Known as Diamond City, Silk City etc, Surat is a foodies' paradise. The city offers a mind blowing range of traditional and fusion street food options. One of the bustling gastronomic spots over here is the Zampa Bazaar.
During Ramzan this locality turns into a food haven with plethora of non veg options. We started our journey with the dahi vada. Unlike its north Indian counterpart this is actually a tangy and sweet snack made of semolina, flour and curd. It is a Ramzan special delicacy. Next we visited Sabbir bun maska stall for jam maska bun. We got it packed and headed to Liberty Tea Stall to pair it with a tea. Once again we could affirm that the tea and maska bun combination is timeless.
Next we went to Zatpat Ni Mithai stall to experience mawa rose. The place was adorned with colourful multi flavoured sweets and some traditional halwa. With a flaky outer covering and mawa based core the mawa rose was a complete delight.
After that we tried a delicious chicken stuffed baked paratha and deep fried mutton paratha from the legendary Kausar Paratha. Although the good amount of oil and the robust protein stuffing might seems scary, its taste was irresistible.
Next we joined our host Hamza and his family for a soulful Bohri thaal experience. Trying some classic Bohri dishes in a huge thali with the family was a surreal experience.
After this feast we once again embarked on a street food tour to indulge in some more Ramzan special delicacies. First we went to Gulubhai Chaapwale where we interacted with Mohammad Ji and refreshed some memories from our past visit. His naan chaap was still a bestseller.
The next stop was Zaffran Sweets where we wanted to try their iconic Sagla Bagla sweet but since it is not available during Ramzan time, we tried some of their halwa and ghari instead. All the sweets were fresh and luscious.
This was followed by some grilled chicken from Bapu Sultani Chicken Stall. The chicken here is grilled over a kerosene stove in a specially designed oven. As a result the meat had a distinct smoky taste.
In the last leg of this tour we tried the bheja from Kadarbhai barahandi and winter chicken and zafrani chicken from the legendary Chotte Miyan. It was indeed a gluttonous affair but the heart didn't just want to stop.