Do You Dare? – Street food in India

For years travellers have been warned about the dangers of street food. Anywhere, everywhere, not just India.

”Was that plate washed? – Did you see where he put his hands before serving us? – Why is there a dog licking that bowl? – Was that a rat? – Should this be this colour? – That fridge isn’t a fridge – Is the ice from clean water? – Why is that man being sick? – Please tell me you are carrying loo roll… ”

foodcomp Above: On the street corner versus expensive hotel

Gyp Tum. It was the one thing that could ruin your time on holiday… Delhi Belly, Montezuma’s Revenge, Bombay Botty, you name it. On top of this there was always the lingering worry about hepatitis – often caught [amongst other ways] via dirty cutlery and utensils being not properly washed in the less salubrious joints.

A good café is always well signposted

When I first went to India [yawn] it was 1977, and things were different. Consider that the population was half of the present day, there were no reliable telecommunications, medicine was less precise, and there was no such thing as ‘safe’ water. Imagine that.

Was the Thirst Saviour ever found in soft drinks?

jesus Above a ‘Rare Christ’, looking as though he is surveying remorseful South Americans, not the loin-cloth-clad people of Kerala.

Back to the story: The plastic bottle was still on the horizon and the ability to purify [on a commercial scale] further away still. I used chlorine tablets to make water safe, and they took at least half an hour to change your water from amoebic to ‘potable’. The result was ready-to-drink pool water.

Keeping your insides fit was a full-on occupation even before you had to listen to the drear of others who had successfully been from café to café as recommended in the early editions of the ‘Shoestring’ publications. Tony and Maureen must have got ill?

[Postscript for those who would remember. Tony and Maureen Wheeler went on to found the Lonely Planet publishing empire which they eventually sold in 2011 for $190 million. All that stemming from books on budget travel and dusty hardship – initially in India]

Above: Choice Keralan prawns sitting out to attract diners. But how long have they been there? Are they all from the same batch? What about deveining them?

104elork_1_img_0427p A fantastic choice. Above a 5 star breakfast

In those days people ate in ‘Classy’ joints because they thought they offered an element of sophistication [electricity] but even then, hotel food was unreliable – training staff in basic hygiene, understanding what to do with uneaten food in a refrigerator and general cleanliness were the factors that could ruin your holiday. And they did. Often with temperatures over 40 degrees and no prospect of a good loo, its hardly surprising that in those days most folk buckled at some point.

Back then Westerners were far more conservative about the things they did [ate] when travelling. I remember it well. Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter and Bimbo-style bread were considered ‘safe’! Even backpackers on real low budgets erred on the side of caution – all in a world where reliable drinking water was absent.

1028nthd_1_dscn1611p But really today with so much on offer, wherever you go – shouldn’t you try some?

Our trip gave us that opportunity – Jamie and Dan covered an extra meal each day just from street experimentation.

img_0801 (copy) Above: Unripe Guavas that are sliced and dipped in salt. Not to our liking

b34664a0-e348-4032-b4fd-c33c83cfa019 The vegetable samosa. Great if you know its provenance

Below: ‘Chaat’ a very Northern thing, that centres around these bits n pieces. In another world you’d be forgiven for mentioning the words ‘Rice Krispies’

Chaat Man – A favourite snack in Uttar Pradesh

Above: Stuff that looked like plastic explosive, but was in fact a tasty but chewy mango extract. Not sure what it was meant for apart from chewing?

img_0783 (copy) Chai, Masala Tea, whatever its called is available everywhere and comes in very different flavours according to who makes it. In a clay cup adds to the authenticity

img_0476 (copy) dscn1938p img_0781 (copy) dscn1527 Above: Disposable clayware used in all forms of street catering

Despite not being plastic, the one-use culture still means there are middens of the stuff on many street corners. The clay cannot be reused, but at least its causing no long term harm.

img_0654 (copy) Panipuri is a very popular snack. Here, outside the Gate of India, Dan tries it without knowing what actually went into the watery slurry that is poured into the little Yorkshire Pudding.

img_0837 (copy) Trust it fried. Heat’s gonna sort it…

Battered deep fried chillies. Whole ones, but when were they cooked?

Everywhere we went there was fruit n veg available. On the roadside, in cafes and of course in the market. I can’t think that we ever bought it for the real price, but if you don’t worry about that after the event you’ve lost nothing. Below shopping in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Kerala.

Fruit’s all very well, but to us tourists it’s far more exciting [I think], staring into a street-side tandoori oven, and talking to the maestro in charge of the skewers. We found chefs cooking fish, chicken and all manner of breads. Totally inspirational and of course really very safe to eat.

Above: Tandoori ovens on the street. What could better this? Flavour, immediacy and 60 second service

Below: A life sitting in a small lean-to grading garlic. Nothing else. A specialist if ever there was one…

Bombay Mix Man

He didn’t say it but it was obvious that there’s no such thing as ‘Bombay Mix’ – not in his books at least. Instead there were dozens of similar looking packages all with the playdough worms, red or green peas and of course the teeth-cracking chickpeas.

I suppose we’d lecture him on the difference between ‘Frosties’, ‘Cornflakes’, ‘Puffed Wheat’, ‘Shreddies’, ‘Cubs’, ‘Coco Pops’ et al; if it came to it.

img_0992 (copy) Dhal Fry. A staple we all enjoyed, but beware of the oil and ghee