14 Ways Mumbai Enjoys Its Love Affair With Pav

Rutu Ladage
Rutu Ladage
Updated on Mar 23, 2015, 12:00 IST-2.3 K Shares
pav

The ubiquitous pav has become as much a part of Mumbai's culture as the local trains and the beaches. Just utter the word 'pav' and a range of delicious food items flash through your mind right from the humble vada-pav to the more sophisticated Indianised garlic pav. If you've stepped into Mumbai for even a moment, there's absolutely no escaping the sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, 8-laadi or 6-laadi pav.

Pav

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This humble form of bread which ingrained itself into Mumbai's heart has many stories behind its origin. While the pav is today an integral part of the Indian diet, it is predominantly not Indian. It was introduced to the country by the Portuguese who called the fluffy bread 'pao' with a nasal twang. However, there are also other theories which say that the bread is called 'pav' because bakers kneaded the dough with their feet (pav in Hindi) instead of hands. There's another one which says that each piece resembles one-fourth of a square and in Marathi, one-fourth is called pav, and so the bread is called 'pav'! But as Shakespeare said, 'what lies in a name?'. We are just happy we get to relish this at all odd hours of the day and night!

As Mumbai's love affair with the humble bread continues, let's take a look at how the bread ingrained itself in every Mumbaikar's life, from the roadside workers to the white collared middle-class junta.

1. It all begins with the ever-present Indian burger, the Vada-Pav.

While many from North and South India turn up their nose at this amazing offering, the Vada Pav is Mumbai's food staple. You'll see Vada-Pav stalls lined up at every street corner and this is the one dish you can relish as breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner. Vada Pav is believed to have been created by an Ashok Vaidya who sold street food from a stall beside Dadar railway station in Mumbai in 1971. The makers of pav probably approached him with some marketing plan or whatever, but we cannot thank him enough for trying out the bizarre but yet so yummy combination! The Indian burger is every Mumbaikar's favourite and if you're ever in Mumbai, you simply cannot leave without eating a Vada Pav. The best place to eat? There just isn't one. Go to any small roadside stall and hog.

Vada Pav

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2. The jealous sibling of the batata-vada, samosa wanted its own pav variant and thus, Samosa Pav was born!

This evolved as an alternative to Vada Pav and mainly because the samosa started getting jealous with all the attention the batata vada was getting. Honestly, it is not as popular as vada pav, and not even half as tasty. But if you're ever in need of a quick food fix and are unsure about the taste of the samosa, have a samosa pav as it might somehow make the samosa more palatable. Oh, and the dried red garlic/chilli power with green chutney and a dash of sweet chutney make it absolutely delicious to eat! You might scrunch up your noses if I tell you this but the "bestest" samosa pav in the world is the one you get at your Mumbai local railway station food stalls. Or in school/college canteens. I swear.

Samosa Pav

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3. Then, to add some more variants to the pav-stuffed-with-fried-savouries variety, Bhajji Pav came into existence.

The first drop of rain hasn't touched the earth and the Mumbaikar will already be out at the nearest stall for some kanda bhajji and chai. And then, some adventurous souls who probably had yeast and maida running in their veins instead of blood decided to stuff their share of bhajjis inside a pav and thus, bhajji pav was born! Well, we can speculate, can't we? But yes, the bhajji pav (especially the kanda bhajji and mirchi bhajji variants) is extremely popular today. And if the bhajjis are piping hot, all the better. Go to any vada-pav stall and if you see the vendor frying hot bhajjis, just grab a few kanda bhajji variants and ask him to make it into a bhajji pav. Stuff the pav up, get a salted mirchi and you're set!

Bhajji Pav

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4. Pav Bhaji is the second best thing that happened to humanity. First best? Pav obviously!

