Mama Kane's Swatcha Upahar Gruha

- by Deepa Krishnan

Established in 1910, Mama Kane is one of Dadar's old names. The founder, Narayan Vishnu Kane, and his widowed sister, worked very hard to establish this eatery.

A lot of Konkanastha Brahmins / Gaud Saraswat Brahmins worked in this eatery. In fact, the original name was Dakshini Brahmananche Swacha Uphargriha, indicating this little eatery's roots in the cuisine of the Brahmins of southern Maharashtra. But it was more popularly known as Mama Kane, as this is how the founder was called.

Mama Kane died during the second world war; and I read a blog which said that family and employees had to wait at Shivaji Park crematorium till sunrise as cremation was forbidden at night due to Black Out.

This restaurant was one of the earliest in Mumbai to put batata-vada on the menu. I enjoy the simple thali when I go to Dadar flower market. I also enjoy the kothimbir vadi a lot. The nicest thing about Mama Kane is that it is large, with high ceilings and I feel instantly like I have entered a time warp.

Here is the old fashioned billing counter, and various delicacies which they sell at the counter.

Delicacies include Poha chivda, Phulavlela Chivda, Anarase, Karanji, Chikki, Aaavla, Paakateel Chirote, etc.

By the way, I also love Mama Kane because they won't serve you new-fangled things like Pepsi or Coke :) They have their own menu of "thanda pey" (cold drinks and sherbets), and I highly recommend you try those to cool down this summer!

Spotted: Alibaug Che Gaavti Kadve Vaal

- By Deepa Krishnan

I was walking in BB Dadar today, when I spotted this stall opposite Girgaon Panche Depot. A temporary shop had been set up for the evening, using an upturned fruit crate.

The board says: Alibaug che gaavti kadwe vaal yethey milteel. Bitter field beans, from Alibaug, sold here. The word 'gavti' means rustic. Alibaug is known for these beans.

Vaal are soaked overnight, sprouted, and then the brown covering is peeled to reveal a white inner bean that is slightly bitter. A long-winded process, but there are whole armies of Maharashtrian people who love vaal and think nothing of the effort.

Vaal is used to make various dishes, but one of the most popular ones is valache birde. It's a sort of gravy curry with garlic, chillies, coconut, kokum and spices. Super yummy with hot chappatis. The CKP-style vaalache birde is well known; so if you know someone who is from the CKP community, try and get an invitation for a home-cooked meal :)

My friend Shekhar owns a farm, and they have a tradition of "popti", which is a sort of village style barbecue in an earthern pot. A fire is made with dry coconut fronds, placed upside down. Vaal and various other leguminous pods, pieces of chicken or meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and special edible leaves are placed in an earthern pot. The mouth of the pot is blocked with a set of leaves, from the almond tree, and the pot is placed upside down on the fire. Shekhar says "Its a heady meal goes down very well with beer deep into the cold night on a farm" :)

Where to go for thin crust pizza in Shivaji Park

- By Deepa Krishnan

Shivaji Park finally got a nice place for super-thin crust pizza. Terttulia actually opened last year sometime in the monsoons. But I only made it there yesterday, when Vinita came to the office and we decided to go for an impromptu girl's lunch. 

The pizza was called Terttulia-aah! and it was excellent. Lots of arugula, just the way I like it.

The lavash was also wafer thin and crisp, and the mezze dips were pretty good too. In the photo below, there are 4 dips - hummus, tzaziki (sp?), mushroom pate and olive tapenade.

Will go back again for certain. Very laid back and nice on a weekday afternoon. Vinita lives nearby and she tells me weekends are super-busy. So if you are going Sat/Sun, please call ahead and reserve.

Inside-Out Vada Pav at Dadar

- By Deepa Krishnan

If you walk from Dadar Station to Hindmata, you'll come across this little khau-galli type scene. There are motorbikes and scooters parked in a row, and behind that, under the shade of some trees, you will see a series of bright umbrellas with food carts.

In one of the stalls, there's a vada-pav seller. At first glance, he looks like any other vada-pav guy, selling batata-vada, palak-bhajji etc, but if you have a keen eye you'll soon spot his larger than usual batata-vadas (see them at the back?).

It turns out that those are not your regular batata-vadas at all. What they are, is Inside Out Vada-Paos. This little stall has flipped the regular vada-pao inside out. They've taken the batata-masala, and stuffed it inside a bun. Then they dip the bun in the batter and fry it.

This simple reversal trick has created a delicious Inside-Out Vada Pav, which I have become addicted to. I went shopping with my mom and sister, and stopped to eat it. Then I went with my aunt from Bangalore, and tried it again. And then I went by myself and had it yet again :)

By the way, I've also had a very upscale (and very expensive) version of this is at Masala Library @ BKC. That was pretty awesome too, but it didn't have the crazy chutneys that I got in Dadar. The Inside-Out Vada Pao at Dadar is served with a green chutney and a strange orange chutney. Both are delicioso, but I have no idea what the orangey thing is. It felt like tomato and kaddu and god knows what else. I have to charm the guy into telling me. Usually he is pretty busy and tends to not talk much. I'll report again if I get him to speak :) :)