Thane street food: Top must visit food places in city near Mumbai

After a rickety ride on the Kalyan local we alight at Thane to explore what the streets have to offer We are here to meet Mohit Balachandran aka Chowder Singh a serial street foodie and country head SodaBottleOpenerWala who has promised to take us on a food trail of Thanes top food jointsMasala chai at Sai KripaOur first stop is for a cutting Dressed in blue jeans white shirt and a beige corduroy jacket we spot Singh at a table He smiles and waves then orders three cups of chai as we exchange pleasantries I make it a point to go exploring the streets for local dishes wherever I travel he tells us adding how local street food has caught his fancy ever since he joined hotel school IHM Kovalam in 1996You need a thick gut to survive the street food and interrogate auto wallahs Balachandran laughs My most powerful memory of street food is chancing upon bhajias made of chicken claws he addsOur chai arrives and it is milky sweet and upliftingInitially documenting street food for my Instagram account was not easy Owners take time to open up as they worry about BMC permissions and are usually discouraged when they see a photographer I had to make some formal cards to present to them to win their confidence he says signalling to the waiter for the billAt Opposite Talao Pali Thane WestCall 25367339Litti chokha at Durga Snacks CornerNext up is Durga Snacks Corner The owner Prabhuchand from Gorakhpur Bihar confesses that had we come on the weekend he would not have had any time to chat with us But were here on a weekday and as he roasts the litti over charcoal on a grill his wife Aarti who coaxes her husband to smile for the camera explains the Bihari dishThe litti are balls made of wheat flour and sattu flour made from roasting chana in sand and the seasoning includes ajwain carom seeds mangrel nigella seeds and hing asafoetida The chokha is a bharta of aloo baigan and tamatar cooked in green garlic green chillies and coriander You wouldnt expect to find this dish on the streets of Thane would you Balachandran asks breaking a litti and dunking it in the chokha At Opposite Kashinath Ghanekar Auditorium Thane WestCall 9930733387Vada pav and vada plate at GajananOur next stop is Gajanan at Vishnu Nagar They copied the besan chutney and make it better than Rajmata see stop 5 The vada pav is also served with a green thecha and dry red garlic chutney This besan chutney is going to make it to our menus some day he smiles At Chhatrapati Sambhaji Road Thane West Call 25407867Kokum soda and vada pav at RajmataWe take an auto ride to one of Thanes oldest vada pav centres Rajmata The sun is scorching overhead Its the perfect time for a kokum 10 and kala khatta 10 sherbet Balachandran announces as the vendor takes a glass filled with kokum sherbet and tops it with soda He repeats the process for kala khattaThe bubbles blind the eye but the sweet and sour drink is just what we need to open up a ravenous appetite for vada pav They serve it here with a besan and sev chutney says Balachandran passing us a vada pav 13 that comes with green chillies and a yellow paste which has a greenchilli aftertaste This chutney is unique to Thane he sums up At Sridhar Building Ram Maruti Road Thane WestCall 8286331111Missal pav at MamledarNext up is Mamledar Missal which is set in the premises of Naupada police chowky and is a landmark in itself The counter is laden with bowls full of missal sprouts and chickpeas and topped with their homemade crunchy farsan and chopped onions We take a seat at a metal table among patrons who are dripping sweat thanks to the tikhat spicy rasa curry Balachandran orders a tikhat and we opt for a medium causing his eyebrows to crumple in disappointmentMohit Balachandran aka Chowder Singh at Mamledar Missal PicsSachin DeshmaneWithin minutes two plates of missal and pavs are clanked on the table We dig into the missal covered in a layer of oily rasa Fiery the raw chilli masala hits the throat I learn a lot from street food The masala changes from brand to brand and even lot to lot When in the restaurant business you have to be on the ball otherwise things can slip says Balachandran adding that Amantran Hotel with the same owners as Mamledars serves the same missal At Opposite Talao Pali Naupada Thane WestCall 7039926912Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates