South Asia

A deep-fried potato vada (a filling of mashed potato seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, and green chiles, coated in chickpea batter and fried) placed in a halved pav (a soft white bread roll introduced by the Portuguese as pão, transformed into an Indian street staple). Served with three chutneys: green coriander, sweet tamarind, and dry red garlic — and a fresh green chile. The vada pav is often called 'Mumbai's answer to the burger.' It is the most democratic food in Maharashtra, eaten across all classes, available 24 hours in major train stations.

Kheema is minced meat (usually mutton or beef) cooked with a dense spice base of onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, cumin, coriander, and garam masala until almost dry. Served with buttered pav rolls for dipping and scooping. The kheema pav is common in both Mumbai's Muslim community restaurants (Irani cafés like Café Britannia serve it) and throughout Pakistan's urban food culture. Rich, intensely spiced, and satisfying.

A paratha or maida roti cooked on a tawa, smeared with egg, then wrapped around fillings of chicken tikka, paneer, or aloo with onion, coriander chutney, and a proprietary Frankie masala. The original Frankie was created by Amarjit Singh Tibb in Mumbai as India's answer to a quick roll sandwich, inspired by the idea of a burrito-style wrap. Now available throughout India in countless regional variations.

A complex and beautiful sandwich from Kutch: a spiced potato filling flavored with dabeli masala (a proprietary mix of dried coconut, sesame, dried mango), garnished with pomegranate seeds, roasted peanuts, sev (crispy chickpea flour noodles), and multiple chutneys (tamarind, garlic), served in a pav. Created in the 1960s by Keshavji Gabha Chudasama in Mandvi, dabeli has spread throughout Gujarat and Mumbai but remains underknown outside the region.

A paratha (layered flatbread) cooked on a tawa, an egg broken and fried onto its surface, then wrapped around fillings of chicken tikka, mutton seekh, or paneer with raw onion, lime juice, green chiles, and chutney. The kati roll was invented at Nizam's restaurant in Kolkata, created for British officers who wanted spiced kebab they could eat while walking. The egg-coated paratha exterior is the defining element — it adds richness and binds the filling.

A Sri Lankan street food masterpiece: roti (flatbread) torn into pieces and cooked on a hot griddle with egg, spiced vegetables, and optionally chicken or beef, all chopped together with metal blades in a rhythmic clanging that has become the sound of Sri Lankan street food. The kottu is technically a hot stir-fry of deconstructed flatbread, but its composition and portability place it firmly in the sandwich family. It is Sri Lanka's most beloved street food.

Sprouted moth beans (matki) cooked in a fiery spiced curry base, topped with farsan (crunchy chickpea snacks), onion, tomato, lemon, and coriander, served with pav rolls for dipping and scooping. Kolhapuri misal is the spiciest version — considered a test of chile tolerance. Nashik misal, Pune misal, and Mumbai misal each have their own spice levels and farsan compositions. The pav is essential — without the bread to cool the fire and absorb the curry, misal becomes merely a stew.