If you asked anyone when avocados became ‘IT’, they surely can’t remember. The green fruit quickly became popular globally with Avocado Toast coming to the fore and becoming a Millennial stereotype.
Gradually, Avocado Toast in India became the norm on menus of cafes across the country. Whether you were eating Avocado Toast in a cafe in South Delhi, in Mumbai’s Bandra, or in a well-designed cafe in Jaipur, it got additional toppings or seasonings but remained quite sought-after.
You can no longer call Avocado Toast a fad, which many food writers across the globe assumed it would be. The toast has become a go-to breakfast, a light lunch, and even a snack, with many eating it as a healthier alternative or because it can be vegan.
The simple toast recently gained virality again after a street sandwich vendor in Gujarat began selling what people called ‘the most expensive sandwich on the street’. The Avocado Toast made on the street by Kalakar in Surat is made with Hass Avocados which he brings in from a supplier.
Healthy and tasty too?
Photo: Healthy Affair
On the other hand, taking the narrative of ‘healthier alternative’ forward, Healthy Affair, a street food cart in Vadodara, Gujarat began dishing out Avocado Toast too. Needless to say, it was a hit (and viral on Instagram too). But this time it was termed as the only Avocado Toast in India priced under ₹200. Co-founder of Healthy Affair, Himani Fadadu says the idea was to bring something healthy on the street, “We ate Avocado Toasts in cafes and thought, ‘we can do this!’ but we wanted to keep the price lower.” Along with two friends who turned business partners – Daksesh Thakkar and Sanket Khunan – Fadadu set up a cart. “We did not know it would go so viral!” she says.
The trio has never owned or run a food business and Fadadu says that was the only challenge. “Everyone knows about Avocado Toast, our smoothies too which are all made purely with fruits, honey, and milk alone. So, it was easy to convince people that everything we make is healthy, as it’s all made on the spot,” says Fadadu. The challenge of educating people about Avocado Toast never existed at all because Gujaratis are well-travelled and are in with all the latest food trends. “We have begun getting requests for healthy breakfasts too,” she adds, before adding that soon enough Healthy Affair will be expanding to serve as a cloud kitchen too.
Healthy Affair has managed to bring a range of multi-grain and sourdough toasts on the streets. While they also serve fresh smoothies, they hope to add more options in the near future. But their Avocado Toast remains the most popular item, and we suspect it’s not just the price point but also the fascination we have with the fruit.
Avocado vs Butterfruit
To be honest though, avocado has never been unknown to India. While street vendors like Kalakar and Healthy Affair source the Hass Avocado variety from a supplier in Surat, India has a variant too. Local to Southern India, the Indian variety of Avocado has been popularly known as Butterfruit in the south, owing to its smooth, butter-like texture. It’s common to find Butterfruit on the streets of Kochi, where vendors will offer you the fruit to eat as is or even juice it for you to try.
Does this mean that the manic fascination around avocados seems a little out of place or too done? One can only wonder. But what you can do instead is try to make an Indian Avocado Toast with Butterfruit. We wonder what that would taste like.
