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MUZAFFARPUR VEG FOOD TOUR

 

In this special blog we bring you heartwarming accounts of a nostalgic gastronomic journey from the bustling lanes of Anubhav’s hometown Muzaffarpur in Bihar. Apart from being an important trade center of the state, Muzaffarpur is referred to as the ‘Land Of Shahi Litchi’ as it is the country’s leading producer of this deliciously succulent fruit. So brace yourself for an amazing lineup of street foods from some old and famous eateries that Anubhav had grown up eating. It was an utterly emotional experience for him to reconnect with his favourite vendors and dishes. So let’s get started. 

We began with a simple and filling nashta platter from Makhan Shah Halwai at Sonarpatti. It consisted of hot, fluffy puris, a no onion garlic aloo ki sabzi, malpua and jalebis. The highlight of this platter was the freshly made malpuas. Made with a batter of maida and sugar these disc shaped sweets were pure bliss. 

 

The next destination i.e Ram Bharan Aloo Kachalu Wale near Devi Mandir, was one of Anubhav’s childhood favourite stops that he frequented while returning from school. It was a ritual to relish the ghugni muri and aloo kachalu from this place along with the classmates. The former was a combination of puffed rice and black chick pea curry and the later was a zesty mix of boiled potatoes and spices. So during this visit, he went for these two dishes to refresh those memories. Everything, from the taste to the arrangement of things on the cart and the passionate warmth of Ram Bharan uncle was the same as it was years back. Anubhav was grateful to get this opportunity to express his thanks to him for the good times. 

After that super nostalgic encounter we relished some sev buniya and lavang lata from Hotel Bahadur at Kalyani Chowk. The lavanga lata is a khoya stuffed, deep fried pastry whose loose ends are sealed with a clove. The sticky coating of sugar syrup on the crisp exterior adds more fun to the sweet’s taste profile.

The next dish that impressed us was a well assembled Dahi puri from Chintu Dahi puri wale at Kalyani Chowk flyover. For all chaat lovers like us, these curd filled crisp puris are a perennial source of joy. 

We then came across a popular pav bhaji wale at Safi Saudi market. Along with the usual assortment of veggies, their version of this iconic street side dish from Mumbai had spinach and a distinct handmade spice mix in it that lent a unique flavour to the thick, buttery curry. 

From there we headed to Hari Ji Kachori Ghugni Stall at Suttapati. It was a delightful place full of yummy fried snacks. Our pick was a plate of choti kachori that was a combination of sattu stuffed kachori and ghugni. It was so delicious, especially the flavour of besan fried in mustard oil was a treat for the taste buds. Hari Ji’s eclectic range of fritters attracts a huge crowd. 

It was soon time for another round of sweet indulgence at two consecutive places Bharat Jalpan and Maharaj Dugdh Bhandar at Choti Sariyaganj Sutapatti. At the former place we tried rasmadhuri, balushahi and chena khajoor while at the later one we tried rasgulla, lal mohan and raskadam. In terms of great taste, the second place garners an extra admiration for serving optimally sweet treats in comparison to the first one. Anubhav has lots of yummy memories at Bharat Jalpan which he frequented with his parents during family shopping sprees. 

It was soon time to punctuate the gluttony with a paan and some jamun flavoured drink both of which are known to speed up the digestive process and cleanse the palate. We need to make room for a few more popular delicacies.

The next destination was Sundar Maharaj Pede wala at Suttapatti.This Rajasthani sweet and snack shop is popular for its pedas and different varieties of namkeens like dalmoth, mixture etc. We tried some dalmoth and peda. The soft and rich pedas made from freshly made khoya bearing a sweet fragrance of cardamom were quite irresistible. Their Dalmoth i.e., spicy and tangy fried channa dal mixed was a decent snack.

This was followed by a playful helping of aloo tikki ghugni chaat from Ma Bhawani Chaat Bhandar. This mix of crisp aloo tikki, ghugni, chutneys and spices was fun. 

Our penultimate destination was a Bindeswar Ji ki dukan at Purani Bazar Chowk. This humble pakoda and chup stall was situated close to the locality where Anubhav stayed with his family. It was an overwhelming experience for him to meet Bindeswar ji as it led to a flood of memories. He recounted some heartwarming recollections of the fried treats that he used to bing on from this place. A morsel of the crisp beguni stirred up more memories. 

The final destination of this close to heart food tour was Sindhi Sweet Shop. Here we tried the topi khaja which is a delicious multi layered, firm and glazed sweet treat. 

Thus comes to and end the walk down the memory lanes that is bustling with tales of tastes and flavours that had satiated Anubhav’s quest for food right from his childhood. Hope you enjoyed this recollection. 

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GAYA FOOD TOUR

 

The ancient holy city of Gaya in Bihar, referred to as the land of enlightenment and salvation, is a sacred place for Hindu, Buddhist and Jain devotees alike. Mostly frequented by a large number of tourists and pilgrims, Bihar’s second largest city, boasts of a vibrant street food scenario dominated by traditional fares that are loved by the locals too. So let’s take you on an immersive food tour of Gaya. 

