Bhaji-Puri

Breakfast this morning at one of Panjim‘s legendary cafés, Café Tato (established 1913). More on the city’s storied cafés in a future post.

The bhaji-puri is Café Tato‘s signature dish. The main ingredient in the bhaji is boiled potatoes, blended and cooked in a mix of secret spices and herbs formulated in the distant past. What distinguishes the bhaji at Tato is the patented ‘cut’ of the potato. Served with puris made of maida (refined flour) or Goan pão (if you are watching your arterial health), and washed down by chao (tea), this is considered the touchstone of a Goan breakfast.

As a lad in shorts, the bhaji-puri at Café Tato served as my basic unit of currency. Every rupee that came my way would be converted into an equivalent number of plates of bhaji-puri (around 6 to a rupee then).

Bhaji-Puri at Café Tato, Panjim
5D Mark II, Zeiss ZE 50mm f/2 Makro Planar