Mumbai is not just a city; it's a rhythm of tastes, an onrush of aromas, and a compromise of food stories served on its busy street corners. While Marine Drive may appease your soul, Mumbai street food remains a true offering to your heart. Each dish holds the essence of the city, from the spicy punch of pani puri to the satisfaction of pav bhaji. But what if you could create this magic at home? No longer needing to wait, worried about hygiene, you could enjoy these snacks with simple DIY recipes. 

So, Foodism is here with a guide to the top 10 street foods of Mumbai that you can make, serve, and enjoy in your little corner of comfort.

1. Vada Pav Recipe

Ingredients for Vada Pav:

• 6 pav buns (soft Mumbai pav for authentic vada pav)
• 4 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed (for vada pav filling)
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 cup besan (gram flour) for vada pav batter
• ½ tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• Oil for deep frying vada pav
• Green chutney and dry garlic chutney for vada pav serving
• Fried green chillies (optional but traditional for vada pav)

Method for Vada Pav:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, and turmeric. Sauté well.
2. Add mashed potatoes, salt, and coriander. Mix thoroughly to prepare the spiced vada pav filling.
3. Shape the mixture into small round balls (batata vadas for vada pav).
4. Prepare a smooth batter with besan, ajwain, red chilli powder, salt, and water.
5. Dip each potato ball in batter and deep-fry until golden to make the vada for vada pav.
6. Slice pav buns, apply green chutney and garlic chutney, and place hot vada inside.
7. Serve vada pav with fried green chilli for the real Mumbai street food experience.

2. Pav Bhaji Recipe 

Ingredients for Pav Bhaji:

• 6 pav buns (butter-laden Mumbai pav for pav bhaji)
• 3 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 cup cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup green peas
• 1 green capsicum, finely chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala (essential spice for pav bhaji)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 3 tbsp butter (don’t be shy, pav bhaji is all about butter!)
• Fresh coriander and lemon wedges for pav bhaji garnish

Method for Pav Bhaji Recipe:

1. Boil potatoes, cauliflower, and peas. Mash lightly for pav bhaji base.
2. Heat butter in a large pan, sauté onions until golden, then add tomatoes and capsicum.
3. Add mashed vegetables, pav bhaji masala, chilli powder, and salt. Cook until it becomes a thick pav bhaji curry.
4. Mash continuously while cooking to get a smooth pav bhaji texture.
5. Roast pav buns with butter until golden.
6. Serve hot pav bhaji with onions, coriander, and lemon wedges.

3. Pani Puri Recipe

Ingredients for Pani Puri Recipe:

• 40 crisp puris (ready-made or homemade for pani puri)
• 3 boiled potatoes, mashed (for pani puri filling)
• ½ cup boiled chickpeas (optional)
• ½ cup boiled moong sprouts
• Salt and chaat masala for pani puri filling
• For Pani Puri Water (Pani):
  • 1 cup mint leaves
  • ½ cup coriander leaves
  • 2 tbsp tamarind pulp
  • 2 green chillies
  • 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1 tsp black salt
  • 1 tsp chaat masala
  • 1 litre chilled water

Method for Pani Puri Recipe:

1. Blend mint, coriander, tamarind, green chillies, and spices with water to make tangy pani for pani puri. Chill before serving.
2. Mix potatoes, chickpeas, sprouts, salt, and chaat masala for the pani puri filling.
3. Crack the top of puris, stuff with filling, and dip into pani puri water.
4. Serve pani puri immediately for the perfect crunchy-spicy Mumbai street food experience.

4. Bhel Puri Recipe – 

Ingredients for Bhel Puri:

• 3 cups puffed rice (murmura for bhel puri)
• 1 cup sev (thin fried noodles for bhel puri topping)
• 1 boiled potato, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tamarind chutney
• 2 tbsp green chutney
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• Fresh coriander, chopped
• Lemon juice

Method for Bhel Puri:

1. In a large bowl, mix puffed rice, sev, potatoes, onion, and tomato.
2. Add green chutney, tamarind chutney, and chaat masala. Toss well to coat everything in tangy flavour for bhel puri.
3. Sprinkle coriander and squeeze lemon juice over the bhel puri.
4. Serve bhel puri immediately before the puffed rice turns soggy.

5. Ragda Pattice Recipe – How to Make Mumbai Ragda Pattice at Home

Ingredients for Ragda Pattice:

• For Ragda:
  
  
  • 2 cups dried white peas (soaked overnight for ragda pattice)
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Salt to taste
• For Pattice:
  
  
  • 4 potatoes, boiled and mashed
  • 2 green chillies, chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger paste
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for shallow frying pattice
• Sev, onion, chutneys for ragda pattice garnish

Method for Ragda Pattice:

1. Cook soaked white peas with turmeric and salt until soft for ragda.
2. In a pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds, onion, and tomato. Add chilli powder and garam masala. Mix with cooked peas to make ragda.
3. For pattice, combine mashed potatoes with chillies, ginger, salt, and garam masala. Shape into patties and shallow-fry until golden.
4. Place patties on a plate, pour ragda over them, and top with chutneys, onion, coriander, and sev.
5. Serve ragda pattice hot as a filling in a Mumbai street food snack.

