Ulhasnagar is a busy city in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region that has the largest Sindhi population in the country. Today's episode takes you on a fun veg street food tour across the city that we had undertaken with our star hosts Chef Jyoti and Chef Alka.
First we went to Harish Dal Sandwich in Khemani for Dal Sandwich, a unique Sindhi snack that consists of pan grilled veggie sandwich topped with lightly seasoned moong dal and chutney. The dal used has a creamy and comforting consistency which softens the bread sandwich.
From there we went to a nearby eatery to try the local favourite Patate and Been ji tikki that Alka ji had brought for us. The first one was made of a chunk of lotus stem while the second one was made of spiced potato mixture. Jyoti suggested we try it with a pav and the combo turned out to be great.
Next we stopped by Adaa Faluda Ice Cream in Zaveri Bazaar to taste some of their milk based treats. Since Ganesh Utsav was round the corner, some pretty mawa modak were on display but we settled for mango flavoured kharvas or Sindhi pis. This cow colostrum milk based sweet had an intense mango flavour and a jelly like consistency.
From there we reached Lalomal Acharwala on Siru Chowk. This old shop is a one stop shop for the everyday stuff that is indispensable in a Sindhi household like achar, papad, masale etc. To our surprise, one of their hot selling things is the fresh coriander mint chutney that people buy to pair along with their fried snacks. They make 10 kgs of it daily.
Next we went to the Mata Temple in Zaveri Bazaar for darshan and also for the Tuesday special lolo prasad. It is a thick pan fried flatbread made of whole wheat flour.
From there we went to Kachomal sweets, a very famous sweet shop in Ulhasnagar only to be welcomed by the sight of colourful mawa modak. But we were here for Singar Ji Mitha. We tried a few variations of this unsalted sev based traditional sweet among which the classic khoya one seemed the best. Jyoti also introduced us to some household sweet snacks that are common during any occasion.
After this we reached A1 Panipuri shop Japani Bazaar for Sindhi Pani Puri. Compared to its Northern counterparts, the stuffing of this pani puri was simply a mildly seasoned potato-boondi mixture. We also tried a plate of dahi mirchi which was essentially a mirchi fritter chaat that was not overwhelmingly zesty.
Soon after we gulped down a refreshing chai with some homemade koki that Alka ji had brought for us. It is a classic Sindhi combo.
Our next stop was Kishore Pattieswala in Sidhi Vinayak Nagar. We were here for pattice chole bus as we were late and it had got over. So we settled for chola dabal. Soft pav chunks dunked in spicy chole and chutney felt like a perfect evening snack.
Next was the turn of butter papdi at Jai Mata di Butter Papdi Wale at Sidhi Vinayak Nagar. This dish was the highlight of this food tour since we have never tried anything like this before. It consists of small bread pieces dunked in tamarind and coriander mint green chillies flavoured chilled water. We simply loved its simple, refreshing and zesty taste.
Finally we ended the tour with a loaded German Falooda at Asha Ice Cream Falooda. The interesting component of this fusion dessert was fruit and chocolate jelly. Ulhasnagar veg street food experience was quite a delightful one.