Delicacies in hiding at Hot Seekh

Even if you have been residing in Mumbai since years, there will always be some spot in the city that will catch you unawares. Call it a Mumbai maze or a matter of chance, if you’ve discovered something either way, the probability is that you’d like it. Take it from someone who chanced upon this most excellent hole-in-the-wall place.

One fine day, after dropping a colleague at Santa Cruz (W) station, I took a different route on my way back, a lane (2nd Hasnabad lane) towards Khar Subway. I must have driven a few kilometres when the mesmerising aroma of kebab, seekh and shawarma hit me. I looked around and spotted a bunch of people gathered around — wait for it — a sigri (brazier)!

Watching the meaty goodies churn, I immediately made up my mind to visit the place called Hot Seekh, and took a leap of faith with a chicken seekh pav and a mutton seekh pav for a mere Rs 70. While both were worth my money, the chicken seekh was a clear winner, with a more sublime taste than the mutton seekh. That was my unplanned experience on day one, which I took upon myself to approach critically henceforth.

So, on day two, I took along my colleagues for a second opinion, which was quite important given that they had high hopes following my review of my experience on day one. On our menu was chicken seekh, mutton seekh, baida roti, kheeri and kaleji kebabs, chicken anarkali tikka, all of which were flawless dishes except the mutton seekh being a tad bit overpowering. But fret not, for the food and fizzy drinks were worth the wait, and the price came up to Rs 800. Although Hot Seekh is not a looker, a sizeable crowd of foodies surrounding two sigris, shawarma machine, hot tava, refrigerator and makeshift seating is otherwise convincing.

So whenever you are around Santa Cruz hunting for a quick, delicious bite, I recommend to you Hot Seekh post 5.30 pm. Oh and if you hear someone calling out to ‘Jahannum ka watchman’, don’t be surprised, that’s the help.

Gaurav is a food blogger