A tiny stall in Vile Parle whips up deep-fried twisted potatoes that resemble tornadoes and wreak havoc on taste buds with yummy flavours
Bharat Nisar adds Peri Peri spice mix to Twisted Potato. Pics/Sneha Kharabe
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Even in Sunday evening's torrential dowpour, a long queue snakes on a pavement in an Irla lane. And it's not to buy the latest, cheap smartphone or Gulf-imported goodies at Alfa, synonymous with the neighbourhood in Vile Parle (W). Instead, shoppers hungrily eye the Twisted Potato, a dish served at an eponymous stall that cropped up four months ago outside Trendy Taste superstore, two shops away from Alfa 1. An appetising snack, the deep-fried twirls resemble a golden potato ribbon curled around a stick.
A round of browsing on the web revealed that it's a popular concept in South Korea and Thailand. That's also where the owner, 42-year-old city businessman Bharat Nisar, got the idea from, when he wished to start a new business after winding up Royal Sweets, a samosa and sweet store with branches in Kandivali and Marol. "I haven't seen it anywhere in Mumbai.
A whole potato is cut into spirals using a slicer
We sell 300 pieces daily and up to 500 over the weekend," says Nisar, as he steps behind the counter to show a couple how it's made. The couple in question is eager to get Nisar to set up a similar stall at a ground in Bardoli (Gujarat) for Navratri festivities.
Fried fantasy
The tiny stall features two cool contraptions. One is a twisted potato slicer and another, a frying convection that can be spotted at McDonald's. He pierces a long stick into a whole, raw potato, peels et al. "I've sourced sturdy ice cream sticks to hold the potato," says Nisar.
Twisted Potato
The stick is put through the manual slicer, which cuts the veggie into spirals. He deftly stretches the spirals along the stick's length and dips it in a homemade batter before deep-frying it. Twisted Potato is served either plain ('50) or in Peri Peri, Cheese, Honey Mustard, and Sweet And Chilli ('70 per stick) flavours.
Hot and spicy
We order a Peri Peri and fall in love at first bite. Piping hot and crispy, with starchy texture intact, the potato curls are heavenly. A sprinkling of paprika-infused spice mix adds to the taste.
The Cheese and Honey Mustard include respective sauces squeezed along a side of the stick. The cheesy version would give most Cheese Fries at pubs a run for their money while the Honey Mustard packs a punch with its sweet-and-tangy flavours. "I have another 50 flavours in mind," adds the owner, leaving us to polish off the spirals off the stick, best had on rasta itself.
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