This dish has an interesting history. Mumbai was originally full of mills and the labour class. The workers had very short lunch breaks and the time was not enough to sit down and complete lunch. On the other hand, they couldn't eat something very heavy quickly as it would make them lethargic and slow down their work. So, the pav bhaji was devised by roadside vendors. It is actually an extremely healthy dish, although today it is categorised as fast food with dollops of butter. Initially, the bhaji was just a mash of multiple vegetables spiced up to add flavour and accompanied with pav. It was filling and healthy. We aren't really complaining about the butter today though. If you can see the butter dripping from the pav, nothing like it! There are hundreds of variants of pav bhaji available today right from cheese pav bhaji to Chinese pav bhaji. Though there are hundreds of stalls in Mumbai, places like Sardar Pav Bhaji (Tardeo), Achija (Ghatkopar), Cannon Pav Bhaji (CST) and Maruti Pav Bhaji (Vile Parle) are considered to be the best places for the dish.

Pav Bhaji

5. And because the bhaji was sometimes too much to finish with 2 pavs, Masala Pav came into being as a quick-fix for hunger pangs.

Not many who live in Mumbai even know that there is an entirely new variety of pav that revolves as a cross between a pav bhaji and an Indianised salsa version. Masala pav is not what you get with pav bhaji where the pav is fried in spices added to butter instead of plain butter. Masala pav is a complete meal in itself where 2 pavs are dunked into a mix of potatoes and onions finely diced and slightly sauteed with spices, coriander and sometimes pav-bhaji masala. It's taste is very different to that of pav bhaji and is more of a quick-fix than a complete meal. The pav is just as liberally buttered though. A lot of places experiment with masala pav when it comes to taste but the best masala pav you can get in Mumbai is at D.P's restaurant (Matunga). Just try it once and you might find you prefer this to pav bhaji!

Masala Pav

6. The poor Mumbaikar's pasta, Misal Pav is every Maharashtrian's nirvana.

A predominantly Maharashtrian dish, Misal Pav is basically made from matki lentils and chilly powder gravy poured over cooked lentils. The mixture is then topped with some batata-chivda and sev is also added at times. Though the dish was famous in other parts of Maharashtra than Mumbai, Mumbai has given its own variant to the misal pav. The misal pav available widely in most office canteens, roadside stalls and centres is not the original version but a version which substitutes the lentils with white peas or chick peas, oily spicy water and thick sev or gathiya. But then, as long as they have pav to wash it down with, all iz well.

Though Mamledar Kacheri was undoubtedly THE place to visit for a true Misal Pav experience in Mumbai, it is now shut. Aaswad restaurant (Dadar) or Jai Hind (Lower Parel) are good alternatives for a misal pav experience.

misal pav

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7. For the health conscious and spice conscious, the Usal Pav often replaces Misal Pav.

Usal or Ussal is simply the lentils of the misal without the spicy gravy and the crispy additions. Usal is preferred by those who have issues digesting the spicy misal. Though not as widely loved as misal, usal is a healthy alternative. However, be it Usal or Misal, it is the pav that makes it truly appetising and a complete meal! Usal Pav can be relished at the same places where good misal is served. However, not many places offer plain usal and the taste of the usal needs to be extremely good for the dish to be exciting, as a bland usal can take away the fun of eating a usal pav.

Usal Pav

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8. A perfect breakfast dish, Bhurji Pav is filling and healthy.

A breakfast recipe for all egg lovers, bhurji pav combines the best of spicy bhurji with pav. The dish was introduced by Parsis to Mumbai and Mumbaikars fell in love with it. The one dish that often satiates the midnight cravings of many, Anda Bhurji began to soon be served with a pav because, well, anything eaten without a pav in Mumbai is just so incomplete! Bhurji Pav is basically scrambled eggs but more spices are added to the bhurji and the pav helps in cutting the spice at times. Khurshid Bhurji (Vile Parle) is one of the most famous Bhurji Pav centres in Mumbai.

Bhurji Pav

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9. Another egg variant, Omelette Pav is just as popular!

The omelette is a complete meal by itself. You do not really need anything to go with it. But Mumbaikars and their love for pav didn't spare even the omlette. Soon, people were stuffing omelettes into pav, adding a chilli to it and then biting into this weird sandwich. But then, it tastes just as yummy. This version of omelettes is also preferred by foreigners as their weak stomachs for spicy Indian food sometimes find relief in the blandness provided by pav as it cuts down the spicy taste caused thanks to the liberal addition of green chillies to Indian omelettes. The best and tastiest Omlette Pav can be eaten at this tiny roadside stall manned by Vijay just outside Churchgate station.

