Pav Bhaji
The bread (Pav) + gravy (Bhaji) combo is a bit special. Think chili crab sauce on fried buns – a similar concept, but much cheaper and packed with flavor!
Imagine the world’s best curry with a dollop of butter, onion and lime to add freshness to the party. Then you’ll stumble upon a buttered pan-fried bun that soaks up all the flavors like an efficient sponge, bringing all the goodness to your mouth intact. That’s what makes it a miracle.
We first had it at Novelty Tea House in Chennai, but you can easily find this dish at many street stalls throughout India.
Panipuri
Forget what your mom said about not playing with food. I swear this has to be the most fun Indian street food ever!
You start with a small fried hollow puffed bread ball with a small hole in the top – a “puri”. Then you fill it with chickpeas and paneer mashed potatoes. The final step is to soak the filled puris in “pani” – a five-spice mixture with a rich tamarind chutney. The trick is to hold the whole thing in your mouth so the “pani” doesn’t spill everywhere.
Because pani puris are small and delicious, people tend to eat 8 to 10 pieces in a row. Gathering around the pani puri “walla” (vendor) and munching on the pani puri with the vendor and other “diners” on the streets of India makes the experience even more enjoyable.
Momos
Momos are basically dumplings of Tibetan origin, but imagine being able to choose from a variety of fillings, sauces and even cooking styles! Momos are not so basic no-mo. The possibilities are endless.
During our few days in India, we tried fried potato momos with a strong chili sauce, steamed fine parsnip momos, fried vegetarian momos with masala gravy, sweet and sour chicken momos, pan-fried momos and boiled pork momos.
Without a doubt, the best we tasted was the fried potato momos on the streets of Dharamsala. Understandable, since the town is home to a large Tibetan community and the Dalai Lama.
Momos are so popular that they are not only available at street stalls, but are now in demand at restaurants in food courts and shopping malls. If you don’t try this in India, you’ll get some serious FOMO on MOMO.
Tandoori Chicken
The chicken is soaked in a mixture of yogurt and masala spices and then baked in a cylindrical clay oven called a “tandoor” – hence the name. Not sure if the process is the same in Singapore, but somehow the process we tried in India was certainly more succulent.
Many stalls across India now also call it chicken tikka masala, and it has varying degrees of spice with raw onions, yogurt sauce, and my favorite, mint sauce ? .
If you are in Amritsar, head to Makhan Fish and Chicken restaurant. They are known for their tandoori chicken and fish, but it is quite expensive (by Indian food standards) at around S$8 per person.
Butter Chicken
I just recently discovered that butter chicken is actually tandoori chicken re-cooked in butter curry! (Please forgive me if I’m slow at playing games #suaku).
What I love about butter chicken is the creaminess and saltiness of the curry, the slight hint of heat, and the fact that the re-cooked chicken is so tender (it feels like every piece of chicken is a chicken thigh)!
Of course, the “Naan-thing” is compared to the gravy and bread combination. Buttered chicken is best enjoyed with garlic “naan” (Indian paneer). You’re welcome.
7) Palak Cheese
If you like “naan”, palak paneer is another delicious dish! It leads to gravy.
The “cheeses” are cubes of cheese that taste surprisingly like tofu, only chewier. They are cooked in a “palak”, a smooth and delicious spinach curry. The curry is not spicy. Instead, the spinach gives it a lighter flavor that mixes well with the cream cheese.
But if spinach is not your thing, you can also find masala cheese, butter cheese, Indian cheese, etc., which is also a heavenly combination with “naan”.
