Street-style & desi

Our own self-styled street eats, sizzling with tongue-tickling flavours, are perhaps the best treats that could be offered to our craving taste buds, writes Renuka Krishnaraja

We might have come a long way from grasping the rhyme and rhythm of ‘hot cross buns’ to acquiring the palate for big juicy burgers. Yet, after all, our affinity towards lending a desi touch to exotic cuisine is not new-found at all. This is why we can find Indian versions of pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and other popular and interesting dishes, especially so in our bustling gullis and familiar nukkads. The classic recipes are all in fact delightful and appetising.

At the same time, our own self-styled street eats, sizzling with tongue-tickling flavours, are perhaps the best treats that could be offered to our craving taste buds. Street foods are the creative reinventions of small-time chefs and have become a part of our local culture. The sight and smells of roadside stalls can be overpowering and given our nation’s diversity, street styles would certainly come with myriad regional variations. Here are some of the well-known desi burgers beginning right from home. Bun nippat masala is a pocket-friendly snack coming from the streets of namma Bengaluru, although it is served in a few places. Here, the burger gets an exciting desi twist as a crunchy spicy nippat substitutes for the patty and lip-smacking chutneys take over the sauces. Finely chopped veggies and herbs further enhance the taste and texture.

Peanut masala bun is an equally preferred variant wherein the local speciality, Congress kadlekai is used instead of the nippat. The crunch of the bun nippat brings back fond memories of the so-called ‘bun chips’ that were the steady bestseller of our school canteen in Agra. Our simple yet favourite mid-morning
snack came with thick and spicy roasted potato wafers stuffed in between buttered bun slices. After school days, I don’t remember having it anywhere else though.

The dearly famous vada pav from the Chowpatty of Mumbai is also tagged as Bombay burger since the basic concept of batata vada going within the sliced bun remains the same. How about a street-style tava burger that is quite different from the regular one? In this, a masaledar cheesy buttery stuffing is wedged within the soft sesame bun and that would be tava fried with generous dollops of butter, again infused with herbs and spices. Flavours inside as well as outside; so tempting isn’t it?

That’s what you call a wholesome desi makeover. Also, there are many options to choose from — tava cheese burger, tava paneer burger, spicy bean burger and many more. As it is, hill stations are revered for their cold weather and hot cuisine. Bun tikki from the lanes of Dehradun is another instance of an Indianised burger in which super crispy aloo tikki is sandwiched between the halves of a mini burger bun with chutney spread and onion and tomato slices.

Masala egg bun is yet another sought-after street food wherein spicy egg omelette is placed between the soft bun layers. And if you love flaky multi-layered stuff, then the soft bun parotta from the streets of Madurai is a must-try. Served with a delicious curry, it seems like a unique blend of bun and Kerala parotta. Indeed, street-style burgers are all incredibly satiating to the tummy as well as the taste buds. It’s said that happiness lies in simple things. How true!