Eating in Bullion market

King Midas had got a boon that whatever he touched turned to gold. He was overjoyed thinking he will the richest man in the world. His happiness lasted only till lunch. Feeling hungry, when he touched the food, alas, that too turned to gold. It was only then that the greedy king realised his folly.

We were in Indore, a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. We were told by our driver that we should try the eatables at ‘Sarafa Bazaar’, that in Hindi literally translates to Bullion Market. Hey, will we not end up as Midas was my question. The reply was No, as a whole range of vegetarian eatables were available daily at Sarafa Bazaar. Oh, so earlier it was bullion market that has now become a ‘Khau gully’, is it? –My question. No, was the reply, it is actually a bullion market even now.

We set off around 9 PM to have dinner of a different kind. The driver dropped us on the main road as vehicles are not allowed in Sarafa Bazaar in the evenings. A small walk of a few minutes, and before us was Sarafa Bazaar — a single street stretching to about half a kilometer with jewelry shops and bullion trading shops on either side of the street, all closed. The whole place was lit up with gaily-colored posters, banners and festoons of various stalls/carts on either side selling eatables. We were informed that during the day, the jewelers transact their business. Once they shut shop, by around 9 PM, the place is taken over by these night-time operators, the food stall owners. The stalls are open till 3 AM and then they remove all traces of the business including clearance of all discarded materials, waste, etc. No trace of the night eateries in the mornings, when the jewelers come to open their shops. This cycle continues day after day and Sarafa Bazaar at night is the biggest tourist attraction in Indore. Not that the locals do not flock to this place.

The crowds were just coming in and we walked the entire length of the street, taking stock of all that was on offer. There were stalls selling the ubiquitous pav bhaji, chaats of different kinds, sweets, ice-creams, juices apart from Chinese, South Indian and even Italian stuff such as pizzas. Decided to start off with something we hadn’t tasted before — Kiss. No, not the physical one but a chaat made of ground corn and seasoned with masalas. Tasted yummy.

Next in our sights was the Garadu — Sliced and diced yam, fried in oil with a liberal sprinkling of some secret masalas. Spicy, tasty but a bit on the heavier side. Maybe an acquired taste for some.

Some of the stall-keepers were dressed in ethnic wear while some sported heavy chains, wrist-bands, rings and bracelets. Time for some dahi bhalla and more important, a photo-op with the stall-owner who appeared to be a Bappi Lahiri fan given his penchant for flashy jewelry.

Thirsty, we looked for something to drink. Chanced upon the Coconut crush stalls, announcing they were 100% natural stuff. The shopkeeper chops the green coconut with gusto, shouting all the while as he scoops out the malai( white flesh inside) after pouring out the water into a jug. Next, the water along with the malai is beaten together in a mixie and poured out in glasses for you. A bit of a weird taste, but a good experience.

We decided to give the Fruit Shots a miss as also the dosas and ‘kullad pizza’ ( pizza in an earthen cup). Ice-creams were out of bounds, as I had a bad throat but desserts were certainly on. Found it difficult to choose from the mouth-watering sweets. A diabetic would surely have his sugar-levels up, merely looking at the sweets on display. Opted for kalakand and rasmalai. We were too stuffed to try out the syrupy malpuas.

There was slight drizzle now. We had to call it a day and get back but not before trying out the Smoke paan. Paste of cashews, almonds and other condiments in the green leaf, dipped in dry nitrogen, a cool feeling envelops the mouth, even as cool vapour in the form comes out of the mouth and nostrils. A video shoot of the act is captured by the paan stall owner for posterity. Thought my looks, breathing smoke (no fire) would have put any self-respecting dragon to shame.

As we walked back towards our car, our thoughts were — Was this fine dining? Certainly not, it was more of fun dining. A word of caution — Garadu may not suit everyone. We felt the after-effects in 24-36 hours. Do not over-indulge.