Dandi March

As an ode to National Food on a Stick Day celebrated in America on March 28, Sunday Mid day scours Mumbai restaurant menus to try out the best eats served on a stick, masala mar ke

Thai Curry-style Grilled Prawns
At: Pot Pourri, Vashi

The Thai Curry-style Grilled Prawn Skewers at Pot Pourri taste nothing like the plain old teriyaki prawn skewers. They are a bit spicy and have a crunchy peanut base, laced with a hint of coconut milk. We think they make an ideal starter to order with beer. The manager says they have at least five requests for the dish each evening, and we bet, often, one of those is ours.
Getting there: Ground floor, Gate 2, Inorbit Mall, sector 30A, near railway station
Call: 27810548 / 27810549
Shell out: Rs 260

Naram Dil Veg Kebab
At: Gallops, Mahalaxmi Racecourse
The next time you are at the Racecourse and have lost money on that filly that fared badly, take heart. Solace stands at Gallops where they serve a plate of Naram Dil Kebabs. Don't go by the name. There's nothing non-vegetarian about the dish. The kebabs are made from paneer and green peas, moulded into tikkis and rolled in cornflakes before frying. They are crisp on the outside with a melt-in-mouth center. One dip in a tangy, red chutney made from jaggery and tamarind served on the side, and you are ready to take on the betting world.
Getting there: Keshavrao Khadye Marg, Mahalaxmi
Call: 23071448
Shell out: Rs 200

Chicken & Lemongrass Kebab on Sugarcane
At: Sky Cafe, VT
Sky Cafe dishes out a unique kebab that will please the risk-taking, sweet and sour craving foodie. We love chef Virendra Rawat ingenious recipe, and the decision to use sugarcane sticks as skewers. Rawat explains that this kebab was inspired by Vietnamese dish Chao Tom (sugarcane with shrimp). Lemongrass goes well with savoury, sweet and salt-based food, so he indulged in some serious experimentation by combining lemongrass and sugarcane with finely minced chicken meat. The sugarcane sticks can be chewed on once you've dug into the lemongrass, ginger, red chili and salt filling. Add to that the Cafe's ambience with its festive lights and tables under canopies, and you've got a winner on your hands.
Getting there: Murzban Road, opposite Sterling Cineplex
Call: 22055557 / 22055558
Shell out: Rs 160

Yettirawa Prawns
At: Ankur, Fort
In the lane parallel to the glassy-eyed bull of the Bombay Stock Exchange stands this unassuming Manglorean-Konkan restaurant that specialises in fresh seafood. And while sitting in the straight back chairs might get tiring after a while, the food's finger licking good.
Our choice here are the Yettirawa Prawns. Marinated in, and then coated with a red-spice mixture, the prawns are dipped into a semolina-batter and deep-fried. Crispy when hot, these are best enjoyed right away. Half the fun of South Indian food lies in its presentation, so if you are at Ankur, you can eschew the toothpick for the more exciting banana leaf on which this dish is served.
Getting there: Near Kandeel restaurant, Meadows House, M P Shetty Marg, Tamarind Lane, Fort
Call: 22654194 / 22630393
Shell out: Rs 250

Tori Teriyaki
At: All Stir Fry, Colaba
Best known for its self-service counter and instant, self-designed wok-meals, the Oriental eatery that once introduced the city to a whole new cuisine culture, also has lesser-celebrated treats like this one. The live-kitchen and somewhat-novel seating arrangements are fun for everyone.
Some may argue that the sweetish Tori Teriyaki is a glorified version of the Satay, but you can take it from us that the Soya sauce-laden garlic-y poultry dish has a flavour that is infinitely more satisfying. Now imagine that on a stick!
Getting there: The Gordon House Hotel, 5, Battery Street, Apollo Bunder, Colaba
Call: 22894400 / 22894451
Shell out: Rs 258

Beef Kebab
At: Noor Mohammedi
Opened in 1923 by Abdul Karim, Noor Mohammadi has been a landmark on Mumbai's culinary map ever since. Back then it only sold the Nalli Nihari; its trademark specialty. Before Partition, Karim's son Abdul Hakim expanded it into an eating-house. Finally, when third generation owner Abdul Khalid took over in 1985, he turned it into a sit-down restaurant. Not to be overwhelmed by the Nihari and the star-inspired Chicken Sanju Baba, are the Beef Kebabs. Cooked in the restaurant's outer foyer on a busy street walk, the tender mince balls flavoured with secret spices are prepared on an open, butter-greased pan. A dedicated cook kneads the mince, rolls it into uniformly-shaped balls, frying them in quick succession. These are best eaten with their robust rotis or parathas, or like we do -- off a toothpick.
Getting there: 181-183, Abdul Hakim Noor Mohammadi Chowk, Bhendi Bazar
Call: 23456008 /23457618
Shell out: Rs 7 per piece

