Street food in Indore

The minute I told a friend Indore was on my agenda, he immediately began rattling out places to go to, and things to do.. And his last visit to Indore was a good decade ago, but well most of the monuments and places continue to be popular among travellers even today. Amidst that long list was this area called Sarafa Bazaar, known for its Chaat. But what made it unique was the place came alive post 8pm and stayed open till about 2am, daily. During the day the area is renowned for the jewellery stores and is a market of sorts for those seeking to buy jewellery. This bazaar/market is situated right behind the Rajwada Palace, a crumbling remnants of the Holkar dynasty... 

As you walk through the lane, your senses are assaulted by the aromas wafting from the various stalls on either side. Some are putting together chaat, while others are deep frying jalebas and then there are other stirring pots of what looks like indo chinese dishes, not to forget the range of indian desserts sitting pretty in huge bowls.  You are spoilt for choice, and the beauty is that all these stalls are open till the wee hours of the morning. No matter how busy the stall owner is, they don't mind chit chatting. I did kick up a conversation with almost all I visited, and discovered that most of them have been setting up stalls for 30+ years, some of them mentioned how their father had started the show and they had taken over. 

The other good thing is they take cash or paytm as payment.. Most of the dishes are priced between Rs40- 60.  Here is a photographic tour of the place....

 Paranthas.

Paneer tikka.. across spice levels.

Chinese Dosai

Burger with paneer patty

Dahi and Vada soaking in warm water...

 Rabdi and Gulab jamun

 Sesame chikki and gajak

Pani Puri water- 5 different kinds

Momo stall

 Hot Gulab jamun, Carrot halwa, moong daal halwa and gulab jamun

Jaleba- Giant Jalebis..

Paan.. Chocolate, pista, butterscotch, strawberry and many others.. 

Kulfi on the wheel..

What did we try? Well, here is a collage of the dishes we sampled across 1.5hours, and walking through those streets...... 

Top left onwards 

Bhutte ka kees [corn chaat], 

Dahi vada,

Moong dal halwa,

Shikanji [made with milk & dry fruits], 

Pav bhaji, 

Kulfi (mix of flavours- chocolate, butterscotch and few others)

Garaadu [sweet potato] 

and Momos [not in photo] 

Next time you are visiting Indore, remember to explore this street and let me know what you ended up trying!!