Located on the banks of the Ganges, the city of Kanpur is a mix of ancient traditions and modern developments. It is famous for its leather and textile industries. The food scene over here is as vibrant and fascinating as its heritage. So in today's episode we are out on a brunch food tour in the city. Let's take through the places that we explored.
We started the tour with a visit to Anandeshwar Temple in Parmat. Located beside the Ganges, this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. After offering our prayers we visited Alok Thandai Bhandar for a refreshing glass of thick and luscious thandai. This is quite a favourite drink that is also served with bhang on special demand.
From there we reached Panditji Bread Makhan near Lajpat Nagar. Rajesh Ji puts up this makeshift setting to sell bread slices smeared with homemade unsalted butter and some seasonings. The locals love it as it is a tasty, easy to eat and pocket friendly snack. You can pick a glass of fresh buttermilk to wash it down. This place is lined with quite a few small stalls selling sprouts.
Next we went to Omi Khasta Bhandar on P Road to relish Kanpur's own traditional snacks called khasta which is a lentil stuffed deep fried puri. This place is deemed as the best and one of the oldest khasta places. Saurabh, the owner, serves it with chole and sweet chutney.
After this we treated ourselves to some hot and crisp jalebi with fresh curd from Agra Jain Jalebi Bhandar. This is a combination that we never get tired of.
Next was the turn of a strong chai with bun maska from Raju Tea Stall, a super busy chai stall at Bada Chauraha. It is a favourite spot of the office goers and traders from this locality.
Fruit chaat are the best snack to indulge in if you are looking for something sweet, refreshing, zesty and healthy. And one of the best places to have it in Kanpur is from Yadav Ji who can be found parked near the Head Post Office. Here we had a lip smacking fruit and veggie chaat.
Then we went to have dal bati chokha at Purvanchal Dal Bati near CSA Rawatpur. These guys prepare and bake the dough balls right opposite to their stall and serve it hot. It was understuffed but the overall taste with the chokha was good.
From there we went to Gyan Vaishnav Hotel in Kaushalpuri to have a simple desi ghee meal. The menu consisted of some everyday dishes. We opted for plain dal, roti and kheer. The ghee laden dal was super delicious.
The last stop of this tour was Babu Khurchan Bhandar at Balkhandeshwar Mandir road. People are crazy about their khurchan and lassi which comes in a clay tumbler. We tried them both along with some khoya burfi. The taste truly lived up to the grand reputation.