Chicken Seekh Kebab
At: Ayub's, Kala Ghoda
It's a sight to be witnessed -- boys sporting shirts with the Ayub's logo winding their way through cars to get to clamouring customers. Cooked on coal-fired makeshift metal barbecues, Ayub's rolls and kebabs have been wooing Mumbai's kebab lovers for a decade. The one room takeaway joint opens after sunset and continues to serve customers long after the area's residents have gone to bed. Their chart-topper is the Chicken Seekh Kebab -- succulent and wholesome, it'su00a0 value-for-money.
The preparations begin at noon, when the chicken is slow-cooked to make delicately-flavoured mince. The masalas are a family recipe, say the owners.
Getting there: Shop no 5, 43, Dr VB Gandhi Marg, Kala Ghoda, Fort (ahead of the Jewish synagogue behind Rhythm House)
Call: 9821199147
Shell out: Rs 85

Mutton Seekh Kebab
At: Dadar 28
Now here's a surprise addition to the list. In the surrounding middle-class Maharashtrian locality, Dadar 28 has been known to dish out pretty good local fare and competent desi Chinese. But the year-old restaurant also serves delicious Tandoori cuisine. And its pi ce de resistance is the Mutton Seekh Kebab. The chef prepares it from finely minced meat, herbs and spices. The meat is skewered and rolled into sausage-like barrels, three inches in length. They take 20 minutes of tossing on a grill to get ready.
Getting there: 377, Amarkunj, Veer Savarkar Road, Shivaji Park, Dadar (W)
Call: 24448866
Shell out: Rs 275

Kakori Kebab
At: Kakori House, Mahim
The legend behind the Kakori is intriguing. A Lucknowi nawab lost all his teeth so he ordered his chefs to prepare a kebab that he could swallow without suffering an upset tummy. Using finely minced meat, the chefs passed the litmus test with the kakori. Thus was born, what Awadhi chefs dubbed, the king of kebabs.
Kakori House founder Ishtiyaque Qureshi's labour of love doesn't disappoint. Quereshi's two-chain Kakori House considers itself the guardian of the authentic kakori kebab in Mumbai. And we were sold on the claim as soon as we sunk our teeth into the skewered delight. While you await this Nawabi gift, it's not a bad idea to brush up on your history by reading about the Kakori Conspiracy and its role in the Indian freedom struggle, printed on the paper napkins.
Getting there: 10A, Shiv Sagar Co-Op Society, opposite Paradise Cinema, LJ Road; Also at 5, Dunhill Apartments, 26 Waroda Road, Bandra (W)
Call: 65229211 / 65129211
Shell out: Rs 160

Paneer Tikkas
At: Toto's Garage
Seven years ago, this writer hated paneer. Everything that had hit the tongue felt rubbery and chewy and smelled of stale milk. A vegetarian who hates mushrooms is left with little option but to roll out of a night out at a bar and totter back home with alcohol surging in the veins due to a lack of grub.
That was until the Paneer Tikka was discovered at Toto's. Do they add a dollop of butter? Or is it edible silk? This one's a winner that even carnivorous friends love. Cooked to perfection with a hint of burnt edge, and garnished with capsicum and onion rings, it comes with a tangy pudina syrup.
Getting there: 7/8, Lourdes Heaven, Pali Naka, Bandra (W)u00a0
Call: 26006429
Shell out: Rs 150

Mixed Vegetable Kebab Platter
At: Puranmal, Vile Parle
It's a rarity for restaurants to get every variety on a mixed platter right. Puranmal's, Juhu's just-opened fine dine restaurant manages to create a competent mixed veg kebab platter. A combination of paneer, tandoori gobi, vegetarian seekh, stuffed mushroom and bhuna aloo, this one can feed up to four. It takes 25 minutes to arrive at your table but the end result is a delicious treat for pukka vegetarians who are usually shortchanged when it comes to kebabs. The paneer cubes are soft, the vegetarian seekh mince holds up nicely even when impaled on a stick, and the green chutney that comes as accompaniment makes a fitting partner.
Getting there: Bharat Bhavan, near Mithibai College, Juhu, Vile Parle (W)
Call: 26716939
Shell out: Rs 250