Gouri Joshi
If you want to get a plan go to a man, but if you want to get it done, go to a woman”.
This is exactly what happened when her father in law hurled an idea at her, over a coffee table conversation, and she not only picked it up but turned it into what is getting to be the most talked about authentic Bambaiya Wada Pao destination across towns in Goa.
While we recently marked the Women’s day celebrations, l take pleasure in introducing you to the face behind this successful venture called Wada Wow - Tasneem Sujha Haaziq.
Wada Wow, although it operates from a small outlet in Khorlim, Mapusa, it is slowly spreading its roots across cities.
Having a graphic designer in the family proved advantageous and within no time the logo and the allied designs needed for the new venture, were ready. Tasneem was quick to churn out her secret recipes of chutneys and the accompaniments and the wadas were ready for a home trial at lunchtime. Her husband Mujtaba, liked the idea and immediately agreed to come on board.
Thus, was born Wada Wow out of a simple coffee table conversation which proved to be a brain wave and one can see the results.
One would wonder why wada pao? More so because wada pao is the most common and easily available street food to control a growling stomach.
Tasneem took advantage of this and turned this notion into an advantage. She has today made wada pao a celebrated delicacy, which people specially stop by to eat instead of just grabbing a wada pao to get rid of hunger pangs and growling stomachs.
Taaneem was quick to realise that authentic Bambaiya wada pao is not made in Goa. Mashed potato with a few seasonings is merely rolled in a thin layer of chickpea/ besan batter containing loads of baking soda fried in oil and stuffed into a pao and handed over to the customers in the name of Wada Pao. Not only are the oils used to fry the wadas are questionable but the baking soda is a huge contributor towards acidity.
Tasneem was quick to realise this and decided to go the authentic Maharashtrian way wherein the batter is very thin and the masala is made only out of potato and corriander and the paos are supposed to be extremely soft.
There isn’t even a pinch of baking soda added to the preparation.
The masalas namely the tamarind chutney and the homemade masala is prepared by Tasneem herself, whereas the tamarind chuney has tamarind and jaggery mixed in Tasneems secret proportions. Same holds true for the homemade masala prepared from Kashmiri chillies, coconut and garlic served with one green chilli.
Just then another brick was hurled at Wada Wow. Why would people come to eat only one kind of wada pao all the time, however tasty it may be.
Again there is the generation next, for whom, “variety is the spice of life”. This holds good for them even as far as food items are concerned.
That is when the variations in the form of Crunchy masala wada, Cheezy cucumber wada, spicy fried noodles wada, Schezwan cheeze wada, masala cheeze wada, aloo chajiya chaat, moong daal samosas, smooth wada balls, onion pakoda chaat, chatpata salad, and drinks like masala chai, mint chai, lemongrass chai, rose with mint cooler taking shape and becoming a big hit too.
The best part of Wada Wow is that they operate only between 3pm and 9.30 pm and the amount of business that they manage to grab is equivalent to that of the whole day.
The technical part is taken care of by the husband wife duo with a very small team for assistance and Mujtaba doubles up for business development as well.
Not only do they have their stall at food festivals but they also cater to parties get togethers and functions.
They are now stretching their boundaries beyond Mapusa and coming to Porvorim, Panaji and so on. All this has not been a smooth sail for Tasneem but as they say “ A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the brick others have hurled at her”.
(The writer is a lawyer and a
passionate foodie)
