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Mumbai's best chaat
Whether you fancy spicy and watery, spicy and tangy, or spicy and buttery, these best Mumbai street foods have you covered
Mumbai’s best chaat -- Recommended: Punjab Sweet House paani puri
Paani puri are crisp, spicy water bombs, eaten in a single bite and gulp.
This pan-Indian street food favorite drew a lot of debate among our Best Eats judges for the regional variations it brought to the plate and which they thought was the best.
But when in Mumbai, do as the Mumbaikars do, was the mantra our panel finally adopted.
The dish itself is a simple combination of a crisp, hollowed-out bite-sized puri filled with chickpeas and potatoes and dipped into tamarind water mixed with chilies and chaat masala.
Dripping wet and overflowing with the spicy, flavorful water, you pop it into your mouth and crunch into it all at one go and wait for the explosion of tastes that follows.
Swallow. Repeat. Standing right there on the street side.
“Depending on your spice-handling capacity, it may leave you teary eyed, but it will definitely leave you wanting more,” says Sanjiv Khamgaonkar, Best Eats judge and food blogger. "And after you’re done, drinking the leftover water (paani) in the plate is a tradition."
If you’re worried about contracting typhoid, don't be. The paani puris at Punjab Sweet House are made with mineral water.
As an indication of what we're willing to risk, and why it's so worth it, paani puri off the street makes a fine example.
Dheeraj Arcade, opposite Jude Wine Shop, Pali Naka, Bandra (W); +91 (22) 2640 2221. Open daily 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
