The country knows Tilak Nagar, a Punjabi-dominated area in western Delhi, as Virat Kohli’s favourite chhole bhature spot. Any true Delhiite will tell you that this entire neighbourhood is a paradise for desi food lovers. It’s the go-to destination for relishing roadside spicy tikkas, tandoori momos, shawarmas, deep-fried fish pakoras, chaap rolls laden with butter, desi-style burgers, and, of course, the Virat-approved chhole bhature.
This is also the place that brings food enthusiasts together at 3-4 am. In the wee hours, when the capital is in deep sleep, Tilak Nagar is loud and alive with late-night food stalls serving up fried delights like chicken samosas, chilli paneer samosas, and heavy chicken omelettes. Even at these early hours, the wait to get your order can be long.
Amid these popular street food vendors offering a variety of oily and spicy offerings, it was a surprise when a scene-stealing ‘healthy wrap’ cart popped up. His motive? To serve healthy, delicious food. His workstation, reminiscent of a Subway outlet, features a variety of vegetables like corn, jalapenos, olives, mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and salad leaves. The now-viral wrap vendor uses these generously but controls the addition of sauces—even though he claims they are fat-free—to keep the health quotient high.
The response to his business venture has been impressive; the number of customers and a long wait to receive the order suggest that.
Street food gets a healthier upgrade
This ‘healthification’ of street food is being seen across the country, reflecting a shift towards healthier food choices. In Ludhiana’s Feroz Gandhi Market, for instance, a chaat seller is all over the Internet for his exotic take on sprouts chaat. A healthy dish anyway, this special version comes loaded with a variety of veggies—mushrooms, bell peppers, corn, broccoli, and carrots, apart from the regular tomato-onion, adorn the dish and make it more nutritious.
Think of Kolkata’s street food scene. Are visuals of crispy cutlets, chops, chowmein, and kathi rolls playing in your mind too? Kolkata absolutely loves its street food, and so does the world. However, in the last few years, a healthier contender—Bhapa chicken (steamed chicken)—has entered the fray.
The sellers have their distinct ways of preparation. Essentially, the concept is to marinate chicken a bit, wrap it in aluminium foil, and then steam it. Bengali kitchens have always been familiar with steaming as a cooking method (Bhapa Ilish is one of the most popular Bengali delicacies) , but it taking over the street food scene is rather refreshing. Steamed chicken, often prepared in momo steamers, is also gaining popularity in Delhi.
Talking of momos, often hailed as the life of the Delhi food landscape, there are healthier versions of it selling on the streets. Think of momos made using wheat flour instead of the regular refined flour or Humayunpur’s now-viral black rice momos.
Mumbai is seeing a similar trend, with street stalls selling protein-rich chana salads loaded with fresh vegetables. And avocado toasts from Surat which are a big hit.
Healthy street food, not a new concept
But wait. Hasn’t healthy street food always been a part of our culture? Remember roadside vendors selling items like murmura, pre-cut coconut slices, shakkarkandi (sweet potato) chaat, fresh-cut fruits, and the basic chana chaat that continue to be a part of the country’s food culture.
Sameer Bawa, a Delhi-based corporate professional and food content creator, adds that we have always been surrounded by healthy options but we never talked about them much.
“In North India, we have had things like Indian berry (faalse) – a summer staple in North India, sweet potatoes, as healthy offerings being on the streets. When we would travel on a train, vendors would sell cut vegetables like carrot and turnip with salt sprinkled over as a snack item. Down South, street-side aloe vera juice and raw mango with masala have been so popular. Something as simple and super-healthy as a boiled egg has been there too. These things just never became an object of affection or topic of discussion because they were just always there,” Sameer Bawa shares with India Today.
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In the current scenario too, all these healthy snacks are sold almost everywhere. Over the years, however, processed junk street-side food became dominant.
This street food healthification phenomenon can be attributed to an overall interest in healthy living led by awareness and social media. “People have now become health conscious and are making choices that are optimally good for the longer run,” Bawa says.
“People have started manoeuvring the dishes in a manner that is more health-friendly. And there is definitely a trend moving in the direction that people are focusing more on protein intake,” he says.
He, though, also admits that many of the vendors are simply jumping on the health bandwagon, mostly because they see it is as a potentially lucrative business. “This phenomenon can also be seen in the FMCG industry. Instead of fried papdis, baked alternatives are being sold. The same is true with potato chips. Even though everything is fine in moderation, we tend to cross the line of moderation with overeating,” adds Bawa.
Beware of healthy impostors
Nutritionists, meanwhile, are happy with the emergence of healthier food options on the streets but add that many vendors mislead in the name of selling healthy stuff. They’ll load your veggie wrap with mayonnaise and other sauces and yet say it is healthy.
“These heavy sauces and mayonnaise are high in saturated fats. Their consumption in excess can increase the risk of heart disease. Moderation is key when consuming heavy sauces to avoid negative health impacts,” says Parmeet Kaur, head and chief nutritionist and dietician, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram.
Here are some tips, as shared by Simrat Kathuria, CEO and head Dietitian at The Diet Xperts, that’ll help you make better choices:
- Check the ingredients and cooking methods. Wraps made of maida and toasted in bad quality butter or oil make no sense.
- Be cautious of heavy sauces and mayonnaise. In ‘healthy’ sandwiches, wraps, or salads, high-calorie dressings are often used.
- Choose grilled or baked options over fried.
Hygiene is another important factor that one should not overlook.
India has a rich history of street food vendors and hawkers; the easy availability, a vast variety of offerings, and low prices team to make street food popular among people from all walks of life.
However, one can’t ignore the downside too. Indian street food is often associated with unsafe handling of food, usage of poor-quality ingredients, and compromise on sanitation. A lot of times, the street food you love so much even has faecal matter in it.
Rutu Dhodapkar, senior dietitian and nutritionist, PD Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, emphasises eating from FSSAI-certified vendors and those who use fresh bottled water to cook. Additionally, check if the utensils and equipment used are clean, the stall/cart is clean, and ingredients are stored properly.
The final bite
If you’re indulging in street food for the taste, remember that moderation is key. Occasional indulgence is fine!
But if health is your priority, you now know that street food has undergone a healthier upgrade. Otherwise, for every plate of aloo tikki, chowmein, or momos, there have always been healthier alternatives like murmura bhel (or the Bengali version, jhalmuri), chana chaat, roasted corn, fruit chaat, roasted sweet potatoes, boiled eggs, and even chopped cucumber and kakdi.
Source Agencies
