Alongside the swanky malls, office buildings and residential high rises that defines most of the skylines in Gurgaon, there thrives the city’s oldest and busiest marketplace known as the Sadar Bazaar. Located next to the main bus stand in the old city, it remains a popular destination for most of the residents because unlike the malls the products here are more economical plus there are more varieties too. No wonder that the marketplace, which stretches more than 5 km, has some amazing eateries, many of which are more than 60 years old. So in this tour we bring you our food explorations from the Sadar Bazaar, Gurgaon- a foodie’s haven and the birthplace of the very famous sweet the Dodha burfi, which is essentially originated in Pakistan.
We started the trail from the very popular Gandhi Ji Pakodewala whose pakoras are the hot favourites among the locals. A family business in its third generation, this pakoda shop is one to impress. Here we tried an assortment of crisp and delicious Pakoras like Soya Chap pakodas, Kamal Kakdi or Lotus stem pakoda, Paneer, Palak and Onion pakodas etc. along with green and dry ginger chutney.
Our next stop was Pandit Ji Ka Dhaba. There pure vegetarian meal that has no onion garlic in is relished by the locals as well as the visitors. We tried their thali comprising of two Chule ki Roti(their speciality), Dal, Potato curry with chole and Kheer. The spread was simple, tasty and quite soulful. So if you want to have a proper meal instead of snacks at this busy market then this place is just perfect. Also their famous kheer is available on Tuesdays only.
From there we went to Sardar Jalebi wala. The first thing that wondered us was the excited crowd of Jalebi aficionados and of course the irresistible smell of the freshly prepared Jalebis. The stellar reputation of this seventy years old shop can be attributed to the superlative quality of the Jalebis. The genial owner whose family came from the Sarkhoda District of Pakistan and set up the shop here, informed us that they make fresh batch every now and then and most importantly they don’t add any flavours or artificial colours. The crisp and syrupy beauties were truly toothsome.
Next we reached Baljees restaurant to try their celebrated Pindi chole bhature which is deemed to be the best in this part of the city stretch. We weren’t disappointed at all as the chole bhature were truly delicious. Along with the Pindi chole we also had their paneer pakoda which was impressive too. This place serves delectable snacks spread at an affordable price. Interacting with the affable owner was a heartening experience. We were glued to his anecdotes regarding the shop, delicacies and his native place Dera Ghazi Khan at Pakistan.
Finally we reached the Sham Sweets an iconic establishment that is known to be the pioneer of Dodha burfi. Here we tried the deliciously nutritious Dodha burfi and the kesar khoya ghewar. The delectable dodha burfi is a typical regional specific sweetmeat that is characterized by caramelized and nutty flavour and granular texture. It prepared from a mixture of milk, germinated wheat flour and sugar. The ghewar is again a seasonal fare that is available during the rainy months. Mr Bajaj, the owner enlightened us with the origin of the dodha burfi in India. We too are thankful to his father for introducing this sensational sweet in India. They too belonged to the Dera Gazi Khan province in Pakistan.
