Indore is a city that prides itself for food. It’s a paradise for every food enthusiast. The street food here is heavily influenced by the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The diverse street food culture here is a testimony of the food crazy locals and also the Indori ingenuity that is visible in the quintessential dishes found here. In this episode we bring you some of the wide variety of must try delicacies from different pockets of the city.
Our first stop was Head Sahab ke Pohe, where we tried a very interesting breakfast dish called the Usal Poha. It was basically Poha served with a spicy Chole and other accompaniments the most important of which was the Sev. It was quite spicy yet zesty. Even in the rainy weather a crowd had thronged the place to enjoy a plateful. The name of this eatery was quite intriguing hence when we inquired about the idea behind it, we got to know that it was established by a who was so fond of feeding feeding that he left his job as that of a head constable and started this eatery.
The second stop was Rasgulla House. This place is enormously famous in the whole of Indore for the most softest and yummiest rasgullas. It is run by an enthusiastic and agile granny who proudly showed us the process of making rasgulla. Watching the tiny cottage cheese balls puffing up into spongy and bouncy delectable spheres was a thing of joy. The endearing and zealous grandmother dexterously manages this family business that she has become an indisputable authority in this art. The rasgullas were so yummy and irresistible that I had to stop myself at 4 only because we had the whole food trail to complete.
After this we headed to Ghanshyam Chaat House to gorge on some big sized Gol Gappas. The ones that you get here are bigger than the cavity size of your mouth and stuffing inside along with the spiced water makes it more difficult to handle. But the public is crazy about this as it is tasty and fun to negotiate the size and devour it. The Masala and the water was perfectly zesty. We also tried the Dahi Puchka which was a fountain of flavours. Eating it is a renders you speechless as there is no space left in the cavity to make sounds.
From there we headed on to try the unique Bhutte ke laddos or corn ladoos from Sharma Ji’s cart. Made from dried and desiccated fresh corn paste, this sweetmeat is both delicious and filling. Due to the proper toasting of the cornmeal, it has attained a grainy texture. Taste wise it resembled the besan ke ladoo. It’s a seasonal fare that one must try.
After popping the Laddo we went to Sindh Bakery, a very special bakery run by gentleman who is immensely fond of old Bollywood classics and the stalwarts who sang them. We were glad to meet this keen music lover who perhaps makes the best bakery items in the city. The ingredients and fresh and the process of making them is very much traditional and old fashioned. But the byproduct s are unparalleled. We loved their rusk and baked samosas. The samosas were different from the regular ones. They were more like puff pastries. Do pay a visit to his place for the irresistible sight and aroma of assorted cookies, biscuits, puffs etc, old music and endearing company and stories.
Next stop in the city was Sri krishna Gujrati Kadhi and Fafda, a shop famous for Gujrati Fafda and Kadhi. This gram flour based delicacy is a very popular snack that the Gujarati’s relish with mostly jalebis. But here they served it with a sweet and savoury kadhi. The combination was decent although among the two we liked fafda the most.
Soon it was the turn of some luscious kaju shake. It was a simple yet divine concoction of milk, cashew paste and sugar. The most unique and amazing thing about this place and their drinks is that all the ingredients are served through a cloth into a container from where it was poured into the glass. It’s a must try place for thandais.
From there we went to another popular spot, the lal balti kachori shop. The moniker is derived from the red coloured Balti with a bulb inside it, that is hung outside the shop. The lighted bulb signifies the availability of the kachoris and vice versa. The potato stuffed kachoris were quite decent but what made them special and delicious was a super spicy chilli chutney coriander chutney.
Next was the turn of a veg hot dog from Lala Chat Bhandar. Its very popular with the locals. The crisp pan fried buns smeared with chutney and stuffed with chole, paneer slices, potato patty, onions sev etc was zesty and very appetising.
Our final stop for the day was the iconic Lakshinanayan Doodhwala. This place is hugely popular for their flavoured milk. Apart from the hot luscious milk drink, another noteworthy thing about this place is the humongous Kadhai or pan in which the milk is boiled. It is deemed as the largest pan in the whole state. The milk keeps boiling for several hours as a result of which a thick cream settles over it.
With this we wrapped up our first day at Indore. Apart from being the food capital of Central India, this place is full of warm, friendly and cheerful locals. Another noteworthy thing about the place is that, the steer food scene here is mostly very clean and hygienic. Indore has been officially deemed as the cleanest city of the country. That’s another very cogent reason to join the gastronomic bandwagon here.
