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Are you even in Mumbai if the aroma of tea from the local chai ki tapri hasn’t lured you? If the stack of fried batata vadas haven't made you want to cheat on your diet? For the longest time in the history, Mumbai has been synonymous with cutting chai and vada pav. While yes, it is the financial capital of the country, the city of tall skyscrapers and state of the art infrastructure- but a huge part of Mumbai is also made up of common, middle-class lodgings. A part where people do not dine in at restaurants as often, instead, they throng the streets to satiate their cravings. And the combination of cutting chai and vada pav seem to be one of the most preferred options among them.
What Is 'Cutting Chai'?
There is no one who understands the frenzy of ‘chai’ as we do. It is arguably India’s most widely consumed beverage. It is however, the unique prefix that has fascinated many a foodies across the world. ‘Cutting chai’, simply put, is half a cup of tea. It is just about enough to rejuvenate you, and is a much economical option too.
The Story of Vada Pav
As a snack, vada pav has two components. The ‘vada’ is a fried dumpling stuffed with spicy potatoes, coated in chickpea flour. The ‘pav’ on the other hand, is just a type of bread. You could call it our very own desi burger, sans veggies, meat and fancy sauces. Vada pav is served with a special dry chutney made of garlic and chillies, a fiery dhaniya chutney, and a green chilli. It is believed that the first ever vada pav was sold by a man named Ashok Vaidya, who had his stall outside the Dadar station. Most mill workers would flock his stall once they were done with their day, and soon this ‘burger-like’ snack became the most popular snack among the working class of Mumbai during 70’s.
23rd August is celebrated as the National Vada Pav Day. And yes, we saw you slurping. Go ahead, indulge.
