Monsoon and Food!

Oh yes! I do have monsoon plans. I have a list of places to visit, if not in this monsoon, maybe the next. But most importantly, I have a list of food items that I’m not going to miss, and the rains are only going to add the fun of having these food items (mostly street food).

      So, the “birth” of this ‘Monsoon Food Plan’ can be traced back to a time long back, when me and a friend of mine were discussing about all the amazing street food in and around our college. The plan goes such: on a day when it’s raining heavily, we walk a little from our college towards Matunga Station. Exactly opposite the Station, there stands a “Pani Puri” stall (it’s called “New Pankaj”). What’s special about the mouth-watering pani-puri here? Well, unlike the usual pani-puri, which is filled with hot ragda, this one conatins some normal filling, but what makes it delicious is the ice-cold, tasty Paani. I shouldn’t be talking more about this, now. My mouth has started watering, literally.

     So, next, we walk back towards our college and on the way lies our favorite sandwich stall, Subhash Uncle’s sandwich. The chocolate sandwich there (with extra chocolate) is just something one can’t resist because as soon as you pick up a piece of sandwich to eat, you realize that the chocolate is melting already! But the chocolate sandwich is not the only sandwich on the menu, rather, in monsoons, I would prefer having an ordinary sandwich with extra-ordinary taste.

    So by the time we’re done with the sandwich, we’re half full and with immense enthusiasm, we march towards our beloved ‘Ruia College Canteen’ and order for a plate, or two, of Bread Pakodas with some delicious chutney and sauce and when the plate is clean after having eaten every bit in it, there comes a loud sound, in chorus- BURRRPP!!!

   We’re full and we realize that we can’t eat anymore, so we simply move out of college and have some tea from a nearby tea stall. With the last sip of tea, we realize that it’s time to go home. But wait! We’re still not done with the list, so all we can do is wait for another rainy day.

      And now that this ‘another rainy day’ has arrived, we, in full determination of completing this list of food items, walk outside the college and halt before a vada-pav stall (the stall earlier stood outside the I.E.S school nearby, so we call it the “I.E.S vada-pav. But it has now been shifted near our college, much convenient for us, anyhow!). And after eating the vada-pav, we enter “Mani’s”- the very famous South-Indian food joint, just a few steps away from our college. We have the “garma-garam Dosa or Idli”, along with the extremely yummy chutney.

      Our previous list was supposed to end with the vada-pav, but we realized that without including “Mani’s”, the list was simply incomplete! A very significant addition, indeed!

      So this monsoon, this is something that I and my friends are certainly going to enjoy. Well anyway! Happy Monsoon!