The Shakti of Annapurna: The street food vendors

enrouteI
June 12, 2024

Food binds people together and it is said that the best conversations happen over a meal. While living in a culturally and diverse country like India one gets to enjoy the flavours and delicacies from different parts of the country. While the meals cooked at home are like a warm hug on a rainy night the street food of India is like a friend who is always ready to uplift our mood. We all have fond memories associated with the lip-smacking street food of India.

The street food of India has had a long history and over the years the street food of India has come to occupy a special place in the hearts and on the palettes of the people. The street food of India is made by people who are passionate about cooking. There are food vendors in India who are dishing out the delicacies from the local regions (aloo tikki in Delhi, Chole Kulche in Amritsar, Momos in Sikkim amongst others) and then there are some food vendors in India who have travelled from their towns and cities and have enriched the street food palette of the metropolitan cities (Vada Pao which is credited to the culinary skills of Mr. Ashok Vaidya near Dadar local station in Mumbai has today travelled to various cities and is loved by many food lovers).

The business of street food in India falls in the category of street vending. The people who engage in this business and earn their livelihood from the same are known as street food vendors. These are the people who sell food to the people while sometimes not having a permanent setup. They can be stationary (occupying a space) and they can be mobile (they carry their food carts from one place to another). The street food in India has been sold by the street food vendors in India from as early as the ancient and the medieval times. The sellers have evolved from being called ‘Hawkers’ to now being called Entrepreneurs.

There are some remarkable women who have contributed towards the growth of the street food in India. These incredible women street food vendors in India are amongst the 40% of the women workforce which contributes towards the street vending business in the country. These women street food vendors in India serve inspiration and dedication along with the scrumptious food which they sell to support their families and to earn their living. From the staple street food of Delhi, to the culinary delights from South India and from the homely Kathiawadi meals along the route to the Gir forest to the magical momos of North East India there is a huge variety in the street food of India which is sold by these women street food vendors in India.

This article is dedicated to the shakti (power) of every Annapurna (considered as a manifestation of goddess Parvati she is the goddess of food and nourishment). Every lady who cooks is considered to be a form of Annapurna and many of these women street food vendors in India have overcome adversities and challenges to ensure that they successfully run their businesses.

The street food in India is often type casted according to where it is being served. While Chole-Bhature are very North Indian, and Idlis are south. Vada Pao is the kind of Maharashtrian Street food and Thukpa is primarily a north eastern delight. However today the women street vendors in India are breaking these stereotypes and are cooking and selling street food in India which breaks the shackles of culinary boundaries. They are making us look above and beyond the culinary typecasts of a city and in line with this is a group of four sister from Sikkim who are dishing out local Tibetan delights and are also serving Momos which have different filling and this helps the people to move beyond the categorization.

Phaley and Sikkim Street food: Four inspirational women from Sikkim

In the capital of the Punjab & Haryana, the bustling union territory of Chandigarh in the food market of sector 41, is located the stall of four sisters from Sikkim. They are dishing out Phaley to the connoisseurs of Indian street food. A Tibetan delicacy these are deep fried stuffed delicacies. These four sisters are inspiring also because they are pursuing their masters and along with their studies, they are selling Phaley. They serve these with paneer, potato and vegetable stuffing. One of the sisters Durga shares how they have a restaurant in Sikkim and these masters’ students also serve Momos which have some interesting filling such as paneer, cheese, cabbage and even mushrooms. These Phaley resemble the sweet delicacy associated with Holi, i.e. Gujia.

These Indian Street food vendors of India flavour their Phaley with Peri-peri spice and the all-time classic chaat masala. One of the other sisters Nisha Chetri shares that serving these pure vegetarian delights gives them immense happiness.

Their Phaley have sold like hot cakes and these sisters have worked their way to now own a small street side shop as well. Known as the Sikkim girl’s fast food their stall outside their shop dishes out vegetarian delights. Since all the Phaley are very similar they have their special way of demarcating them. The ones with a cheese stuffing have a red dot in the middle, the ones with three dots (one on the top and two on the side) are Paneer Phaley and the ones without any dot are the potato or aloo Phaley. They also now serve the famous Thukpa. Located in sector 41 in Chandigarh this stall is must visit for encouraging and promoting the delicacies of these inspirational women street fond vendors of India.

