Google “food capital of India” and Indore shows up among the usual suspects of results (Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Kolkata). The unassuming little city punches way above its weight in the street food stakes. Even restaurateur Manu Chandra of The Fatty Bao and Monkey Bar, admits to being surprised by the city’s culinary riches.
For a vegetarian, being in Indore will feel like you’ve died and gone to street food heaven especially while visiting Chappan Dukan, the 56 shops that offer a mind-numbing array of snacks, and the stalls at old Sarafa Bazaar that open at sundown.
While Indore lacks the storied history of Delhi’s Mughlai cuisine or the foreign influences entrenched firmly in the food of Mumbai and Kolkata, it draws heavily on culinary legacies of the neighboring states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat. In fact this central Indian city was last ruled by the Maratha Holkars, who were appointed caretakers of Indore by Bajirao Peshwa.
Some credit for this food diversity goes to sheer Indori ingenuity, indispensable in creating unique specialities like khopra patties, egg benjo and bhutte ka kees. Here’s a guide to the wide variety of street food to be enjoyed in the town. A Hajmola or two will definitely come in handy.
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Anoop Nagar’s Uncleji Ke Moong Bhajiye. Photo: Devesh Taneja.
Moong Bhajiye
Skip the cardboard-y club sandwich on your flight. Instead drop your bags at your hotel and start your trip with a snack at Anoop Nagar’s Uncleji Ke Moong Bhajiye, a roadside stall serving soft, light moong dal fritters. Anoop Nagar is a short detour off the Agra-Bombay Road, around which most of the three-star and five stars hotels are located.
Uncleji Ke Moong Bhajiye, Anoop Nagar, near CHL Hospital. Tel: 90099 65617.
Dahi Bada
Sarafa Bazaar is a jewellery market by day and food fiesta by night. Take a deep breath and try to not get overwhelmed by all the smells and sounds as you embark on your pilgrimage down this long and straight road. Skip the usual suspects of pao bhaji, Indianised pizza and halwa and head straight for local delicacies. Begin your binge at Joshi Dahi Bada House, a shop located at the start of the street if you enter from the Imambara side. Watch the aerial theatrics and masala sorcery of the extremely camera-friendly, and yet somewhat disdainful Mr. Joshi. Cheer with the crowd as he flings your dahi bada (the same as dahi vada) in the air and then sprinkles it with multiple masalas in one single pinch. Just don’t expect any brownie (or bada) points for any fanboy/girl behaviour. After being featured on several travel shows and fawned over by their TV hosts, Joshiji has already seen it all.
Joshi Dahi Bada House, 24 Bada Sarafa, Sarafa Bazaar.
Bhutte Ka Kees
This dish, which is almost like a savoury Indian version of grits, is also best had at Joshi’s, although most roadside stalls sell it as well. Bhutte ka kees is essentially mashed boiled corn lightly spiced with fennel seeds, cumin and dried mango powder and garnished with chewy grated coconut.
Joshi Dahi Bada House, 24 Bada Sarafa, Sarafa Bazaar.
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Bhutte ka kees. Photo: Devesh Taneja.
Dal Bafla
Called khatta samosas, Indori samosas are a little on the tangy side thanks to what tastes like dried mango or amchoor. Locals swear by Swadisht Samosa Corner where you should also try the loaded-with-ghee dal bafla, the softer cousin of Rajasthani dal baati. Bafla is a baked ball of wheat, spices and curd. However unlike baati, it is boiled in water before being placed in the oven. The result is a texture similar to that of New York bagels: crispy outside, soft and chewy inside.
Swadisht Samosa Corner, 8 Sarafa Bazaar.
Shikanji
Shikanji in Indore is not your usual lemonade-y North Indian affair. It is thickened, sometimes condensed milk, and garnished with bits of fruits and nuts. I recommend the version served by Nagori Sweets.
Nagori Sweets, 39 Bada Sarafa.