6. Bombay Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients for Bombay Sandwich:

• 12 bread slices (white bread for Bombay sandwich)
• 4 tbsp butter (for spreading on Bombay sandwich bread)
• 4 tbsp green chutney (mint-coriander chutney for Bombay sandwich)
• 1 boiled potato, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 beetroot, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp chaat masala (for Bombay sandwich seasoning)
• 1 cup grated cheese (optional, for Bombay grilled cheese sandwich)

Method for Bombay Sandwich:

1. Spread butter and green chutney generously on bread slices for Bombay sandwich layering.
2. Place slices of potato, cucumber, tomato, onion, and beetroot on top.
3. Sprinkle chaat masala evenly to bring out the Bombay sandwich flavour.
4. Cover with another bread slice and repeat layers if making a triple-decker Bombay sandwich.
5. Grill the Bombay sandwich with butter until golden, or serve plain.
6. Cut diagonally and serve the Bombay sandwich with extra chutney and ketchup.

7. Misal Pav Recipe

Ingredients for Misal Pav:

• 6 pav buns (Mumbai pav for misal pav serving)
• 2 cups sprouted moth beans (matki for misal pav)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp goda masala (authentic spice mix for misal pav)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup farsan (crispy sev mixture for misal pav topping)
• Fresh coriander, onion, and lemon wedges for garnish

Method for Misal Pav Recipe:

1. Pressure cook sprouted matki until soft for the misal pav base.
2. In a pan, heat oil, sauté onions until golden, add tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, and goda masala.
3. Add cooked sprouts with water to make spicy misal pav curry. Simmer for 10–15 minutes.
4. Toast pav buns with butter until golden.
5. Serve misal in bowls, top with farsan, onions, coriander, and lemon. Pair with pav for the complete misal pav experience.

8. Frankie Recipe

Ingredients for Frankie:

• 6 rotis or parathas (for Mumbai Frankie roll base)
• 1 cup paneer cubes (for paneer Frankie filling) OR 2 boiled potatoes (for veg Frankie filling)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp green chutney
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• Frankie masala (store-bought or homemade for Frankie flavour)

Method for Frankie:

1. Heat oil in a pan, sauté ginger-garlic paste, green chilli, and onions.
2. Add paneer or potatoes with spices, salt, and Frankie masala. Cook until filling is ready.
3. Warm rotis/parathas on a tawa, spread green chutney and ketchup for Frankie layering.
4. Place filling in the centre, sprinkle onions, and roll tightly.
5. Wrap in foil for authentic Mumbai Frankie street-style serving.

9. Dabeli Recipe

Ingredients for Dabeli:

• 6 pav buns (for dabeli serving)
• 3 boiled potatoes, mashed
• 2 tbsp dabeli masala (special spice for dabeli)
• 2 tbsp tamarind chutney
• 2 tbsp green chutney
• ¼ cup pomegranate seeds (for dabeli crunch)
• ¼ cup masala peanuts
• ½ cup sev (for dabeli topping)
• 2 tbsp butter for roasting pav

Method for Dabeli:

1. Mix mashed potatoes with dabeli masala and tamarind chutney to prepare filling for dabeli.
2. Slice pav buns, spread green chutney and tamarind chutney on both sides.
3. Stuff dabeli filling inside, add pomegranate seeds, peanuts, and sev.
4. Roast pav lightly with butter on a tawa for a hot dabeli flavour.
5. Serve dabeli warm for the perfect sweet-spicy Mumbai snack.

10. Falooda Recipe

Ingredients for Falooda:

• 2 tbsp sabja seeds (basil seeds for falooda)
• ½ cup falooda sev (thin vermicelli for falooda)
• 2 tbsp rose syrup (for falooda flavour)
• 2 cups chilled milk
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream (for falooda topping)
• 2 tbsp chopped nuts
• 1 cherry for garnish

Method for Falooda:

1. Soak sabja seeds in water for 30 minutes until they swell for falooda.
2. Boil falooda sev until soft, rinse in cold water, and drain.
3. In a tall glass, pour rose syrup, then add soaked sabja seeds and falooda sev.
4. Pour chilled milk over the layers and top with ice cream.
5. Garnish falooda with nuts and a cherry for the royal finish.
6. Serve falooda immediately as a refreshing Mumbai street food dessert.

Bringing Mumbai to Your Kitchen

Making Mumbai street food at home is more than cooking food; it is telling stories with flavours. Each snack is a chapter of the identity of the city- alive, living and raw. From the spice of misal pav to the sweetness of falooda, each bite has the fullness of the city.

While hygiene, self-customisation, and comfort make homemade versions meaningful, sharing a snack experience with friends and family takes it to another level, because street food in Mumbai is made to be eaten and to be enjoyed together. 

So, next time your taste buds beckon you for the energy of Mumbai, do not reach for a plane ticket; simply go to your kitchen, let your pav sizzle in the butter, let your chutneys sing, and bring to life the magic of Mumbai's top 10 street snacks in your home.

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