Bhel Puri, Mumbai

Puffed rice tossed with sev, chopped onion, tomato, boiled potato, raw mango when in season, and three chutneys — sweet tamarind, green coriander, and a thin garlic one. It is assembled in front of you in about forty seconds and must be eaten immediately or it goes soft.

Chowpatty is where the city eats it, at sunset, standing on the sand.

Name	Where	What it is known for
Girgaon Chowpatty stalls	Chowpatty, Marine Drive end	The classic address; a row of licensed stalls on the sand.
Juhu Chowpatty stalls	Juhu Beach	The suburban equivalent, bigger and busier at weekends.
Elco Market1970s	Hill Road, Bandra West	Bandra’s chaat institution; a sit-down version with proper hygiene.
Swati Snacks1963	Tardeo	Street food served seated; the panki and the dahi puri are the draws.
Kailash Parbat1952	Colaba and city-wide	A Sindhi chaat house, running since Partition.
Cream Centre1956	Chowpatty	Chaat and Punjabi food; the channa bhatura is the other order.
Guru Kripa1970s	Sion	Sindhi snacks and chaat; the samosa is what people go for.

Worth knowing

• Eat it within two minutes of it being handed to you. There is no second chance with bhel.
• Ask for it sukha (dry) or geela (wet) — the chutney quantity is the difference.
• Raw mango is seasonal, roughly March to June, and worth waiting for.
• Sev puri, dahi puri and pani puri come from the same counter and the same chutneys.

The other dishes

Read the city another way

Company, mill, factory and shop names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Inclusion is for independent discovery only, not endorsement or affiliation.