Poha and Jalebi
Skip your hotel’s breakfast buffet and show up bright and early at Chappan Dukan for an Indori breakfast of poha-jalebi. Indoris have elevated this humble but delicious breakfast to an almost academic study in the contrasts of texture and flavour. The pillowy softness of poha offsets the crunchiness of sev-namkeen, which Indoris like generously sprinkling on all food. Relish the delicate sweetness of jalebis after the savoury tang of poha. Any of the 56 shops that serve breakfast is an excellent choice for poha-jalebi. My pick is Young Tarang because it has a larger seating area and makes soft and crispy aloo kachoris.
Young Tarang, 46, 47 & 56 Dukan Street, Chappan Dukan, 11 Bungalow Colony, New Palasia, Old Palasia.
Egg Benjo
Johnny Hotdogs has been youth favorite for over 20 years and is possibly the only non-vegetarian outlet of the 56 shops in Chappan Dukan. Their famous egg benjo is a spicy masala omelette sandwiched between a soft, doughy bun, fried in butter or oil and served with coriander chutney, watery ketchup and a side of onions. The egg benjo can be upgraded to a egg mutton benjo, and yes there is a veg hotdog on the menu too.
Johnny Hotdog, Shop No.2, 56 Dukan Street, Chappan Dukan, 11 Bungalow Colony, New Palasia, Old Palasia.
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Jaleba. Photo: Shefali Pandey.
Jaleba
The sweet, juicy intoxication that is the jaleba, basically a big jalebi, deserves a spot on Man v. Food. Get yours from any of the stalls selling other fried items; they’re all good! In the rare event you manage to finish an entire jaleba by yourself, it will be impossible to look at food for the next 12 hours. So do yourself a favour and save this for the very end of your Sarafa journey.
Khopra Patties and Mithai
Chappan Dukan includes a branch of Sarafa’s Vijay Chaat House. The khopra patties, one of their own inventions, are delicious balls of fried potato with a surprise coconut centre dunked in an unhealthy amount of green and red chutneys. If you’re lucky, you might run into the patriarch behind the chaat empire. In between guffaws, the delightful Niranjan Thaker shares elaborately detailed fantasy family trees of all the ladoos, shikanjis and mithais that he serves. “Ye lijiye shikanji parivar ki chaar bahenein, shrikhand, rabri, rasmalai aur chhoti behan Indrani aur ye unke do bhai kalakand aur rajbhog.” Like a good uncle and salesman, he will gently force you to try each one of them.
Vijay Chaat House, Shops No. 6-8, 56 Dukan Street, Chappan Dukan, 11 Bungalow Colony, New Palasia, Old Palasia.
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Mawa baati. Photo: Shefali Pandey.
Mawa Baati
Mawa baati is basically a bigger version of a gulab jamun that’s loaded with more nuts.
Namkeen
Akash Namkeen sells a mind-blowing combination of excellent namkeens, sevs and mixtures, almost every combination of which has a ‘diet’ variant. The runaway hits are the ratlami sev and khattha-meetha mixture.
Akash Namkeen, Shop No.2, 56 Dukan Street, Chappan Dukan, 11 Bungalow Colony, New Palasia, Old Palasia.
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Chappan Dukan pani puri. Photo: Shefali Pandey.
Pani Puri
While at Chappan Dukan, look for signs proclaiming nine different flavours of spicy water for pani puri. Try a few, like the pudina, hing, lasoon, jeera and nimbu, and you’ll find that Indoris like heat in their pani puri. The hing and lasoon especially will leave you red-faced with burning ears, depending on how well you tolerate spice.
Garadu
In winter, visit a roadside vendor selling garadu, an Indori speciality of small cubes of yam that have been fried and sprinkled with spices to make a delicious crispy chaat.
Shefali Pandey travels and writes. She makes websites and eats. She was on her way to a midlife crisis, but then decided to get on a one-way flight from New York to Bombay so she could have an identity crisis instead.