How is Abraham Lincoln's navy blocking New Orleans and Mississippi connected to your local chat corner shop?

A short thread..

A little background - among the first communities to settle in what is today Mumbai were traders from Surat in the 1660's.

Surat was a thriving port but lost out to Bombay over a period of time. Eventually the traders had to move to Bombay.

With that they brought with them their snacks - khandvi, dhokla, fafda, thepla etc. This would be the standard fare for most to eat while working in Bombay.

A group of Gujaratis got together and started trading cotton on Dalal Street.

This would eventually become Asia's first stock exchange the Bombay Stock Exchange @BSEIndia

The early traders made their fortune during the American Civil War which was fought between some clear racists and subtle racists between 1861 and 1865.

This affected the cotton global supply chain when Lincoln's Navy blockaded New Orleans and Mississippi.

The Gujarati merchants made money from all this uncertainty in cotton supply.

Back in the day, they would work late hours - convenient to US and UK. They would get the latest rates and orders quite late into night.

By the time they were done, they would be hungry and nobody would be willing to cook at that time.

This demand for good food at an unusual time led to the invention of the Pav Bhaji.

The Bhaji would be generally mashed vegetables (mostly leftovers from the day) cooked in a tomato gravy and served with bread.

The buttered bread would be prepared by Portugese Jesuits, who had started to settle in and around Bombay.

Thus the American Civil War led to the creation of one of any chat corner shops main items - Pav Bhaji..

Please thank Abraham Lincoln and his navy, the next time you bite into a hot Pav Bhaji.