The flavour of Mumbai

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The lane opposite GG Hospital on 100 ft Road (Sixth Main), Indiranagar is known for its cart culture — the chaats, dosas and more importantly, vada pav and pav bhaaji,  which can be found at ‘Mumbai Style Pav Bhaaji’.

Lokesh Gowda, who runs the cart with his wife Radha and friend Somshekhar, worked for 15 years in a Mumbai restaurant before deciding to return to Bangalore to share his passion for food.

“All kinds of people come here — from college kids to auto drivers to professionals. I have regulars who stop and eat every time they pass by and others for whom this is their daily dinner,” says Lokesh, whose entire day goes into keeping his little business alive.

From 11 am to 3 pm, the three cooks gets busy preparing things for the evening and from 4 pm onwards, the focus is on feeding their customers.

The vada pav,  which costs Rs 10, is served with fried green chillies, typical Maharashtrian red chilli powder mixed with garlic and a chutney made of pudina, green chilli and coriander. A plate of pav bhaaji costs Rs 35 and is served with onions. Two extra pav cost
Rs 15.

“On some days, more vada pav are sold while on others, it’s the pav bhaaji. There’s nothing fixed. It’s the same with the pavs themselves. Every day, I get five to six packets with 40 pav each but once in a while, the stock doesn’t run out,” he adds.

It might not be the best option for the weight conscious, given how generously they part with their butter.

“In a day, we use anything from 500 grams to a kilo of butter. That’s where the real taste comes from,” informs Lokesh, adding, “We buy fresh vegetables every morning. All the masalas and chutneys are homemade, including the pav bhaaji garam masala.”

 Other than the food, one can also sip on a cup of chai for Rs five or coffee for Rs
six. Ask Lokesh why he doesn’t add more items to the menu and he replies, “I want to do justice to these two dishes. There aren’t too many places in Bangalore where you get authentic Mumbai street food and that’s why I’m doing this.” ‘Mumbai Style Pav Bhaaji’ is open from 4 pm to 10 pm. For details, call 9036447326.