salt.  Add cornflour for binding. 

Form into patties and deep fry or shallow fry in hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes.

Hara Bara Kabab

  • Servings: 10 -12 Patties
  • Difficulty: Average
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Ingredients

  • 2 large or 4 medium potatoes
  • 1”  ginger, chopped
  • 1 tsp.  chaat masala
  • 1 cup green peas, boiled
  • 1 cup spinach, blanched & chopped finely
  • 4 green chillies
  • Small bunch coriander leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp. Cornflour
  • Oil for frying

Method

  1. Boil potatoes, peel and grate. 
  2. Boil the peas and mash coarsely. 
  3. Blanch the spinach in salted water, refresh in cold water and squeeze out excess water and chop finely.
  4. You may use frozen whole leaf spinach and follow above step.
  5. Chop ginger, chilles and coriander leaves. 
  6. Mix the grated potatoes, peas and spinach with the chillies, ginger, coriander leaves, chaat masala and salt. 
  7. Add cornflour for binding. 
  8. Form into patties and deep fry or shallow fry in hot oil on medium flame, for 3 to 4 minutes.

Musallam Phool Gobi


Extraordinary dishes prepared with ordinary vegetables!!

This recipe has been in my book since I was in school in the early 70’s, which was shared by Irene Vaz. In those days “Dalda” a brand of hydrogenated vegetable oil, was an household name for an affordable ‘ghee’ substitute, made famous by Lintas the company responsible for their advertising. One of their vigorous campaigns was a recipe contest and the winning recipes were published. A must ingredient in every recipe was Dalda! Have your ever seen a recipe calling for ‘Parachute’ rather than ”Coconut Oil’? But with Dalda it was the brand that was made famous rather than the product (vanaspati). Vanaspati is a thick vegetable oil NOT Ghee, but was commonly used instead of ghee.

Musallam Phool Gobi is from this recipe contest. Although I had it since the 70’s I tried it only in the 90’s when we invited two of our friends and their families over for Lunch as their parents were visiting Kuwait. The parents were strict vegetarians and wanting to impress them I prepared this dish, but they didn’t believe that it was home-cooked and kept insisting that it was certainly ordered from a restuarant. So that’s how delicious it turns out!

To prepare Musallam Phool Gobi, clean cauliflower and remove the leaves.  Wash whole flower well and soak it in warm salted water to 10 to 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse. 

Immerse in salted water

Wash and cut tomatoes into fours.  Slice onions finely.  Grind the ingredients from garlic to salt.  Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown, remove and set aside. 

While the onions are frying, take a deep broad vessel and add 2 tbsp. ghee, when hot, add the cardamoms, cinnamon and bay leaves.  Add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook for five minutes.  Then add the whole cauliflower, stem side up. 

Cook on low heat till half done.  Turn over and cook  till tender and light brown.  Do add any water.  Garnish with the browned onions and serve hot with parathas or chapaties or any Indian bread of your choice.

Musallam Phool Gobi

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: Average
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Ingredients

  • 1 medium cauliflower
  • 4 large tomatoes
  • 4 large onions
  • 10 flakes garlic
  • 1” pc ginger
  • ½ tsp. turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp. chilli powder or to taste
  • 1 tbsp. poppy seeds (can be substituted with cashewnuts)
  • 2 tbsp. dry coconut
  • 8 groundnuts
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 tbsp. Ghee
  • 8 cardamoms
  • 1” cinnamon
  • 2 bay leaves

Method

  1. Clean cauliflower and remove the leaves.  Wash whole flower well and soak it in warm salted water to 10 to 15 minutes.  Drain and rinse. 
  2. Wash and cut tomatoes into fours. 
  3. Slice onions finely. 
  4. Grind the ingredients from garlic to salt. 
  5. Heat 2 tbsp. ghee in a pan and fry the onions till golden brown, remove and set aside. 
  6. While the onions are frying, take another deep broad vessel and add 2 tbsp. ghee. When hot, add the cardamoms, cinnamon and bay leaves.
  7. Add the ground paste and fry for a few minutes. 
  8. Add the tomatoes and cook for five minutes. 
  9. Then add the whole cauliflower, stem side up. 
  10. Cook on low heat till half done. 
  11. Turn over and cook  till tender and light brown.  Do not add any water. 
  12. Garnish with the browned onions.
  13. Serve hot with parathas or chapatis or any Indian bread of your choice.

Extraordinary dishes prepared with ordinary vegetables. Also check out Aloo Chutneywale and Imam Bayildi.

Dibba Rotti


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Dibba Rotti… I am so glad I came across this recipe. Didn’t know of this Andhra speciality until I chanced upon it recenly on the net and have already made it a couple of times.

Makes a great breakfast, snack or a meal besides being easy to prepare. All you need is a frying pan! Although the taste seems like a combination of idli and medu vada, you don’t require an idli steamer, idli molds or a medu vada maker. It’s like a huge fried idli! Nice and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Eat as soon as it is made 😉

Would also go perfectly with any curry for lunch or dinner. Try it with chicken or mutton roce curry or sorpatel.

So here’s the video recipe on YouTube..

Dibba Rotti

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Urad Dal
  • 1 Cup Idli Rawa
  • ½ tsp. Cumin seeds
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 to 3 tbsp. Ghee

Wash Urad dal and soak in water for atleast 4 hours.  Wash the idli rawa, drain all the water and set aside.  Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste adding water as required.  Keep the paste thick. Mix the urad dal paste and idli rawa together,  add salt and cumin seeds.  Mix well.  Leave aside for 30 to 45 minutes.  If you wish, you may leave to ferment overnight but not necessary. 

Heat a frying pan, add ghee and when melted, pour 4 to 5 ladles of batter (to a small pan).  If the pan is larger more batter may be required to get the desired thickness.  The above quantity will give you two small dibba rottis or one medium.

Lower heat, cover the Pan and cook 10 to 15 minutes till the underside turns golden brown and crisp.  When the rotti starts leaving the sides and turns brown, flip and cook the other side for 10 to 15 minutes till golden.  Remove to a plate, cut into wedges or squares and serve with Idli Podi, coconut chutney and or anyother chutney of your choice. Would taste great with some sambar too.

How to make Idli Podi, check out this link: https://youtu.be/epSo2X6c2Vw below

Pao-Bhaji – Mumbai’s Iconic Street-Food!


Pao Bhaji – Pav Bhaji

Published: October 22, 2015

Pao-Bhaji (or Pav Bhaji) is a simple potato and tomato dish, made famous on the side streets of the city that never sleeps and loves to eat out.

I can gorge on street-food anytime and my favorite is undoubtedly Pao-Bhaji. In the late 70’s when I used to work at New Marine Lines, behind the Income Tax Office, the office boy would gladly fetch Pao-Bhaji for my lunch on days I did not carry tiffin from home. This happened very often as it gave me an excuse to have this mouth-watering meal.  Those familiar with this area would have tasted this and many other delicious lunch-time options available on the lane leading to cross maidan.  The food-carts now, most certainly upgraded to food stalls.

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