Mahabodhi Temple

 

Before starting with our eating spree we first visited the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, one of the major Buddhist worship sites in the world. This UNESCO World Heritage site is the place where Lord Buddha had attained Enlightenment. The sprawling premises were full of monks and devotees from different parts of the world who have arrived here to seek divine blessings.

Rice Noodles

On emerging from the temple complex, we noticed a few food stalls and vendors, primarily selling Tibetan fares. Here we bought some fresh phaley bread from one of the numerous ladies selling it on the roadside, headed to Three Dolma Noodles Shop and ordered some hearty rice noodles. It was fun eating the noodles in the company of a group of monks visiting from Southern India. The phaley bread went well with tea and as well as the rice noodles soup broth. 

Bihari Thali

Soon we then set out for Gaya and on reaching there we first offered our prayers at the famous Vishnupada temple and then began our food tour. The first stop was Rajasthani Bhojnalaya on South Church Road. As the name suggests their menu was a mix of popular Rajasthani and Bihari fares. Their no onion garlic Bihari thali containing rice, karela aloo fry, aloo rajma, dal, kadhi pakoda, spinach moong, dahi, matar paneer, makhuni etc. impressed us with its homely taste and affordability. Of these, the ghee smeared makhuni i.e sattu stuffed baked flatbread was brilliant. 

Paneer Palak Chaat

The second destination was Kesari Chaat, a family run chat centre at Dr. Haridas Chatterjee Road, Durga Bari. Their spicy, tangy and flavourful palak paneer chaat is the talk of the town. It is a well balanced pot pourri of paneer pakoda, palak sooji pakoda, chole, curd and chutneys, sev etc. This was followed by an equally brilliant aloo malpua, a syrup lagen dessert made with potatoes. 

 

While heading to the next stop, we stopped by an open tea stall at Tower Chowk and energized ourselves with a cup of spiced lemon tea. 

Imarti

Next was the turn of a humongous imarti from Sri Ganinnath Imarti Bhandar, KP Road, Chowk which is probably the best imarti shop in the city. The deliciously crisp, syrup laden ornate orangish loop is made with urad dal based batter. They make them of different weights. Ours one weighed half a kilo in weight which is equivalent to seventeen smaller imartis. The combined aroma of ghee, urad dal and sugar syrup was just divine. 

 

We then took a paan break at Mathura Paan shop at KP Chowk Road. The classic Maghai Paan cleansed our palate and primed it for more food. Here we got a crash course on different varieties of suparis like the dry ones, soaked ones, nirmali, processed and roasted ones. 

Tilkut

Finally was the turn of Gaya’s most renowned, winter special sweet called Tilkut which is made with just sugar and sesame seeds. The preparation entails a lot of muscle work and is quite elaborate. At Jauhar Ji’s shop Ramna road we got the opportunity to witness the complex and laborious process of making these Tilkuts. It is fascinating to see so many people engaged in this elaborate task. We loved the pleasantly sweet and nutty taste of this firm Tilkuts. They were so amazing that we even got some of them packed. 

 

As the food tour kept extending with local inputs, we took another tea break at Mahasay tea stall at Tekari Road to energise ourselves for the upcoming stops. The amusing thing we noted here was the measuring cup that was used to measure out the tea. Locally called napna, it was essentially a bigger measuring cup that was dented from different sides in order to hold the stipulated amount of tea. 

Aloo Kachalu

This was followed by a lip smacking serving of aloo kachalu from Bablu Ji aloo Kachalu wale. It was a spicy and tangy mix of boiled potatoes that has been mixed with some spices that served in a leaf plate. It is one of those quick and pocket friendly snacks that Anubhav grew up eating. Bablu Ji’s wisdom with spices and the other ingredients he deals with is so strong that when Anubhav found the thing spicy, he whipped up a solution with some spices and tamarind flavoured water and added it to the mixture and it’s spiciness vanished. While walking ahead we came across nimkis being fried fresh, hence we pop some to see how it tasted. 

Anarsa

Our penultimate stop was Jai Shree Ram Tilkut Bhandaar, near Panch Mukhi Mahadev Mandir. We were there to try a very special Bihari sweet called Anarsa. These ghee fried rice flour based deep fried dough balls fresh out of the kadhai were so delicious. Their kala jamun and samosas caught our attention so we tried them as well. The former is a dark brown coloured deep fried sweet made of khoya whole the later one is the ubiquitous potato stuffed pastry. 

Aloo Dum Chaat

The final destination of this immersive food tour, that spanned for the whole day was Srimani Prasad Chaat Wale in Dhamitola. Both the dish and the vendor selling it were quite fascinating. The robust aloo dum chaat was a potpourri of nearly 4 to 5 curries, chutneys and small snacks. Srimani ji was super amusing too. 

We wrapped up this surfeit food tour that acquainted us with so many wonderful flavours contained in the lanes of Gaya.