SodaBottleOpenerWala’s taken chaat under its quirky wing, giving these timeless eats a revolutionary peg in a new menu
While SodaBottleOpenerWala’s design aesthetic comes across as ‘cool and old-school’, their new chaat menu reflects their snazzy and diet-friendly ethos on Mumbai-Irani cuisine. And their new menu, Bombay Chaat House, is no exception.
The new menu kicked off on September 15 and chef Shashikant Kalyanee says they’ve already received plaudits on the subtly noticeable flavour profiles with which they’re experimenting.
“There are a couple of reasons as to why ‘now’,” says the resident chef, “the first being that there is a busy festive season going on right now and there will be a lot of street food vendors out and about, so we wanted to join with our own perspectives. The second reason is that we are using a very specifically seasonal ingredient called sea buckthorn or dhurchuk in Hindi. We’ll get into that later.”
One by one, the dishes come out and the spread in its entirety is speckled with the bright colours and alluring textures we love to associate with Instagrammable chaat.
Chef Sashikant and his team have melded in an indigenous superfood ingredient, too: sea buckthorn. These little orange drupes pack a tarty and astringent punch but are loaded to the stems with Omega 7 and Vitamin C. So what’s SodaBottleOpenerWala done with these little Himalayan fruits? Well, obviously, they’ve gone and created Sea buckthorn ragda pani puri, combining the extract from the fruit with jaggery syrup to give it some balance. This is an unmissable try; paired with the traditional pani puri masala in a companion bottle to have a rounded experience which is not too unfamiliar.
And what’s a chaat experience without a few nibbles of pav bhaji? SodaBottleOpenerWala has added a tasteful sprinkling of goat cheese to amp up the power of each bite. Be sure to save space for their take on Mumbai bhel, their puffed amaranth and lotus-seed bhel with the delicate flavours of, believe it or not, cheeslings.
The dish comes together cohesively and isn’t too filling. The Bombay Chaat House menu is one to be leisurely enjoyed with friends or family — or even both if you’re that popular. The rates are as per SodaBottleOpenerWala’s pricing system, averaging at ₹150 for a fairly generous platter. Round everything off with some cutting chai and you’re good to go