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Culinary Mysteries Solved

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Published: May 2, 2007

Q: Where can I find authentic Indian street food in Philly?

A: While actual Indian lunch carts are tough to find (the only ones we've seen hover around UPenn's campus), there are a bunch of sit-downs that offer comparable snack-ish selections. The quintessential North Indian street food is chaat � the generic name for a tangy, spicy mix of sauteed potatoes and black cumin powder. Cafe Spice's (35 S. Second St., 215-627-6273) palak papri chaat is a cold-layered blend of spinach crisps, diced potatoes, chickpeas and yogurt. If variety is what you seek, An Indian Affair (4425 Main St., Manayunk, 215- 482-8300) offers the Manayunk Medley, a staggering assortment of fried veggie fritters, nawabi sheekh lamb kebabs and crispy turnovers topped with potatoes and peas.

Fancier folk should check out the tikka paneer pudina, cottage cheese mixed with fresh mint, herbs and spices, at Lovash Indian Cuisine (236 South St., 215-925-3881). To satisfy a sweet tooth, sample Uduppi Dosa House's (2163 Galloway Road, Bensalem, 215-638-4008) lentil doughnuts. The fluffy thayir vada is soaked in tempered spicy yogurt; other choices come flavored with pepper water or sambar, a brothy, tamarind-based dish common in South India.

 

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