It had been five years since I tasted the perfect wada pao. I had visited every self-proclaimed iconic Mumbai wada pao store in Delhi. But either the pav was too dry, or the garlic chutney was slyly replaced with a sweet tamarind one that made me recoil.
Most of my childhood had been spent gorging on wada pao in Pune. The soft pao, the hot wada in its folds, and coriander chutney, kept me longing for more.
My hopes had begun to dwindle when one day my colleague Anant told me that he had found the best wada pao in Malviya Nagar. After my many failed endeavours, I was sceptical.
After work, we went to the place. In the huge Malviya Nagar market, there was a small stall with yellow lights in the corner. The board said, Mumbai cha wada pao. The stall is run by Chanda Thakur, a middle-aged woman from Mumbai. “I bake my own pao because the ones in the market are never authentic,” she said.
We asked for two wada paos. She began frying the potato filling in front of us. As we waited, I was reminded that the smallest stalls in Pune had the best wada pao.
She slit the pao and put a thin layer of coriander chutney, garlic chutney and also chura – the fried besan batter that adds extra crispiness. She served it with a fried green chilli.
With my first bite I knew that my search had finally come to an end. As the flavours exploded in my mouth, I was transported back to my childhood in Pune. I told Chanda that I had been searching for her for years. She gave me a proud smile.
Now, almost once every week, I go to her stall. It is not just the wada pao that draws me there but all the memories that come with it.
