Street food in Bombay for the weak-of-sphincter

I like food, and I love Indian food. So from a culinary point of view this Indian lark is very much a match made in heaven.

The Indian diaspora means that everyone from Brick Lane to Bondi is now familiar with traditional foods such as butter chicken, naan and Kingfisher. One food that has – unfortunately – not travelled so well is Indian street food.

Street snacks are a staple in Bombay and one of the most common around these parts is pani puri, a sort of supersized rice bubble stuffed with potato, tamarind chutney and other fillings that’s knocked off in one go. Equally popular is bhel puri, a dish of puffed rice mixed with chutneys, tomato and onion.

I’m lucky that I get to sample these dishes at family get-togethers and my wife does fantastic pani and bhel puri. What I’m yet to partake in is genuine street fare.

My daily walk takes me past a half dozen or so one-man stalls crowded with locals wolfing down a few pani puris before running to jump on a battered red bus rattling its way down the street.

Of course, I don’t join them as neither my nerves nor my constitution are prepared for a possible side order of dysentery.

On more than a few occasions I’ve stopped at the stall outside our apartment, looked at the pani puri, then across the road at the private hospital and thought: “Well, it’s not that far to go. And I could do with losing a few kilos.”

But then I remember my travel insurance and figure it probably doesn’t cover my intestines being colonised by street amoeba. Five-star hotel amoeba are probably fine, although I’m yet to test that theory.

So for the terminally timid wannabe like me it’s a blessing that street food doesn’t always have to be off the street. A number of places in Bombay cater to those who want to partake in the experience but don’t have the intestinal fortitude to get down an dirty with the man on the street.

My local is Chaat Street (ground floor of Crystal Shoppers Paradise, off Linking Road), a fast food joint set amid the fashion stores and restaurants of Bandra. It’s the sort of place where the well-to-do stop by for a bit of “street life” before disappearing back into the shoe stores to do their bit to stimulate the Indian economy.

While it’s outside and technically “on the street”, the clean steel surfaces, printed menus and cash register are a world away from hardcore street stalls with blackened cookware covered in years of accumulated soot and a roaring fire that threatens to engulf the seller at any given moment.

Despite the lack of street cred, it’s great when you want to pop a few pani puris into your mouth and not worry that you’ll wake in the middle of the night saying to yourself “that doesn’t feel right”. Actually, if you do find yourself there, I thoroughly recommend their toasted vegetable and cheese sandwich. It’s more a case of “would you like some sandwich with your cheese?” and I have no idea of the dish’s street lineage, but it’s a must-have.

Of course, in Bombay proper there’s the venerable Swati Snacks near Chowpatty Beach (248 Karai Estate, Tardeo Road), which every travel writer and food reviewer worth their salt will recommend – and they’re right to do so. Another option, if you’re in the Colaba area, is Kailash Prabhat (5 Sheela Mahal), which serves a sublime pav bhaji – a dish of vegetable curry eaten with a bread bun soaked in butter. The concern here is not dysentery, it’s heart disease.

I know that one day I’m going to have to bite the bullet and buy a few snacks from my local seller. Just not today.

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