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| Missal pav at Aaswad |
I went to Aaswad in Dadar yesterday with
Uncle J and my mom in law. Two Parsis from Mumbai who had never eaten missal
pav before. Hopefully they are not the only Mumbaikars to have not
tried this popular Maharashtrian dish before!
Uncle J and my mom in law. Two Parsis from Mumbai who had never eaten missal
pav before. Hopefully they are not the only Mumbaikars to have not
tried this popular Maharashtrian dish before!
J wanted to try it out ever since he had
heard that the missal pav that I had nominated here won the Foodie Hub global
award for the best vegetarian dish in the world.
heard that the missal pav that I had nominated here won the Foodie Hub global
award for the best vegetarian dish in the world.
So we met up and went to Aaswad for an early
lunch.
lunch.
It was pretty crazy in there. I saw that almost
everyone was eating missal. Some with pav. Some with puris. Some by itself.
everyone was eating missal. Some with pav. Some with puris. Some by itself.
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| Missal going out by the dozen |
A far cry from my earlier visits to Aaswad
where I’d often be the only one eating missal while there would sandwiches and
dosas on the other tables.
where I’d often be the only one eating missal while there would sandwiches and
dosas on the other tables.
The waiter asked me what we would like to
order and ‘missal’ we cried in unison.
order and ‘missal’ we cried in unison.
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| we want missal |
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| With my favourite missal |
J seemed to like his first taste of missal
and even packed some to take back for his sister. He was quite happy to know about the Aaswad win and handed over token gifts of appreciation to some of the kitchen and wait staff at Aaswad.
and even packed some to take back for his sister. He was quite happy to know about the Aaswad win and handed over token gifts of appreciation to some of the kitchen and wait staff at Aaswad.
It was great to see this basic
Maharashtrian breakfast dish, where crunchy farsan is added to a moth bean and
sprouts curry, get its well deserves spot in the sun. Add a squeeze of lime to this and you
have one of my favourite Maharashtrian dishes. A dish which has now got a
global stamp of approval.
Maharashtrian breakfast dish, where crunchy farsan is added to a moth bean and
sprouts curry, get its well deserves spot in the sun. Add a squeeze of lime to this and you
have one of my favourite Maharashtrian dishes. A dish which has now got a
global stamp of approval.
It was pretty crazy when we stepped out of
Aaswad around 2 pm. The crowd outside almost made you feel that you were at a
rock concert with tons of people waiting to get in.
Aaswad around 2 pm. The crowd outside almost made you feel that you were at a
rock concert with tons of people waiting to get in.
They used to have queues at Aaswad before
the missal pav win but not to this extent said owner Suryakant Sarjoshi and apparently
everyone wanted missal! A friend who had joined us for lunch said that the
crowd seemed to have become younger than what it was before.
the missal pav win but not to this extent said owner Suryakant Sarjoshi and apparently
everyone wanted missal! A friend who had joined us for lunch said that the
crowd seemed to have become younger than what it was before.
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| The crowds outside Aaswad |
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| At the end of the queue to get in |
I met Suryakant’s wife, Smeeta, who told
me about how every year they experiment with a new dish at home before
introducing it in Aaswad on its birthday in January every year. The Sathvik thali is one of the latest introductions.
me about how every year they experiment with a new dish at home before
introducing it in Aaswad on its birthday in January every year. The Sathvik thali is one of the latest introductions.
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| J with Seema Sajoshi, the new dishes in Aaswad are conjured in her kitchen |
Suryakant told me that this Maharashtrian
vegetarian eatery, which has father had opened in 1986 (“Hand of God year!” I
exclaimed), might be expanding beyond the Dadar outlet soon. It’s good to hear about Maharashtrian eateries
going beyond the core Maharashtrian dominated areas of Dadar, Girgaom and
Bandra E in Mumbai.
vegetarian eatery, which has father had opened in 1986 (“Hand of God year!” I
exclaimed), might be expanding beyond the Dadar outlet soon. It’s good to hear about Maharashtrian eateries
going beyond the core Maharashtrian dominated areas of Dadar, Girgaom and
Bandra E in Mumbai.
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| With the Sarjoshis of Aaswad |
And it felt great to see this renewed interest
in the missal… a dish that had welcomed me to Mumbai.
in the missal… a dish that had welcomed me to Mumbai.
Some of my other favourite missals are at Prakash in Dadar (where they don’t serve it with pao since that’s the way it is had at home) and Gokhale in Thane. Vinay Health Home is pretty popular too and the missal here is on the slightly sweeter side. I am told that Pune and Kolhapur has some great missals too. The Foodie Hub nominations were Mumbai centric though.
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| At the end of our missal (and batata vada, puri bhaji, thali peeth and kharvas) party hosted by J |
