Punjab ke Chole Bhature

Huge and puffed-up bhaturas qualify as the ‘Hulk’ of street foods in India. It has a massive and loyal fan following from all corners of India. There are various methods to prepare Kabuli Chole (Chickpea), not to be confused with Desi Chana (Bengal gram). It can be cooked in mustard oil, Ghee, Dalda and refined oil. It can be flavoured with yogurt, tamarind, tomato, onion, watery-thin gravy, dry-roasted-with-lot-of-oil or the simple Jain version. Choose what you might, it is going to taste awesome. Bhatura could easily be confused with Bengali Loochi (refined flour poori). But Bhatura has semolina for a nice crispy texture and yogurt for a fermented kick. It can remain crispy for a long time provided it’s been prepared by a true street-food artist.

Gujarati Dabeli

First there were Gujaratis and then came Kesha Malam, the maverick from Kutch who concocted Dabeli. Traditionally, it was potato mixture with Dabeli Masala (a unique off-shoot of garam masala including peanut, dry coconut and dry red chilly) and garlic chutney. The name Dabeli literally means “pressed” between two layers of our desi Pav. The modern version of Dabeli has a proper patty made with potato, beans, peanut, chillies and green peas. It is placed between the pav or sometimes burger-bun with garlic chutney and Dabeli masala, topped with besan sev.

Poha-Jalebi (M.P.)

This unique combination of street-food, from the by lanes of Indore, will first hit you for its oddity; poha is savoury and Jalebi sweet. Nevertheless, this offbeat pairing will make your gorge. There is not much to say about the recipe or hidden ingredient in poha. In Indore, the poha has no potatoes. But topping it with raw onions and Indori sev (thick sev) is a must. The Jalebi served along with poha and eaten either together or just after poha makes this unique experience remarkable.