In today's episode we are taking you on an immersive street food tour across Rewa, a historical city located in the North Eastern part of Madhya Pradesh. Apart from many natural and manmade wonders, it is asli renowned as the Land Of White Tigers. Our hosts for this exciting exploration are two young talented professionals Tripti and Shashank who are from this city.
The first stop that they took us to was Benaam Sweets and Lajawab Samosa near Bajrang Nagar gate. The name literally translates into a shop with no name. We went there for small sized samosa which are locally known as samosi. They were accompanied by raw mango chutney and fried whole green chillies. The combination was familiar yet hard to resist all the more because the samosa were hot and fresh. People are so fond of this inexpensive snack that they have it at any time of the day.
The second stop that we went to was Ambar Chaat Fulki Centre at Simour Chauraha. At one end of this busy cart, fulki or golgappa was being served and on the other tikki chaat. We went for the second thing which seemed to be slightly different from its North Indian counterparts. Here the tikki were stuffed with chana dal and it was topped with white pea curry, chutney and sev. It was a pretty good tikki with a distinct variation in taste.
The third stop that they took us to was Dinesh Lai Cart in the Dhekaha neighborhood. This place was lined with numerous carts selling these crunchy balls made of puffed rice, jaggery and sesame seeds. These were being made fresh in the open space right behind the respective carts. Luckily we got to see the whole process from scratch as Dinesh Ji and his spouse were preparing a fresh batch. Since it was warm and fresh, it tasted amazing.
From there we went to see some supari kala or artifacts made of areca nuts at Supari Kala Kendra at Fort Road. This craft was discovered by Ram Siya Kunder Ji around 1942 and the legacy is now being carried out by his grandson Abhishek. He briefed us about this unique craft and its demand. They are a lineage of award winning artisans whose creations have been patronized by celebrities.
Next we went to our fourth stop which was Shyam Mangodiwale near Hospital Chauraha. At this popular snacks shop we had some mangodi (moong dal fritter) which is their speciality, aalu bonda (spiced potato mixture based fritters), saloni (tiny fried snacks made of refined flour) and some hot rasgulla which was basically a gulab jamun. We liked the crispy saloni that was served with chutney and the rasgulla too.
The fifth stop was Laala Chaat Center at Amaiya Colony. It being evening time, it was swarmed by chaat lovers. The genial owner managing the whole thing with such dexterity served us some tamatar chaat, phulki dahi phulki and sakoda. The former was a zesty snack made of cooked tomatoes, boiled white peas, chutneys etc. Phulki was simple golgappa and dahi phulki was yogurt filled golgappa. Sakoda is a rich, hot and spicy curry made with spinach and gram flour fritters. Everything was delicious but dahi fulki stole the show.
The sixth stop was Chacha Bantu Anda Roll stall on Shilpi Plaza Road. Their rolls are a hit with the youngsters. Here we ordered some egg cutlet and egg kebab. The former was a fun snack consisting of spiced potato mixture and bread crumbs coated deep fried boiled egg. The latter one was unique, a shallow fried spicy kebab made of eggs, potato, spices and biscuit crumbs. Though nothing exceptional, they were fun to try.
The seventh stop of this was Hotel Maharaj which dates back to 1984. Shashank took us there for Bagheli chicken which is a traditional chicken curry from this region. It was rich and full of flavours coming from the chicken and various spices.
The last stop of this gluttonous food tour was Gullan Paan Bhandar which is deemed as Rewa most renowned paan shop. This tour was both mouth watering and enriching. We are immensely thankful to Tripti and Shashank for introducing us to such gems.