The name is a mystery that may never get solved. But I think that only adds to the magic of the Japani samosa. There is some speculation that it was thought of sometime after the end of the World War II. But all we can say is that it is not quite Japanese, and certainly not a samosa. It is, however, a snack that no street food lover should miss out on.
I first went to Manohar Dhaba with my late friend and food guru, Santosh Sharma, many, many years ago. The dhaba, in Chandni Chowk, was set up in 1949. In between Moti Cinema and Lajpat Rai Market, there is a lane. Go down this lane, and you will find a shop on your right with a board that says Manohar Dhaba. The official address is 38/240 Diwan Hal Road. Stop right there.
You get all kinds of dishes at Manohar Dhaba — rajma pulao, chholey bhaturey, paneer naan, gobhi naan, aloo naan, stuffed and lachchha parathas, samosas and gulab jamun. But highlighted in yellow on the board is the dish that it is famous for — Japanese samosa.
The owner, Umeshji, remembered me after all these years. He has been written about since then, and a few food stalls here and there now sell Japani samosas, too. But he is the one who introduced us to it.
Let me tell you what it is like. It is a puff pastry, with a light potato stuffing. This is served with spicy chholey and mildly flavoured chutney. Two samosas with the work are for Rs. 30. What makes the samosa special is the flaky casing, which reminds you a bit of patties. But it isn’t exactly like that either. What really works for the samosa is the potato filling, which is delicious without being too spicy or hot. And, of course, the light flavours are complemented by the tasty chholey. Even the vegetable chutney (I couldn’t quite tell what it was made with) was delicious.
Manohar Dhaba (Phone numbers: 41391909 and 9810186175) has a special thali, too. The Rs.100-thali offers various kinds of vegetables. Umeshji wanted me to taste everything that was on offer — including his muttar paneer and saag paneer, all of which was rather nice. I asked for some rajma pulao (Rs.50), which was plain and good. What I really wanted to eat was their gulab jamun (Rs.30 for two), but I bravely battled my sweet tooth, and won that round.
I like the way cooks experiment with samosas in little lanes in Delhi. I love the small masala or pea-filled samosas that you get in many sweetshops, and the mung dal samosas of Multani Dhanda. These days, you even get samosas filled with chowmein in some areas. I like samosas of Uttar Pradesh — where they are like chaats — the samosa is crushed and served with curd, chholey, chutneys and masalas. The Bengali singara is nice, too, and I like its filling of small cauliflower florets and peanuts.
But Japani samosas are special. I think the magic lies in the contrasting tastes and flavours. And, of course, in the name.
