Today we explore the city of diamonds, Surat in Gujrat, India and explore their street food. Situated on the banks of Tapi river on the gulf of Khambat Surat is also known as the textile hub of the region or textile city of India. The culture of Surat has evolved and emerged into a beautiful amalgamation of other various cultures as people moved from various cities and communities to settle in the city.
Surat has a vibrant street food culture because of the assimilation of people from various diverse backgrounds. Today, with Rohan bhai an entrepreneur we tag along in search of amazing Surat street food.
4 am, early morning we headed out for an early breakfast to Zampa bazaar, old Surat. Even in early morning the bazaar was bustling live with people enjoying the breakfast. We straight head to chanbhai barahandi and try their nalli nahari with paya and fresh tandoori roti. Surprisingly, it is 120 years old! Nothing but, iconic. A very wholesome breakfast to begin the day with. Nalli nahari is tradiotnally non-vegetarian dish which is cooked slowly and found mainly in Old Delhi. Few steps from the shop we reach another shop where we try freshly- cooked malpuas. Here, the batter of malpuas was made using eggs. A perfect desert after a heavy meal! We then also tried the bun maska with fruit jam, a sweet bun lathered with homemade white butter and mixed-fruit jam. Our deal with zampa bazaar ended with a hot cup of tea and it’s a must go-to place when one comes to visit Surat.
Later in the day, Urviben, a food blogger joined us for lunch at G Dada shop. Here we try the Undhiyo, Handwo and vedmi all specialities of Gujrat. Here we tried the authentic Undhiyo which is available mostly and only in winters at this restaurant its present 365 days a year. We also try the kesar jalebis, perfectly cooked with an apt taste of saffron. Moreover, we also tried the other two dished Handwo and vedmi served with yoghurt. Its pretty similar to uttapam. Handwo is crispy and fluffy; all at once. In fact, its protein enriched thus, healthy. While Vedmi, is made of dal and topped with a strong cardamom taste.
We then next go to Hajoori Kulfi and try the khajoor akhrot which is milk-based and healthy! Next we try a unique fusion dish known as the khakhra chaat and kachori chaat at jalaram dana chana. The khakra chaat is served with ketchup, green chutney, chopped onions, tomatoes and coriander topped with fried masala peanuts and sev. Infact, they are served with cult cheese and mayonnaise! While the kachori chaat is served with chopped tomatoes, onions and coriander leaves, sprinkled with masala and lemon juice. It is a wholesome meal in itself! We also, try the Jeeru, a local carbonated drink with the taste of jeera (cumin). It is a digestive drink, certainly, to be consumed after a good heavy Guajarati meal!
We then went to Khaudra gali, a street food lane in old town of Surat to try various other dishes. We first head towards, Mahesh dosa centre and try their Mysore dosa sprinkled with lots of spring onions and garlic. It is very thin in its consistency. Next, we go to Hanumante ice cream shop and try their badam shake topped with three scoops of ice-cream all of different flavours. Mainly, rose, mawa malai, rajbhog and American nut.
After a quick tour of the gali we briefly stop at the sarasiya khaaja shop to try a monsoon speciality khaaja. They are quite crispy & flaky and is best served with a cup of tea. We then move to shah jamnadas ghariwala an iconic shop established in 1989 where we try the traditional sweet known as ghari. We try the kesar badam Ghari, served with loads of ghee and stuffed with mawa and dry fruits.
Later, along with Basyt Saleh we again head to zampa bazaar and first go to Mohmaddi bakery and try their tunki. A speciality of Surat, it is a short crispy bread sprinkled with sesame seeds and also has pepper. Tunki is made up of white flour and is mainly consumed with mutton tikka. Next, we move to Sagar restaurant and try their chicken macchi masala. The chicken is marinated in fish masala and the gravy is very thick and rich in taste. Another speciality of this place is naan chaap and to try this we head to MG Chaapwala. The naan is stuffed with mint, kokam chutney and keema served with onions. It was a perfect meat sandwich full of bursting flavours! We go to a famous omelette centre known as the bhai bhai omelette shop which have 150 varieties of omelette.
Places visited:
Zampa bazaar
Madanzapa Rd, Opposite Azad Maidan, Bakrawadi, Sultanpura, Vadodara, Gujarat 390001
G Dada shop
4, Radhenagar Society, Ichhanath Road, Surat – 395007, Opposite Anmol Complex, Near Sargam Shopping Centre
Hajoori Kulfi
Shop No 1/3816, Chowk Bazar, Surat – 395003
Khaudra gali
opp. Gujarat Housing Board , opp. siddhi vinayak packaging , Tulsidham -, GIDC, Road ., vadodara , Gujarat, Gujarat 390011
Mahesh dosa centre
6/141, Khaudhara Gali, Shitalnath Chowk, Haripura Main Road, Haripura, Near Vinod Fashionwear, Surat-395003
Hanumante ice cream shop
Shop No 11, Nirmal Nagar, Parab Road, Sarthana, Surat – 395006, Sarthana Jakatnaka
sarasiya khaaja shop
3rd Floor, 13- Charotar Society, Manisha Chowkadi, O P Road, Vadodara, Gujarat 390020
shah jamnadas ghariwala
Opp. Mahalaxmi Mataji Temple, Shop No 19, Royal Residency, Ground floor Near Anand Mahal Rd, Chhatrapati Shivaji Cir, Adajan Gam, Adajan, Surat, Gujarat 395009
Mohmaddi bakery
Shop No 946/3, Zamba Bazar, Zampa Bazar, Surat – 395003, Opp.Monginis Cace Shop
Sagar restaurant
Kothi Road, Near Prince Cinema, Jubilee Baug, Sursagar North, Mandvi, Vadodara
MG Chaapwala
Near Patthar Gate, Madan Zampa, Chokshi Bazar, Vadodara, Gujarat 390001
bhai bhai omelette shop
Triveni Apartments, Shop- No 5, 6, Ground Floor, Nanpura New Rd, Opposite LIC Office, Timaliawad, Nanpura, Surat, Gujarat 395001
