How Delhi is trying to get Mumbai's pav right and where you can try out popular dishes

Vada pav at Bombay club

When Kainaz Contractor opened Rustom's in 2015, Delhi, she didn't dare put keema pav on the homestyle Parsi menu. "Delhi's version of pav was a sweet-ish bun," she confesses. She took the time to identify a baker and work closely with him to develop a recipe. After much trial and error, she finally had what she calls a near-perfect pav.

Kainaz Contractor

From having limited options for finding good vada pav at Maharashtra Sadan, the official state bhavan of Maharashtra, and Maharashtra food stall at Dilli Haat, the food plaza and craft market by Delhi Tourism, the Capital has caught up. Many food brands serving ‘Bombay style street food' have opened in recent times and they have paid attention to the main element - the pav.

Batata Vada at Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan

Historian and storyteller Mohammad Anas, known for his walks through Delhi's old city, explains that the Capital had never embraced a pav or soft bread culture. "Delhi was always about rusks, twists, rolls, small nankhatais, and biscuits. Pav was never a Dilli thing," he shares. However, with the rising demand for Mumbai's street foods in Delhi, commercial bakeries are now perfecting the laadi pav recipe to cater to this trend. One such brand, Kaze Living, which specialises in gourmet offerings sourced from local farmers and homegrown labels, sent a team to Mumbai to master the art of baking laadi pav. Now, they bake in a commercial Gurugram facility and offer a pack of six pavs for Rs 60.

Nishit Dalal

Contractor admits, "The pav quality has improved in the past three to four years. Delhi loves anything from Mumbai, and we've done week-long special menus where we served tamda rassa and kombdi vade, Kolhapuri and mutton curry and it was a big hit," Today, at Bhawan, a regional-Indian restaurant in Gurugram, championing re-imagined versions of street eats, one of her top-selling items is the ragda pattice and the vada pao.

In 2022, Nishit Dalal launched Bombay Boy out of nostalgia for Mumbai's iconic flavours. Starting with hosting friends for misal, pav bhaji, and vada pav, he turned his passion into a catering and order-in service, opening his first QSR in Malviya Nagar three months ago. Pic/Nishad Alam

Mumbai's staple diet went viral last year when Vada Pav Girl Chandrika Gera Dixit took social media by storm with her feisty reels. Gera quit her job at Haldiram's and opened a vada pav stall in Sainik Vihar She had it all - a personal story for sentimental branding, a tall claim of naming her stall Mumbai Ka Famous Vada Pav and a dramatic arrest by Delhi Police for setting up a religious gathering (bhandara) on the road. We know, however, our delicious Mumbai hero has been making mouths water way before Dixit's entry.

Amanda Bhandari

Last month, at the World's Largest Urdu Festival, Jashn-e-Rekhta, Bombay Boy participated in the Aiwan-e-Zaiqa (food court) for the second consecutive year. Visitors indulged in vada pav, dabeli and keema pav between sessions. "The popularity of Mumbai street food has grown steadily, appealing to both nostalgic Mumbaikars and locals in Delhi seeking authentic flavours. The snack's affordability, ease of eating, and authentic Mumbai-style laadi pav and chutneys have made it a hit," says founder Nishit Dalal, who makes in-house thecha masala and sources speciality masalas from Mumbai.

Pav bhaji

But he knows that the pav has to be bang on to truly savour these Mumbai delicacies. I think I drove the baker up the wall, but we've cracked it," he quips, adding, "I grew up in Mumbai, so if it doesn't convince my palate, I won't serve it," he says. Dalal started the brand out of nostalgia for craving Mumbai food in Delhi. He began hosting friends to share his love for misal, pav bhaji and vada pav and recognised the potential to turn it into a catering and order-in service in 2022. Three months ago, he opened his first QSR in Malviya Nagar. "I knew that Delhi locals often enjoy it during trips to Mumbai, but authentic options were rare in the city. I saw an opportunity to bring the true essence of Mumbai street food to Delhi," says Dalal, who introduced black pav bhaji to the region.

Vada Pao at bhawan

Another popular pick is Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan that has been on the block since 2019. Founder Om Nayak is a hospitality consultant and chef, who runs seven outlets in Delhi NCR. He plans to expand to 200 outlets across the country in the next four years. "Bombay street food is extremely popular in Delhi, and we started with the intent to deliver an authentic version of it in a clean, hygienic format," says Nayak, who sources masalas from Matunga. His menu includes vada pav, pav bhaji, sandwich, dabeli, poha and kanda bhaji. "Until 2020, I was airlifting the pav, but now, we make it in-house," he says.

Dabeli

What finally seems to be working is that the founders have studied the taste of the OG in Mumbai and are passionate about serving it in its best form in Delhi. For Amanda Bhandari, founder of the Bombay Club in Dhan Mill, Chhatarpur, living in Mumbai as a student helped her explore the city and its culture. "When you are on a shoestring budget, you take the local bus, train and kaali peeli to venture out. From Parsi cafes in Colaba, to vada pav at Ashok at Dadar and the one our canteen Anna made at Xavier's, I was in love with the food," says Bhandari, who opened the restaurant three years ago.

Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan serves Mumbai street food including kanda bhaji, pav bhaji and dabeli (shown here)

Indian diners are easily attracted to Western and Southeast Asian cuisines, but regional cuisine made with seasonal produce is fast earning loyalty. "I'll go to the extent and say vada pavs have taken over momos," she says, adding, "People come to Dhan Mill for their wedding shopping and spend a lot of money. But when they take a break, they like comfort food that brings out nostalgia - cutting chai and vada pav being our top sellers.

Om Nayak

In the early days, the spice levels and the over-generous slather of maska shied Delhi diners. To counter this, Bhandari introduced mini vada pavs. "It was a small commitment to make and could be shared," she says. When they opened for delivery, customers suggested it was time for an upgrade. "The taste buds have unfurled," she signs off.

With inputs from Nasrin Modak Siddiqi

Enjoy Mumbai style vada pav at these locations

.   Bole Toh Vada Pav, multiple outlets including Dwarka, Rohini, Karol Baug Maharashtra Sadan, Kasturba Gandhi Marg,
.   Jhakkas Bombay Pav Bhaji, Lajpat Nagar
.   Dilli Haat, INA
.   Bombay Boy, Malviya Nagar and Gurugram Bhawan, Gurugram
. Bombay Club, Dhan Mill
.   Bombay Meri Jaan, seven outlets including Saket