I’ll be honest and admit that the idea is not mine and I heard 2 random guys bizarrely named Shanky & Panky rant about it on one of the trazillion FM radio stations which takes pride in giving a ‘555 pataka chai’ advertisement more air time than playing some occasional music. As they crooned in the most irksome of voices to the most exasperating of guitar plays about what the urban dim sum has done to our good ol’ staple food of all generations, it made me realize that these annoying buggers do have a case in point.
Let’s roll back shall we. Circa 1997, the only three places in Delhi where you’d find an Odd Momo being sold would be Chanakyapuri (the best back then), the Dilli haat (still the best fried ones) and the Tibetan market near ISBT (primarily for the momo soup). Needless to say the samosa could be found at a stone’s throw away, anywhere in Delhi.
But that was back then, back in the days when Akshay Kumar hideously dressed in blindingly shiny Green dhoti kurta was singing “Jab tak rahega Samose mein aaloo..” song to Juhi Chawla who by the way, gleefully matched up to the depressing standards set by Mr. Rajeev Bhatia.
That was also the time when every guest visit at home meant that I’d have to make a quick dash to the local mithai wala to get Samosas for everyone. Quickly counting the total number of people in my mind, always adding one extra, I’d ask money from mom in a telepathic conversation using my pleading eyes that said “Mom, can I please have two for myself..?”
A lot has changed since then, and ‘The Ugly Dumpling’ has made foray into the limelight to such an extent that if I were to drive to the local market on any given day, I’d be certain to come across at-least a dozen momo kiosks. Apparently them oriental buggers weren’t satisfied by taking over our electronics industry, so they have now resorted to invade us on the food front. I may sound cynical in thinking that it’s a massive conspiracy but how else do you explain such a large scale influx of jiaozi (Chinese for a momo) on our streets.
The Samosa is dying a slow death. It no more enjoys the un-challenged mandate that it used to a few years ago, it is no longer the favorite evening snack but it still has a few loyalists including me. So here is my account of where you’d find a good Samosa or two :
1. Frontier Samosa, Panchkuian Road – for its old world charm.
2. Bengali Sweets, Bengali Market – for the urban version.
3. Manhor’s Japani Samosa, Lajpat Rai Market, Chandni Chowk – for something different.
There is a bigger meaning to the line “Momos killed the samosa”. It is not just a question of one food item up-surging the other but a whole culture shift and the Momo-Samosa story is a mere allegory to that fact.
