We Indians love our Chinese food so much, that we have made it our own. Should it be taken away from us, here's what we would be missing the most
In most parts of the world, Chinese cuisine is served at its authentic best — with light flavours and a controlled hand of spice — but in India, it charted its own course. Barring chopsticks wielding fine-dine restaurants, Chinese food here comes with a desi imprint. It doesn’t matter if you call it ‘Chinese Indian’ or ‘Indian Chinese’, or even the more with-it ‘Chindian’, fact is, we cannot get enough of ajinomoto, soya and Schezwan sauce. In a classic reversal, we’ve allowed these ingredients’ entry into dosas, pakodas and parathas. As you read this, the debate on whether or not to ban Chinese imports continues. It’s not clear if food flavours will also make it to the list of banned goods. But should such a thing happen, here are Mumbai’s best Chindian delights to savour before it’s too late.
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All pics/Bipin Kokate
Chinese Paneer Dosa
At: Narayan Dosa, Opera House
For: Rs 80
There may be a bunch of air-conditioned dosa-serving eateries in the vicinity but Narayan Dosa’s Chinese concoctions on the tawa are a hot-sell. This counter flanked stall is five years old. Before this, it used to be no more than a thela at Gowalia Tank. They introduced Chinese dosas to the menu three years ago. Mohandas, one of the cooks, candidly admits, “We saw others doing it, so we followed.” It paid off. The stall whips up 200 dosas a day.
A bunch of college students lined outside tell us that Narayan is their go-to place for a Chinese dosa fix, especially because it is reasonably priced. All the Chinese dosas here come stuffed with boiled noodles. It’s not Chinese unless you add noodles, is it?” says Mohandas, serving up a crisp Chinese paneer dosa. As we cut into a thick slice of mashed chilli paneer and noodles, it is indeed the best of both worlds. The coconut chatni is intact on the side, but the sambhar is omitted.
Schezwan Paneer Uttappam
At: Maji Sagar, Tardeo
For: Rs 105
About 10 years ago, JM Shetty observed that his patrons at Maji Sagar were favouring the Schezwan fried rice and paneer chilly, more than he had expected them to. “Every second order was either for Hakka noodles or gobi Manchurian. “That got me wondering, why not incorporate some Chinese into the breakfast menu too,” says Shetty. He now offers 10 desi Chinese-South Indian items for breakfast.
He is particularly proud of the Schezwan Paneer Uttappam and Schezwan idli. “We dice the idlis into neat squares, fry them and toss in Schezwan sauce. For the uttapams, we use the usual white urad dal and rice flour in the batter, and then apply a layer of schezwan sauce on top.”
Schezwan Dhokla
At: Rajubhai Dhoklawala, Kandivli (West)
For: Rs 360/kg
Rajubhai Dhoklawala in Kandivli is known for quirky dhoklas. The good old Gujarati favourite has seen spin-offs like the dabeli and paneer dhokla. The Schezwan dhokla is recent. The usual Nylon Khaman Dhokla (savoury steamed cake made of besan and rawa) is topped with a layer of chopped capsicum and cabbage, then tossed in Schezwan sauce.
“With the growing demand for Indian Chinese, we realised there was no item on our menu to fit the bracket,” says Jill Badiyali, former adman at Ogilvy, who quit her job to run the shop after her father passed away two years ago. “Earlier, it was he who’d give his two cents on how to improvise recipes, now my mother, Jayshree, does it. The Schezwan dhokla is actually her idea,” she smiles. The dhokla is served only on weekends. “It’s popular among the youth; the older folk still prefer the traditional recipe,” Jill says.
Chinese Pakoda
At: Santosh Sawant Stall, Santacruz
For: Rs 25
When we arrive at Santosh Sawant’s vada pav stall outside Santacruz (W), we find one of the cooks in the middle of frying a fresh lot of Chinese pakodas. “We prepare it in small batches, because it’s best served hot,” says Sawant. The fritters, a fiery red with tints of orange, are scrumptious and crispy with the right amount of spice.
“We use cauliflower, cabbage, ginger, garlic, red chilli powder and cornflour. There’s no ajinomoto or colour here,” he says. The first time Sawant tasted Chinese pakodas was at his Jogeshwari home five years ago. “My mother prepared it, and all of us relished it. I picked up the recipe from her,” says the 40-year-old. “It’s one of our highest selling items.”
Kung Pao Paratha
At: Paratha Mantra, Fort
For: Rs 217
The goal of Paratha Mantra, says co-proprietor Ankit Baldota, was to “break free from the conventional aaloo, methi and gobi”. “We, in fact, have received suggestions from customers to experiment with more Chinese flavours — the Kung Pao parathas are a result of that,” says Ankit of the five-year-old joint. This paratha is a variant of the popular Kung Pao potatoes, mashed and stuffed into roti. “These are mashed potato slices seasoned with Schezwan and sweet chilli sauce,” adds Ankit.
Chinese Bhel
At: Bombay Bronx, Breach Candy
For: Rs 125
Bombay Bronx with its gigantic yesteryear Bollywood posters and murals has consciously kept its food as close to the city’s street food as possible. As we sit across a mural of Amitabh Bachchan in his Deewar avatar, we are served a plate of Chinese Bhel. “It would have been sacrilege not to put it on the menu, considering the stiff competition it has been giving to the ubiquitous vada pav and bhel puri,” says Peter D’Costa, manager. The taste of spring onions, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced capsicum, stirred with chilli, tomato and Schezwan sauce, makes the dish crunchy and flavourful. The quality of ingredients takes it a notch higher than its street counterpart.
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