Laxmi: The queen of Ragi Balls in Bengaluru

Ragi is a popular grain which is consumed in Karnataka. This grain reaps multiple health benefits. In the IT hub of Namma Bengaluru is a lady called Laxmi. This hardworking woman street food vendor in India serves unlimited thali for a nominal price to one and all who come to eat at her stall.

Laxmi is popular for serving Ragi balls with Sambar, coconut chutney and Pakora. This woman street food vendor in India fills a huge cauldron with water which she boils and in it little by little she adds the ragi flour. She continues to stir vigorously for around fifty minutes till the ragi flour is not cooked and the consistency is not achieved. Once it thickens it is an indication that the flour is cooked and can now be consumed. She lets it cool for about five to seven minutes and then she starts making balls from this dough. Usually, people consume Ragi flour in the form of a roti or Bhakri but this is an innovative way of serving this nutritious finger millet.

This inspiring woman street food vendor in India prepares Sambar at home and she also serves Raita along with her thali or her lunch meals. She keeps Sunday as her day of rest and one can enjoy her authentic Karnataka delicacy at Laxmi canteen, 4th B Cross Rd, Hoshalli Extension, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru.

Exhibit-3: Laxmi Aunty serves Raggi Millet Balls / Mudde, Indian Street Food.

Jumbo Parantha: The street Delicacy from Amritsar

From the delicacies of the north east to the healthy finger millets it’s now time to explore the king of north Indian street food in India. In the holy city of Amritsar at the Man Singh gate is located ‘Pehalwan Ji Da Dhaba’ which is run by a very strong-willed woman street food vendor in India. Veena Ji the owner of this stall runs it along with her youngest daughter Kashish.

Veena Ji lost her husband a few years back and worked as a house help. She decided to revive the food vending business which her husband had run and that is when she stated cooking and serving jumbo paranthas with stuffing’s as varied as aloo (potato), gobhi (cauliflower) amongst others.

A firm believer in the goddess this woman street vendor of India has a small idol of Devi or the goddess at her Dhaba. The lip smacking paranthas are jumbo in size and nominally priced at Rs.40 as she wishes to do full justice in filling the tummies of all the people who are buying and eating. She has worked hard by selling these Jumbo paranthas and has gotten her three elder daughters married. The mother and daughter duo serve these jumbo paranthas from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Exhibit-4: Veena Didi ka massive Paratha, Pehalwan ka Dhaba, Amritsar.

Jaipur’s first woman food truck: the journey of Pooja and Asha

In the traditional pink city of Jaipur at the iconic statue circle is a food truck which is the culturally rich city’s first all-woman run food truck. Food bloggers turned woman street food vendors of India Pooja and Asha are operating this food truck. Their street food business is called ‘Ocha’.

These multitasking women street food vendors in India do all the work from chopping, cooking, cleaning and serving on their own. They have divided the workload between themselves and they are very clear about what task is to be performed by whom. Pooja prepares the masala or spices for the iconic Vada Pao and sandwiches while Asha takes care of the vegetable chopping. They are self-sufficient when it comes to managing this food truck.

They are proud of their skills and their passion and they share with their food loving customers how Asha makes the best tea in Jaipur while Pooja makes the best Vada Pao. The people who often come to order food address them as Bhaiya but when they see that these are two women, they get happy and inspired to see them working so hard. From a variety in Maggie to their lip-smacking Rajma Chawal and Tawa Pulao, these women street food vendors of India also dish out the other famous delicacies of street food of India. Their weekend specials are Kulhad Chat, Idli’s and samosa chaat.

Exhibit-5: Jaipur’s first women food truck.

These women street food vendors of India are making one and all realize that when it comes to dreaming big and achieving big then sky is the limit.

These women street food vendors of India are amongst the many women who tirelessly work every day to serve people with the most basic needs of human life that is food. The Annapurna in them gives them the shakti or the power to reach out to people and fill their stomach. From a woman selling Rajma Chawal for free to the underprivileged kids in Peeragarhi (Delhi) to a lady in Gurgaon who sells Chole-Kulche to support her family the list is endless. These women street food vendors in India are dishing out the delectable street foods of India and making people and their tummies happy and satisfied!

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