After a prolonged break due to the lockdown, Anubhav and team have finally resumed their food explorations with utmost precautions and this journey post lockdown commences from the state of Haryana. It is one of the wealthiest states of India where the major occupation is agriculture and cattle rearing.
In today's episode they have embarked on a flavour hunt across the stretch between Bahadurgarh and Gohana. So let's see what are some of the popular affordable eating joints that are a hit with the locals.
The first stop was Billu de Mashoor Pakode, an old establishment famous for different kinds of fritters. The swarming crowd in front of their counter was a tell sign of how amazing their fried snacks are. We tried an assortment of paneer, aloo matar, sweet corn, karela and Maggi pakodas. They were quite tasty and as fun to have. Of these we liked the karela one the most. It wasn't much bitter and was tangy due to the presence of multani masala.
From there we took the highway and reached Sri Khatu Shyam Pedewala. This sweet shop is much extolled for their pure milk based range. The owner educated us about the nutrient contents of a good quality milk and assured us that all their products are made with such high quality milk procured from the nearby villages. Their pedas are much renowned so we tried them along with ghewar, Haryana burfi and kesar doodh. The optimum sweetness just worked right for us. Peda and burfi had a rich and pure taste and the aroma of the pure ghee in the ghewar made them irresistible. We also tried the kesar doodh which was a little high on sweetness but was rich and refreshing.
We then took the Rohtak Highway and arrived at Tanishk restaurant to try an intriguing dish called Paneer Khurchan. Right from the time we heard its name we were curious to see what's so special about it. Soon we realized that this rich paneer curry is first prepared in a pan and the whole thing is given dum in a clay pot. The later technique adds a smoky and earthy touch to the dish. Overall it was impressive but not outstanding.
This was just a glimpse of the amazing food culture prevalent in the state. Stay tuned for more stories.