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At 3.46 a.m., there is a surge of humanity on the railway platform at Virar station as the first set of bogies rumble on their cast iron wheels headed for Churchgate. The local coaches are full, and the passengers are hungry as most of them have not had breakfast yet.
While 3.45 locals pass out in the hustle and bustle, platforms at the railway station and further stations are already alive with the sound of chulhas for making tea and heating oil for frying and aluminum and cast iron utensils. are. Carrying loaves of bread, cyclists descend on stalls at stations where the classic Mumbai breakfast of misal pav, omelet pav and vada pav is being prepared.
Breakfast on the streets of Mumbai, be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian, is packed with onions, chillies and spices, unlike anywhere else in the world. And the most stormy of them is Misal Pav. It is an extremely robust combination of deep-fried ‘sev-ganthiya’, which is soaked in a soup-gravy made of mung beans, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, ginger-garlic, garam masala, and (traditionally) coconut. Pour hot red oily cut, tarri or rasa on top and garnish with chopped onions and coriander. Most Mumbaikars want their misal-pav to kick you backwards with their fire and make your eyes and nose water. Step on any railway platform in Thakurdwara or Vinay Health Home or Anand Bhuvan Hotel, Lower Parel or the many newly opened misal joints in the city like House of Misal or Martanda Misal and it is a breakfast that wakes up most weary travelers in the morning .
It will not be long before the sun’s rays fall on the buildings and the sounds of frying, shaking and snapping begin in the morning air. Mumbai is waking up and really hungry. With batata vada to fry in bread for vada pav, and an omelet filled with flat peppers and onions, a new phenomenon is the kanda batata poha and sabudana khichdi made by local women and found in almost every corner of the old parts of the city. is sold. Dadar, Parel, Mahim, Prabhadevi and Worli. Women from nearby ‘chawls’, who need to supplement their family income, have started using their culinary skills to build businesses. Kanda Poha, soft flattened rice cooked in a mixture of spices, onions and potatoes, and sabudana khichdi, cooked sago pearls with green chillies, cumin, potatoes and peanuts. For those with a sweet tooth, Meetha Sheera, Suji Ka Halwa is a much accepted snack which is also made by these enterprising housewives.
At the posh end of the city, pedestrians, cyclists and the elderly have come out to welcome the first light. These thirsty Heath Freaks, mini vans parked by the sea on Worli and Carter Road, sell all kinds of fruit and vegetable juices.
But as a Mumbaikar, and dare I an Indian, there is no better way to satisfy this morning’s hunger than with a wonderfully spiced breakfast.
Next in the line of spicy snacks is Keema Pav. My favorite mince pav for breakfast will always be Olympia in Colaba. Hugely popular for its biryani, which is honestly awesome, Olympia’s Keema Pav is a really great breakfast though. It is cooked in green spices, with the tremendous flavor of green chillies, coriander, onions and whole spices. It arrives on the table piping hot with a thin film of oil, and on an indulgent morning, you should ask them to top the sunny side up with a fried egg. Wipe the pale yellow yolk and green mince with hot pav and it is breakfast for the gods, but hurry up, as there is nothing left after 9:30 in the morning.
Of course, Udupi restaurants in Mumbai open very early in the morning, especially in Matunga, Mumbai’s mini-south India. The breakfast queue at Madras Cafe is longer than its substantial menu. Pesarattu Dosa, Bisibilli Bhaat, Ragi Masala Dosa, Malgapudi, Idli Podi, Rasam Idli and above all Filter Coffee.
I never understood how we all eat deep fried food for breakfast. That big crispy fried poori with samosas, kachoris, chole bhature, or even a bowl of lentils called Sindhi Dal Pakan is served with chopped onions and chutney. For those who are unaware, Dal Pakan is made from all purpose flour and deep fried, crispy and golden brown in color and is similar to the outer layer of Punjabi Samosa or Kachori. Lentils are yellow and straight. Made from mashed Bengal-gram and spiced with turmeric, hing, cumin and sometimes green chillies. Dal Pakwan is always served with a green chutney made of fresh coriander and chillies and a sweet chutney of tamarind and jaggery, and then garnished with finely chopped, raw, red onions.
For me, though, I don’t get more pleasure than walking into an old Iranian joint, and sipping a plate of a sweet bun smeared with butter, a cup of Irani tea, dipping bread in tea, and watching the city wake up. around us.
Kunal Vijaykar is a food writer based in Mumbai. He tweets @kunalvijayakar and can be followed on Instagram @kunalvijayakar. What is the name of his youtube channel? The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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