We started our journey with a beautiful boat ride and even managed to celebrate a birthday on board. These magical boat rides are part and parcel of a trip to Banaras. So if you find yourself on a holiday in Varanasi, just take a boat ride early morning and relax your senses.
We then went for a super delicious breakfast at Laxmi Chai Wala in the Chowk Area. This shop is around 80 years old is known for its eye-opening Chai and Bread. They serve Malai Toast, which a thick slice of bread that is toasted topped with a hefty layer of cream and sugar; we even tried the famous Cesarean Bread, popularly known as kambhal odha ke, which is a thick slice of bread toasted over coal that is slit in the middle and stuffed with a lot of butter. The moment you bite into this toast the butter just oozes out. These amazing breads are served with a kulhad chai, which is just the kind of tea you need in the morning.
We then tried Chhoti Kachori. It's a comparatively smaller Kachori than the ones we get in other parts of India and is stuffed with spicy potatoes. This lovely little kachori is served with a topping of chana and green chutney. The flavour combination is absolutely scrumptious.
Later we went to Ram Bhandar for some Kachori- Sabji and Jalebi. The kachori here is more like Poori, which is served with Sabji of potatoes, chana and brinjal. Another type of Kachori served here is Chhoti Kachori stuffed with potatoes and topped with chana. You can taste the ghee in this one, which is what makes it so rich. We then packed few a jalebis and walked our way to a dahi wala. In Banaras, jalebis are traditionally enjoyed with some Dahi. The super sweet and hot jalebi goes perfect with the cold slightly sour flavour of dahi.
Us Dilliwalas are suckers for milk based sweets so how could we miss Shree Jee Sweets and Milk. We tried Mallaiyo, also known as Daulat ki Chaat here in Delhi. Here the sugar, saffron and cardamom is mixed with milk foam beforehand and served with a topping of pistachios. They even give Saffron Flavoured milk, which is just the right amount of sweetness. This shop has been serving its customers mallaiyo for 150 years, making it one of the oldest and probably the original mallaiyo shop in Banaras.
When in Banaras, Eat Paan. We had to visit a paan shop and we hit the jackpot when we discovered a 218 year old paan shop. This shop has been serving paan to generations of the same families, in fact the people running the shop have been running it for almost 4 generations now.
Banarasis love their sweets, so we had to visit one the ildest and most popular sweet shop in Banaras that is Shree Shree Ram Bhandar. We tried Magdal which is made with urad dal and has a very complicated and time consuming method of cooking it. They have been serving the Tiranga Barfi here, ever since India gained its independence in 1947. The speciality of this barfi is that the three different coloured layers of this barfi also have a different flavour, so you get three barfis in one.
Finally, we went to another iconic Lassi shop- The Blue Lassi Shop. We tried the Blueberry lassi which was also topped with cream and pistachios like any other lassi, but the flavour was to die for. The blueberry makes it supremely unique and delicious. One should definitely visit the Blue Lassi Shop for an amazing lassi experience.
#BanarasFoodTour #WalkwithDelhiFoodWalks
1. Laxmi Chai Wala
Address -
Near Chowk Thana, Varanasi
2. The Ram Bhandaar
Address -
Thatheri Bazar, Varanasi
3. Shree Jee Sweets & Milk
Address -
Near Shri Gopal Mandir, Thatheri Bazar, Varanasi
4. Shree Shree Ram Bhandaar
Address -
Thatheri Bazar, Varanasi
5. Blue Lassi Shop
Address -
Near Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi
6. Chola Samosa
Address -
New Vishwanath Temple, BHU, Varanasi
7. Om Cold Corner
Address -
New Vishwanath Temple, BHU, Varanasi
Our local host in Varanasi- Ms Sonali Jaiswal, Conservation Architect