Find out how this Bihari mutton dish has become Mumbai’s popular street food

This writer prefers to call herself a bit of an experimentalist which is how we end up savouring all kinds of fare that the city dishes out as and when the opportunity arises That is how we came across Champaran a Bihari mutton dish While Champaran has been popping up on the streets of Mumbai for quite a while it is only now that it has come into the limelight of Mumbairsquos street food sceneChamparan is made in a clay potAddressing the increasing popularity of this dish on the Internet Rachna Prasad a home chef who runs Ambrosia Kitchen a cloud kitchen in Saki Naka reveals that this dish has been discussed across Mumbairsquos foodscape for over five years now ldquoThe dish name emerges from the place it originated from Champaran village in Bihar I have been making it for six years now What attracts people towards Champaran is the fact that it is cooked on charcoal in a clay pot We do not use water and it is entirely made in meat and onion juicesrdquo Prasad tells us ldquoWhile it is traditionally cooked with goat meat the chicken versions have been popularised now because of Mumbaikarsrsquo eating choicesrdquo she addsRaju Kumar centre in grey stands at the desk as his assistant stirs a cooking pot PicsAditi ChavanA few days before our chat with Prasad we tasted an authentic Champaran thali complete with phulkes at RajursquosThe Handi Hut Champaran Meat House in Malad West Raju Kumar the owner has been cooking this dish since 2016 Itrsquos a nondescript streetside shop with a few plastic furniture We spotted a crowd keen to try out this dish in the afternoon that we had dropped by for lunch After waiting for nearly 20 minutes a steaming hot plate was served to us that we gobbled up while standing on the kerbsideDough keeps the pot airtightldquoWe started in Delhi and have been cooking in Andheri East for one and a half years now I opened this branch about six months agordquo Kumar mentions as we savour his dish He reveals that even after marinating the meat for hours on end it takes at least two hours to cook the dish ldquoIn our village we eat it with dhooskas a fried bread made from a mix of lentils which we have not included on our menu as we feel it is an acquired taste Right now we are glad to present a part of our culture in the form of this dish to the rest of the worldrdquo Kumar tells us turning his attention back to catering to hishungry customersRachna PrasadRajursquosThe Handi Hut Champaran Meat HouseAt Metro Pillar 2A433 near Inorbit Metro Station Malad WestCall 9004028103 Cost Rs 300 onwards mutton Rs 200 onwards chickenEat the dishEarthen Kitchen ChamparanAt Shop No 38 Vasudev Sky High Mira Road EastCall 9029019867Cost Rs 1879 1 kg mutton Rs 929 1 kg chickenAmbrosia KitchenCall 9820968751 place order 24 hours in advanceCost Rs 1050 750 ml mutton potDesi Khao Champaran Meat HouseAt Shop No 11 Oshiwara Shopping CHSL Jogeshwari WestCall 7480001111Cost Rs 1799 1 kg mutton Rs 1200 1 kg chicken