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Khaane bhi do yaaron…

Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Mouth-watering array Finger foods are high-convenience treats

The intermittent drizzle coinciding with the on-going Chowpatti Mela at hotel D.V. Manor is a message in disguise for grazers and snackers. It tells them to let the inverted food pyramid prescribed by dieticians fly out of the wind ow, fling the BMI chart and scamper to the venue to down plate-fulls of the small bites for an invigorating experience.

To enhance the bona fide warmth of the festival of Indian street flavours, the hotel lobby is transformed into a truly chill-out zone for those who are game to a playful and spirited evening, to feast on the varied robust flavours in a comfortable and unpretentious fashion. Tempting aromas that waft from the kitchen further tease the visitors in a mood for some serious gorging.

“In sync with the inviting weather, we wanted to deviate from the regular practice of throwing food festivals associated with different regions. Besides serving as wonderful appetizers, these bite-size snacks are believed to stimulate the salivary glands and promote digestion,” says Rajesh Berry, the general manager of the hotel, even as you try to resist the delicious pani-puri and quickly scan through other tantalizing flavours on the smorgasbord.

If your child is notoriously picky and fussy, a glorified grazer and a chronic snacker to be precise, then Chowpatti Mela is the place to be at.

As you see people around you quickly popping the light fluffy snack into their mouths and savouring the addictive crunchy sweet-and-sour water, you begin to wonder if comprehending the literal meaning of chat in Hindi (to lick) is a prerequisite for visitors. Licking of the last tasty morsels of food from the plate is so much a part of chat-eating.

“We have whipped up a tangy quick-fix menu to enable people to enjoy the drizzle with sizzling and scrumptious snacks. In this food fare, there is no clanging cutlery, no mess and no frills. No other gourmet food can stimulate your taste buds like the chat items do,” chips in Brijesh Thakur, the gastronomic magician, who is the head chef of the hotel. His wizardry is evident in the manner in which the bites have been packed with spunk and spice. Pani-puri, bhalla chat, masala kachori, rani kachori, batata vada, vada pav, pav bhaji, ragra pattice, kathi roll, jalebi, rabri, falooda, kulfi, kala khatta….phew! You name it, they have it.

Chat is also thought to come from the term chat-pata, which means ‘sweet, tangy, sour and delicious’ and these flavours are meant to be eaten with the hands while standing in the street. “The best thing about chat is that people eat it out of the change in their pocket,” says Neeraja quickly gulping the tiny fluffy puri. “As a child, I would feast on pani-puri on my way to school. The vendor would not mind giving any amount of the khatta pani even if you had eaten the puris only for ten paise,” she reminisces.

“I love the sweet-and-sour flavour of dahi bhallas. It leaves in the mouth a taste which lingers for long,” gushes an excited Sarita, struggling to gobble down a bigger-than-mouth size golgappa dished out in her plate.

Chat, in a way, is a social food that brings people together. Yet another reason for even a calorie-watcher to say jaane bhi do yaaron and savour the spiced water from earthen pots filled in crunchy puris.

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