These days there is no good news in the morning papers at all.People are dying – young folks on the battle field somewhere across the ocean, 80s icons dropping dead , our state is on the verge of bankruptcy. the stock market has rendered my 401 K so irrelevant that I will need to work till I am a 150 years old – its a sad, sad way to start the day. My day begins badly and then I mosey over to office, where breakfast is usually a bowl of cold, unnecessarily sugared cereal that usually gets soggy by the time I am done with it. Inevitably, as I am watching the last, drooping flakes of Raisin Bran my mind flies to India and the culinary smorgasbord of non – sweet breakfast choices available there – even on the streets.
img via indobase.com
There is the ubiquitous omelet- pav cart I used to patronize in Mumbai. I would marvel at the way the omelet-walla mixed up eggs, turmeric, finely chopped onions, chillies and a mysterious mix of spices in a stainless steel glass using a fork of indeterminate vintage then dropping the mixture on a sizzling hot tava ( that probably had NEVER been washed!) to create a perfectly browned and fluffy omelet. He folded it into a buttered and sliced”pav” and voila – the perfect breakfast on the go ! If eggs were not your thing early in the morning, the ever obliging Bombay Sandwich guy could provide your choice of : Veggie sandwich, cheese sandwich or Jam sandwich. The Bombay Veggie sandwich is nothing like the inspid Subway version. Spicy green chutney spread on 3 slices of bread ( yup- its a triple decker!), boiled potato, onion, tomato, cucumber,beetroot (!) chopped and spread and finished with the deadly “masala”. Throw in an extra buck and you could get real Amul butter instead of the non-branded goop-y variety.
Of course, no breakfast discussion is complete without mention of the ever-present “Vada pav”.This staple of Mumbai life is available at every street corner. Don’t count calories – a spicy potato “vada” deep fried and served in a Pav that is liberally sprinkled with garlic chutney - the McDonald’s burger should blush with shame. Like everything else in India, the humble vada pav is also politicized now with the Shiv Sena threatening to rebrand it and launch the “Shiv vada”
In New Delhi, the street food varies per season. Winter time offers “sweet potato chaat”. Charred sweet potato chunks cut and mixed with lime and masala. Yummy! Or else partake of boiled eggs offered up by young street vendors – buy one and they will expertly slice the egg using a thread ! Summer offers cool, cut fruit or slices of fresh coconut – eat at your own risk – as with all street food!
In Gujarat, I discovered the joys of the street-side “poha” ( flattened rice)vendor. The Gujarati version of this dish ( unlike the Maharashtrian one) is a plate piled high with yellow flakes of poha cooked without onions in a spluttering of mustard seeds, turmeric, salt and curry leaves and topped with crunchy “sev” and sweet flakes of coconut.
And of course , its not just in Chennai that you can start your day with a crispy Dosa straight off the tava of the Dosa man. He also offers idlis and vadas served in heaping bowls of spicy sambar , with dollops of coconut chutney.
We desis love our savory breakfasts. Kellogs found this out the hard way. Some marketing whiz kid decided that the way to get Indians to eat cereal is to launch a marketing campaign sneering at Indian food choices like Parathas. Big mistake. Lots of money and negligible sales later, Kellog humbly relaunched its ad campaign to push it as a healthy supplement to the standard desi breakfast. You cannot insult our “poori bhajis” and expect us to buy your product. Somethings are sacred!
With the economy the way it is, everyone is thinking of second careers. Out here in San Francisco the Creme Brulee Cart has inspired me, What if I quit the drudgery of my 9 to 5 cubicle existence and invest in a desi breakfast cart? As purveyor of poha, dosa and maybe vada pav I may be the one bright spot in at least the desi morning ! What do you think,would you buy ?
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