The city of Gwalior holds supreme prestige for its wondrous cultural heritage. Undoubtedly it is one of the gems of Madhya Pradesh. We were in the city to explore its street food tradition through such iconic eateries which rule the heart of the locals with their amazing fares. The street food scene here is overflowing with the sight, aroma, and taste of kachoris, ladoos, jalebis, bedai, poha, imartis, sev, etc. So let's start with our food trail at Gwalior with our foodie host Shikha who took us to the most famed eateries across the city.
Our first stop was the city's most favourite ladoo and kachori shop, the Bahadura sweets. We tried their kachori and ladoo, whose reputation has traveled far and beyond. The Moong dal stuffed kachoris were very impressive but it was the fresh desi ghee laddoos that swooned us with their soft, luscious, and moist texture. This place is worth all its reputation.
Next, we went to Chote Lal shop that is known for its Bedai and Imartis. Bedai is firm and crisp, Moong dal mixture stuffed puris that are eaten with a spicy potato gravy and chutney. The bedai here like its Agra counterpart was quite appetizing but it was the Imarti that was the star.
From there we went to Ma Pitambara Poha Centre to savour another staple breakfast dish of this place i.e the Poha. The crowd over there was a telltale sign of the popularity of this humble flattened rice-based dish and the place as well.
After the breakfast tour, we reached Dana oli, a street line with Halwai or sweet shops. This place is the epicenter of the fresh savoury and sweet snacks that reaches the locals. Our first destination here was the Gyana Halwai. We had come to try their famous kalakand and hence we were lucky because we got to taste some Mango kalakand from the fresh batch that had just been prepared.
The second destination at dana Oli was Agarwal sweets where we ate the delightful Sev Boondi and Philori. In the case of the former, the fresh sev was the hero. The later one was another popular snack made from moong dal that was a bit spicy yet tasty.
The next stop was Bansal petha Bhandar where you will find an eclectic variety of this tasty ash gourd-based delicacy. Here we tasted the paan gilori petha that clearly has a very strong flavour of betel leaves and gulkand. We also visited their factory to learn about the preparation of these very intriguing sweets. The process of making it was really tedious but the end product is amazing.
Continuing with our sweet overdose we came across Ishwar Kulfi Bandar, a famous Kulfi shop. Its rich Rabri Kulfi flavoured with rose and kewra was refreshingly yummy.
Next was the turn for some playful treats at Sahi Chat bhandar. So we are enormously impressed to try the urad dal golgappa and the exciting karela. The later one is essentially a crisp savoury snacks that resembles the bitter gourd in shape. It is served as a chaat with curd, chutneys, and spices. The delicious contrast of taste and texture made it an impressive option that should be explored by every chat enthusiast.
For dinner, we went to the Rajasthani Bhojnalaya for having their immensely popular Dal bati churma Thali comprising of Bati, Dal, Gatte ki Sabzi, Kadhi, Potato masala, Churma ladoo and garlic Chutney.
Our penultimate stop was Baba Gafoor ka Dargah. In the month of July, there is a festivity at this holy place and it's during this time only, that perhaps the country's largest Balusahi is prepared as an offering to the saint. Each Balusahi was around a kilo in weight. We saw its preparation and also tasted it.
We ended our tour with a tasty Paan from Pardesi Paan Shop. This post-meal treat served as a palate cleanser and a digestive stimulant.
Heartfelt thanks to Shikha for assisting us in the exploration.