Want a taste of authentic Indian street food? Take a trip to Bombay to Mumbai in Bramhall
The best puris I have ever had were in a place called Chidambaram in southern India served in a rundown hotel by two men who wouldn’t have looked out of place in the galley on an ancient ship. A pair of weather-beaten oldies who had effortlessly turned out the lightest puffed up puris I’d ever eaten. This, however, was before I tasted the fluffy bread which is served here. If angels wings were edible I’d like them to taste like this!
Bombay to Mumbai is a Mumbai street food restaurant that has beamed down into the suburbs of Bramhall.
The decor is stripped back but brightened by colourful Indian posters and artworks on the walls. It’s the cheerful, helpful service that stands out first of all and then the menu which is full of things you might not know at all.
Anyone who has ever visited an Indian restaurant will be familiar with the papadam but here they are cutely bite sized, adorned prettily with chopped green chilli and onions and served with a selection of four fresh chutneys ranging from a harmoniously sweet and slightly sharp pineapple one, to another that’s packed with red hot chilli.
We chose two starters, a Ragada Pattice, £5.50 which were soft, slightly caramelised potato patties served with snow peas and a sauce that was sweet with tomato and tangy with tamarind.
The other starter was pani puri, £4.50, tiny little hollow balls of puffed up pastry that arrived at the table with a syringe into which you injected tamarind and then added a spicy juice from a test tube - a bit Heston Blumenthal but without the hefty price tag.
We stuck to vegetarian for mains - apart from a side of juicy plump tandoori prawns, £7.95 - getting hit with a heavy dose of chilli thanks to the mixed vegetable kolhapuri, £8.95, perfect for those (like us) who love the fiery heat of Maharashtran cooking.
The divine ‘angel wing’ bread accompanied a rich, chola bhatura, a spiced chickpea curry originating from the Punjab and usually eaten at breakfast but, honestly, who knew? It had an amazing depth of flavour and complexity of spices that you could never have expected in a million years from a less skilled kitchen crew.
Indian desserts are usually tooth-achingly sweet but they’ve adapted the sub continent’s crowd pleasers on the sweety platter, £7.50, into fabulous sophisticated versions of Gajar Halwa, Rasmalai, Gulab Jamun, Kulfi. All undeniably gorgeous.
Bombay to Mumbai, 10 Fir Road, Bramhall, Stockport, SK7 2NP.
0161 439 0055
