Thursday, June 28, 2007

#6 Vada PAV


Its been a while since the last blog, blame the excess amount of documentation that am doing in office to fill up my quota of writing.

Better late than never

As I sat down to pen down a blog, in office today, loads of things came to mind that were worth a discussion.
and the winner was VADA PAV's (thanks to the latest trip to city market last weekend)
am wondering why didn't i think of writing bout the vada pav's earlier.

The story says that some time in the 60's or the 70's a mill worker always managed to skip his breakfast to make it on time to his work place (sounds familiar na).
Concerned about his health his mother thought of a new way for him to be able to take his BHAJI (Mashed/diced potatoes mixed with green chillies,ginger and a tadka(tempering) of mustard seeds and turmeric.)and have it on the move.

She made balls of the bhaji dipped them into batter made of gram flour and deep fried them. Thus was born the VADA.
Later came along the pav and so did the Chutney (essentially garlic and red chilli.)

Am not sure if the tale is true or not, but who cares all i know is some smart Maharashtrian cook did magic and stumbled upon what is now the MOST common and exhaustively consumed fast food in Maharashtra.

Well next in line would be the PAV BHAJI and samosas.May be can write more on them next time, this one is all about VADA PAV's.

To think of it, now i cant recollect a single adolescent day when i wouldn't have had them. (barring the religious 8 days of PARYUSHAN when I follow all the rules of Jainism.)
But never did i realize the IMPORTANCE of a vada pav in my daily diet.It is here in Bangalore living alone and surviving on crappy Food court food and Bihari dude'sDUBBA service,
that i realize how much i was dependent on a vada pav to get my daily dose of nutrition.

Skipped Breakfast to reach college on time : have a vada pav in coll canteen and are good to go.
Not feeling Hungry enough to have a full course lunch : Vada pav shall just about fill your tummy to last the time period, after which you can come back to the canteen.
Evening snacks : Vadav Pav and Bhajji Pav, an ideal combination that does not fill you so much as to screw your dinner.
Night time(12 AM - 6:30 AM) : Studying for an exam scheduled tommorrow, need to take a break and are a bit hungry.. just go to the nearest station have a vada pav with a cutting 'CHAI' to rejunivate yourself.

what ever time of the day it might be, it was the ideal grub.

Well here in Bangalore the Vada pavs got replaced with Maggie at office and Idli Sambhar or Khara Bath , not to talk less of these, but they dont quiet give the spice burn and satisfaction
that a vada pav leaves behind.

Have been zealously attempting to hunt down a place where i would get a decent Vada Pav out here in Bangalore.
Considering the sizable population of the Marathi speaking people here down South, the idea of getting a good vada pav wasn't surrealistic.

Calling the initial attempts a CATASTROPHE would be an understatement.

Attempt 1: Bombay special vada pav at some small chat place in a corner on Brigade Road. This place is supposedly famous for its Chats Calcutta style.
Paid 10 bucks for a vada pav with a SWEET pav and vada of the size of a marble.
Was hoping they would balance the size and cost in the TASTE department.
*Munch*

** SPAT**
need i say more.

Attempt 2: About 3 months later got the news of a place in Jayanagar 9th block.
A Maharashtrian style eatery.
I couldn't contain my enthusiasm looking at the menu.
This had to be it. Some place trying to be Maharashtrian to the core cant mess up big time
with the vada pav.
And to an extent it wasnt that disappointing. The lady had put some heart into the vada
preparation but the sweet pav was ruining the taste and the chutney wasnt that great
either.
For a person buying vada pavs at Rs2.50 (early days) and Rs 5 (last time i had it in
mumbai) the Price tag of Rs 10 was too high though.
But it was a vada pav nonetheless.

Attempt 3: 2 more months flew by, and this time i got the news from lets say a bit unexpected
source. The OTHLA (Karthik M V).
It was a weekend and he lead a couple of house trapped frustrated pals Shariq, Shitiz and
Myself to the CITY MARKET.
Was pleasently shocked to see the much hyped City Market, reminded me of the Crawford
market and Walkeshwar locations back home.
Walked for about 15 - 20 mins via the small creepy lanes of the market and made our way
to the BOMBAY VADA PAV centre.
How should i describe those..

"Registaan ke pyaase ko chilled beer mili thi"

Not only was the pav normal (Not Sweet) but they also served fried green chilli with it.
My Joy knew no bounds as three of us started hogging one vada pav after the other. Shitiz
didn't seem that interested in them dispite the fact he has spent last 4 yrs in Maharashtra,
guess its something to do with this NO SPICE mantra.

Attempt 4: This small eatery in J.P.Nagar was brought to my notice by dad's pal who's been in
Bangalore since a long time now.
Well over all the place wasnt bad, the food they served pretty much had the mumbai taste
to it. Coming to the point the Vada pav was GOOD.
Not as good as the one i had in City Market, but considering the proximity to the house and
a nice balance of the taste, this one seemes to be a good bet.

For somebody from Mumbai where i could locate at least 2 vada pav stalls on every main road, this count of 4 that too spread all over Bangalore seems a bit awkward.

Guess this is one of the price i have to pay to stay away from "AMCHI MUMBAI"

A vada pav which once was a staple daily food item has now become a ONCE IN A WHILE delicacy for me.

7 comments:

Karthik said...

Dude shows ur love for food. But i didnt get the fact that you thought i was an unexpected source ? Were you talking bout ME? Havent you seen how Shariq and me hog? What say mota bhai?

Rohit Ranganathan said...

Dude
I need to know the last 2 places(city market and jp wala)
try sabudana vada @ rajvardhan i.e ur jaya nagar place
Is expensive but quite good
Theres also one @ sajjanrao circle near Basavangudi
carges 6 bucks and a marble will surely be bigger than the Vada

Till then Happy Vada Pav hunting

Shariq said...

sahi hai bidu......kya likha hai dost..hila kar rakh diya...
very rightly said abotu VADA PAV...although i am not from MUMBAI, i still loved the vada pava and the pav bhaji..awesome..i just wish now that someday i get a chance to eat the real vada pav of aamchi mumbai :)

Ann M said...

vada pav n the mumbaikar..! well i still havnt made that trip to chikpet with u guys.!
n dude sound like a connoisseur of vada pav.! :)

Bhargav said...

Dude, this comment is directed at othla - Where exactly in KR market do you get this vada pav??? Have never heard of this place.. Directions please...
And Kaushal, there are quite a few restaurants near JP Nagar where you get Vada Pav...I've never tried them thought..You could try them and tell me if you are alive...

Guru De Fundae said...

Nice blog dude.....
I tried to search a lot for Vadapav in Bangalore (4-5 yrs) but could not found any except on Brigade road. The places you have mentioned are worth visiting.....may be during my next visit/stay in Bangalore.

Njoy Bangalore Vadapavs...
Guru

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