Omelette Pav

10. Hundreds of kheema variants in the city, paired with the humble pav make the Kheema Pav!

There's Irani Kheema and Hyderabadi Kheema. There's even Malabari Kheema and Malvani Kheema. But whatever the type of Kheema you prefer, there's just one accompaniment that makes it perfect - pav. Kheema pav is not very easily available in the city as Mumbai does not really have non-veg stalls or even good restaurants that sell Kheema. But depending on the type of Kheema pav wanted, there are a few options scattered throughout the city.

Kheema Pav

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11. For those who like to keep it simple, Mumbai has Maska Pav in the offering.

This is one dish that is a staple and yet is supremely versatile. The pav of the maska pav is always different, depending on individual tastes. Some like their pav soft, like the one eaten with pav bhaji. Some like it with only the upper crust slightly hardened and soft from the inside. Some like it crisp, like the brun pav or some like it with the sweetish bun pav. To each his own but the pav is neatly sliced with a liberal helping of salted butter applied on each of the slices. A famous treat in Irani cafes, Maska Pav remains a quintessential breakfast dish. Go and visit any Iranian restaurant for a taste of Maska Pav. B Merwan (Grant Road) is one of the oldest and best Iranian establishments in the city.

Maska Pav

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12. And if you like something to gulp down the pav with, there's Chai Pav.

Chai pav is basically having chai or tea with different types of pav. Some like it with their pav toasted or roasted in butter on the pan. Some like it with unroasted pav (like maska pav), some like it buttered, some like to dip it in tea like you do with biscuits. Again, there's a type of pav to suit most demands and chai pav forms a great snack to have at tea-time. Sometimes, there's something added on the pav like simple spices to add some flavour, but that is rare. By and large, most enjoy their tea with plain buttered pav. You don't really need to visit any restaurant to enjoy chai pav. Just brew your perfect concoction at home, get out the laadi pav and enjoy!

Chai Pav

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13. Ragda Pav is another way the city enjoys its pav.

For the world, the minute you say ragda, pattice will immediately follow. But for the Mumbaikar, the tikki or the aloo patty is not mandatory. They can relish the ragda with plain pav and they do! Ragda is a spicy gravy made out of white or yellow peas and has a thick consistency. The pav is generally dipped into the gravy and then eaten. The pav for ragda pav is generally not buttered or roasted. It is eaten plain. Ragda pav can be found at the numerous ragda pattice stalls in the city. 

Ragda Pav

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14. Dabeli, the most unfairly named pav delicacy of the lot.

Now, being a Mumbaikar, I'm actually enraged at this discrimination against the poor dabeli. Everything has pav in it. And Dabeli is essentially pav with a sweet-spicy potato stuffing, roasted in butter and sometimes garnished with sev. So why isn't Dabeli called Aloo Pav or something? So unfair! But such is life and as long as it continues being so tasty, we really don't care. Dabeli is a favourite among Mumbaikars and is at par with sandwiches when it comes to snacks. And what's more, Kapil's Dabeli Corner (Andheri) is in the Limca Book of Records for dishing out the fastest dabeli! Whoa!

Dabeli

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A Mumbaikar's love for pav can't be denied and there are times when the average Mumbaikar replaces everything and anything with pav. While above are some of the most popular items involving pav in the city, they are not all. Depending on people's tastes, there is Pav Pizza (essentially pizza toppings added on pav instead of a pizza base), Garlic Pav (the pav-version of garlic bread), Maggi Pav (using pav to finish off the remaining Maggi gravy), Aloo Tikki Pav (like vada pav but stuffed with spicy aloo tikkis not vadas), etc. 

Pav

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Even India's chef supreme clearly can't resist Pav!

Christians are often racially referred to as "pav" in the country. After looking at Mumbaikar's obsession with bread, we wonder if the moniker needs to be applied slightly differently... And now, while your head is reeling with all the pav imagery, off I go to hog some pav varieties! But if you eat pav in any other way, do drop us a comment and let us know! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An adventure lover and philosopher, her affair with words began at a young age. You can find her scribbling away at all odd hours of the day (and night) and if not with her head buried deep inside a book, she is generally romancing nature or ambling along through the maze of Indian streets. A carefree soul, she truly believes happiness lies within.

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