By Pamela Nandi | Apr 04, 2020

Take a stroll near the hippie market of Devon, or the pavements of Streatham and catch a glimpse of a tootling trolley flanked by pantry packed with tangy treats to get a taste of Kolkata’s favourite ‘Jhal Muri‘. Meet the creator of this rare and beautiful thing Angus Denoon, former chef and the ‘Jhal Muri‘ man on the London streets.

Have seen his culinary journey over the television, however super excited to meet him at Ekdalia RD. arranged by Rakhee Ghosh and Surojit Rout.

Realy glad to meet Angus Denoon, and hear the tale of how this much-appraised wonder mixture created a miracle in the far West by making its journey from the original paradise of chats, Kolkata to the British capital i.e. the streets of London.

The Bengali word ‘Jhal Muri‘ – Jhal meaning ‘spicy‘ and Muri meaning ‘puffed rice‘ with its roots originating from the ‘City Of Joy’ epitomizes the great street food taste attached to all our childhood days, seeing the ‘muriwala‘ while travelling in a train or long bus journeys or in the bylanes of Kolkata.

While London’s best food – hawking pies, pasties, fried fish are dished up on the street, Angus Denoon‘s irresistible chaat – the humble ‘Jhal Muri‘ made in a jiffy created a storm in the taste buds of the food freaks of London and also one of the cheapest eats. The marriage of the puffed rice with crunchy ingredients (bhujia), the assortment of spices, a hint of tamarind pulp, lemon, few drops of mustard oil, served in a newspaper made cone adds the local touch to retain the authenticity and a distinctive taste.

Being fascinated by the supreme chat makers of Kolkata during his visit to the charming city for a film shoot, decades ago, Angus whipped up the magic in his mobile van flagged as ‘Everybody Love Love JhalMuri Express’.

Get intrigued, by the beautiful and vibrant cart decked up by bright yellow and red marigold garlands, nimbu-mirchi and graced by circus of colours coming from the ingredients. The boards studded with the Indian artworks, wooden lime squeezers, nippy little knife evokes the taste of Kolkata. The truck also offers Ghugni, Dhokla, Puchka, Shrikhand, Indian Masala Chai and Lassi.

Living a nomadic life in his van, and due to his burst of fame, Angus Denoon now pops up at various festivals across the world and also caters at the weddings of Indians in London and anywhere he could flog in.

Now coming to some of our conversations …

So how about learning this craft…
he narrated its due to the fascination by observing the skilful street food vendors in 2005, during his stopover in Kolkata, while shooting a film about street food for a month and meeting the humbled citizens.

So what made him pick up this trade…
On his return from filming in Kolkata, he was asked to cook a Kolkata street food, for some cooking show at London and the easiest recipe was ‘Jhal Muri‘, the crowd-pleaser that he started as a business.

So what made this ‘Jhal Muri’ turn into satiation…
He admitted that ‘the best part is that it needs no cooking, no kitchen, its portable, cheap, full of nutritious goodness i.e. vegan, wheat-free, healthy and done right in front of people’ and making in London for over a decade now, feeding the greedy hearts of all cultures. The bottom line is high-quality meals on wheels are always appealing.

So what makes this ‘Jhal Muri’ different from others…
Wearing colourful coat and hat, and surrounded by his fans, the mystical magic lies in the churning technique with the fresh flavoursome ingredients inside the shiny stainless pot with a crackling sound to bring out the crunchy, tangy taste, cone after cone leaving that wow factor until you reach the bottom of the cone and end up craving for more as well.

Angus Denoon recalls, that during the initial days, the overwhelming response came from his Indian customers, which was very touching and it is all about making food fun. He does it in a hawker’s way and started selling ‘Jhal Muri‘ from a supermarket trolley and now owns a van. Glad to know that he kept coming to Kolkata for 10 years in a row.

Thank you so much, Angus Denoon for your valuable time and grateful to you for all the hard efforts in carrying this Indian treasure to the Queen’s country.

Grateful to Rakhee Ghosh and Surojit Rout for all the arrangements and giving us this wonderful opportunity.

Cheers!!!