Historically known as Ratnapiri which translates to as ‘The City of Gems’, Ratlam is situated in the northwestern part of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. It is referred to as the city of three S i.e. Sev, Sari, and Sona (gold). Moreover, it is also a significant railway junction of the Indian Railway. The place has a huge foodie populace hence in this episode we are here to explore its wonderful street food scene. In this journey, we have joined our hosts, Ratlam Wale and Chirag Rai.
We started with central India’s traditional breakfast dish Poha from a popular joint Saklecha Nashta point. It was fluffy and light on spices. But the toppings of sev, fresh coriander, pomegranate seeds, and chopped onions made it a tasty affair.
With the rains making a sudden appearance, we rushed to this busy tea stall named Bajrangi Tea stall to satiate our tea craving. Furthermore, just like Bhopal and most other cities of central India, Ratlam too is a tea-loving city. The crowd here was a testimony of its amazing service. The tea was indeed very energizing but their much-loved saffron coffee was just decent.
Our next destination was Gordhalal Sev Wala, a fifty-year-old shop that specializes in the famous Ratlami Sev. These gram flour-based tiny deep-fried snacks were truly appetizing and fun. Here in Ratlam it is eaten all the time and with most of the dishes. According to the owner, the climate and the water of Ratlam gives it a distinct character.
Next was the turn of a wholesome Dal Bati and Bafla Thali from the popular Vyas Dal bati. There was crushed Bati and Bafla along with sweet and sour dal, papad, and chutney. The platter was delicious and value for money.
After that, we tasted a simple and light Sabudana khichdi from Sabudana Bhandar. Like the Poha this too is a preferred breakfast dish across central India. We liked it sweet and sour taste that was quite satisfying.
From there we reached Kalu Mama Samosa shop. Their highlights were the corn samosa, raw banana samosa, and mirchi vadas. All of them were distinctly flavorsome. This place is a hot favorite so don’t miss it if you are visiting Ratlam.
While ambling down the street we came to a very interesting shop with the name Madhya Bharat Bar. On inquiring we realized that it used to be a thriving place long back and its origin dates back to Independence. Now it isn’t functional. Here we tasted their fruit beer which was okay but not much impressive.
Our next stop was Satish chaat wala whose chaats are a craze among the locals. Here we tried their three popular dishes- one was the aloo tikki chaat, the other was raw banana chaat, and finally aloo tikki biscuit. Everything was delectable. It’s another must-try place in Ratlam.
From there we went to their relative’s pani puri shop for some delightful panipuris. The owner was such a generous host that he made us taste all the different flavours of pani puris that were available in his shop. They were just brilliant. We also had the palak chaat at this place. We highly recommend this place to all Pani puri lovers.
After binge eating the pani puris we went to taste another famous hot beverage the kesariya doodh. The thick and luscious milk is was quite pleasing. The locals love to have it after dinner.
We ended our food tour in Ratlam with a tasty paan from Govind paan shop. The day was super gratifying and we could cover most of the popular eateries in the city. We are extremely grateful to chirag and Ratnam wale for taking us around and helping us in our exploration.