Re: INTERESTING LIVES and INTERESTING FACTS
Red-hot bhelpuri
If you grew up in Karachi and have visited Saddar you couldn't have missed the little shop outside Bohri Bazaar on Dr Daudpota Road, opposite the Tit Bit Bookstall (I purchased hundreds of comic books from this book store) and the Parsi Temple. This is the Sailani Bhelpuri and Chaat Shop which has been around for 54 years or so, the shop-owner Abdur Rehman proudly told me as he handed me my a plate of crunchy, tangy bhelpuri.
From this tiny Saddar shop, the popular snack of Gujrati origin has gone upscale to reach stylish chaat shops in Defence and Clifton, and even the high-tea menus of five-star hotels. So what is so special about bhelpuri?
It enjoys an iconic status in Western India. While for some it is synonymous with Mumbai beaches; others swear that the best version comes from Gujrati food outlets in Southall, Tooting or Wembley in London, or Chowpatty in Mumbai. But in Karachi the best bhelpuri, in its most original version, is available at Sailani's in Saddar.
Thai and Mexican food is considered fiery hot and spicy, but, perhaps, not for us in the subcontinent because the hottest fare is available right here on the streets of any city and town in the subcontinent. Bhelpuri is the ideal stuff for someone looking for absolute taste and fast food at an affordable price.The wonderful mix of sev, papri, puffed rice, a dash of spicy green sauce, with spoonfuls of tangy tamarind and date sauce, finely-chopped onions and coriander, and an optional helping of red-hot spicy cubed-masala potatoes, toss and turn and the concoction is heavenly.
In the days when people went either to Tariq Road or Saddar to buy almost anything and everything, I remember childhood trips to Bohri Bazaar with my mother to buy unstitched cloth, cosmetics, pots and pans, or to exchange comics at Tit Bits Bookstall, my reward in the end would be a trip to the bhelpuri shop. To kill the fiery spice, a chilled soft drink would be the ultimate treat. Holding the small steel plate and shovelling spoonfuls into my mouth, I would look around at other people squeezed on a little two-seater placed in an L shape with a three-seater. While women and girls would squeeze in the tiny little seating area, surprisingly I would notice several men stopping for a plate of bhelpuri which they would eat even if they had to stand on the pavement under the blazing hot sun.
Bhelpuri is served fast, is low in fat, nutritious and delicious. What more could you ask for?
The man concocting one plateful after another and handing them out to customers would hardly ever get a plate back for requests of more chutney, which always fascinated me that he must be so deft and his mixing of the various ingredients so perfect, which makes the bhelpuri as delicious as possible.
Perhaps a bit like Thai food, bhelpuri has a combination of flavours and textures: sweet and sour, spicy and crunchy, tangy and soft. The flavours in bhelpuri essentially come from the green and red sauces that liberally coat the papri, sev and puffed rice somewhat like a salad dressing. The spicy green sauce has green chilli, coriander mainly, and other mysterious ingredients that Abdur Rehman keeps mum about, while the tangy red chutney is on the sweeter side as it has dates, tamarind, red chilli, molasses, cumin and more magic ingredients that are a secret part of his successful recipe.
It is not just the taste but a play of textures as well. Crunch is the vital part. You cannot enjoy a soggy plate of bhelpuri that has been sitting around for a while. It has to be mixed together and eaten right away. You have the crunchy papri, sev and chewy puffed rice in contrast with the soft waxy potatoes and then the addition of fresh onion and coriander. The final blend of all the flavours certainly depends on the freshness of ingredients. One stale ingredient like a day-old papri or puffed rice or over-fried sev and the taste will be destroyed.
The next time that you feel like having bhelpuri, go for the real stuff in Saddar. If you don't find a seat in the tiny little shop, you can take it home in the half-kg or one-kg packs available, just mix it all up and enjoy a wonderful treat.