Sampling Street Food @Sarafa

We Punekars pride ourselves on our food: you name it, we have it- street food, fast food, swank restaurants, local cuisine, niche cafes and bistros, chai ‘kattas’, pretentious places, simple, homely eateries…I could go on. Someone has said that for a restaurant, being able to succeed in Pune is the acid test. Look, I am aware that these could be exaggerations but if you tell me the same about your city, I’ll listen!

There are also several eateries in Pune that sell Indori savouries, sweets and breakfast Indori-style. Added to which is the social media buzz about street food places in Indore. So a Punekar’s first reaction would naturally be- “Huh? What’s Indore got that we haven’t?”

Well, for starters…there’s this! Or rather, them!

To resume, Sarafa Bazar or Jewelers Market is where street-food lovers go to binge at night. It’s a narrow lane, about half a kilometer long, with shops on both sides. In the day it’s a jewelers market and once they close shop; around 11 pm, it transforms into a street-food heaven. The entire stretch is chock-a-block with vendors offering all kinds of delectable snacks and sweets. The variety is almost overwhelming because one doesn’t know where to begin!

Well, there we were- five ladies, none of whom were young or possessed large appetites. We had skipped dinner and walked a few 1000 steps extra during the day, to prepare for this outing. We needed a strategy so that we could sample as many dishes as possible, with minimum regrets the next day. Calories, digestion, taste-buds, all had to taken into account. It was decided that we would order only one helping of anything that looked good and that would be shared by all. That took care of variety and portion control.

We sallied forth with anticipation and appetites nicely blended, and here’s what we managed to have:

1. Pani puri (with 10 different flavours!!)
2. Chole kulche
3. Makke ka khees (a corn preparation and an Indore speciality)
4. Sitaphal rabdi
5. Chenna Roll
6. Garadu (some kind of yam, which is deep fried and seasoned- another Indore special.)
7. Dahi wada
8. Channa Jor
9. Sabudana khichdi
10. Malpua rabdi

Most of the items on the list were delicious and we savoured every bite. Those that didn’t ‘meet expectations’ were consumed nevertheless, because each one got only a couple of spoonfuls anyway. But our stomachs must have been wondering what the *&%* was going on in the HO- given the different kinds of tasks they were being asked to process/digest!

Along with digging into different kinds of delicacies, we also gaped at the wares on display. The names ranged from amusing to quirky to who-would-want-to-eat-THAT?! Most of the items were either deep-fried and/or soaked in sugar syrup/sweetened milk. Some were slathered with humungous amounts of grated cheese and sauces. Butter, lime juice, chaat masala and chutneys were used generously. All around us were people gleefully tucking in, impervious to the crowds and the lateness of the hour. It was a weekday and we wondered how some of them would make it to work the next morning!