Tigers Experience of Banaras Kee Chaat

I endorse the fact " The Best Chaat and the original chaat is from Banaras and no where else - Mr Sanghivi very rightly said in one of his notes about Chaat  that Banaras originated Chaat and spread the same all over the country ".

Was invited by Bharti Sanghi for Banaras Kee Chaat at her house in Golf Links ... how i awaited this day .. actually counted the days . I am a Chaat Freak and remember or rather thank or blame my mom for developing this bad habit in me lol , every time i would get a soar throat she would take me to eat chaat at def col market - anil sweets - the man lasted a couple decades before the shop converted to a dominos , his chutney was to die for and he gave us udhaar also . Ever since have this madness about Chaat ,never miss an opportunity to eat gol guppa and chaat ,specially from Banaras.

Well anyways she had called these guys from Banaras - Raju Chat Wale - mainstream Banaras Chaat wale who are the best caterers in the town . What an amazing spread . Like aalways i definitely do a research before every food trial hence - here's the secret spent a full day with my mom in law before going for this trial - she was born and brought up in Banares and has awesome memories of the street food - a secret not to be read to told to bharti - we carried back two items from the party for my mom in law - who tried them and was in tears - she said banaras kab le ja rahe ho - ghar kee yaad aa gayee - so emotional can food be .  She authenticated the flavors the ingredients used and said yeh toh pakka original hai banaras kee galiyon se.

Beautiful laid out tables in the lawns of her sprawling Golf Links house - filled with smartly dressed Marwaris - each one seemed to be a chaat freak like me - questioning the chat wala like we all were big time food critics .  I loved the flow of language floating around "Aap" "Jee" etc so much manners ,amazing . 

Before you go on let me put certain t hings in place - I hated Malai all my life last evening was the first time i actually tried food made from malai  Secondly the guys behind the counters refused to reveal the ingredients of some dishes - so pardon  me .

I quizzed them on two points and they had eye  raised  - oh how does he know all this , what do they know tiger has a mom in law who is born and brought in the streets of banaras   lol - One the sont or the red chutney traditionally supposed  to be  made from Khajoor  ,they had used imli secondly the green chutney is supposed to be made from Kuchii Imli ,they had used dhaniya and pudina only .. but still was awesome.

Malai Cake / Daulat Kee Chaat 

Deceptive - was light like a feather , beautiful consistency in the texture , amazing flavor of pista , saffron - just tried a spoonful for the first time - it was like pushing a bullet thru the barrel as tough .... but when i put it into my mouth the malai cake melted like sponge full of flavors .. delicious . Wonder how they make it so light and spongy . Read somewhere that it is to be  made by hand  in the light of the full moon and to be rested in the morning dew .. wonder if anyone follows this. So this was my first attempt at Malai .

Malai Sandwich

Hear the description - .5 cm malai on both sides ... one layer of badam , second layer of pista .... YUM...  yes it was a mithai with mewa ... i like authentic pure stuff had two pieces iof it and smuggled two for MIL. Really rich but the best part of it was that i never felt sick post eating it . 

Gulab Jamun

 Wife was watching booohooo - never seen such round perfect gulab jamuns .... sorry didn try them but im sure they must have been awesome and filled with mewa.

Kachori / Puri being made stuffed with lil daal masala.

See the peetal kee karhai, the belna , the belan.. so sweet and original .Generally kachori is a stuffed puri and the stuffing may be a spicy masala mix of mung dal or urad dal, but in banaras the morning breakfast available in street stalls consists of this flavoured masala puri, which they call kachori. The masala, flavours and even the dal is often mixed with the dough itself to make puris, so here even the dal wali kachori is not a stuffed puri. madein desi ghee but light as hell.

Aloo Baigan Kee Sabzi

I could have never guessed - this sabzi has aloo and baigan cooked perfectly . Childood memories of my wife and my mom in law is this dish for breakfast everyday .. they used to Que up infront of this tiny shop to eat .. they were served in leaves . The best part of this sabzi was  it might have been bland but had a amazing mix of flavors of the toppings and  just perfect to be eaten with the puri .

Tamatar Kee Chaat

The BEST Chaat i have ever had "Timatar Kee Chaat" - sweet sour with a particular zing .... laden with Ghee , Mewa , Garam masala served with Namakpara and tawa aloo mixed with tomato. My mouth s drooling again writing this description - it was such an amazing experience had three katoris of it , apparently this is a specialty of Banaras . I asked the man behind the counter to tell me the ingredients , he did but i lost track of everything as there just too many ingredients and procedures of making this amazing Chaat . Total Killer.

Centre of the Tawa Chooda Matar

This garam masala, milk and ghee laden chooda matar. Chooda matar or chiwda matar is basically a Banaras version of pohe. A winter treat with fresh green peas and the new crop of paddy made into flattened rice that is called Chiwda or chooda in the region is concocted into a spicy warm breakfast that I believe is the best cereal breakfast ever. Simple light healthy nutritious and a great dish for breakfast 

Mattar ka Nimona

In Eastern UP any curry which is cooked with Lentils is known as Nimona , so u can have palak ka nimona , mattar ka nimona .. this is served with a papdi  of a crispy patty crushed ,and the mattar is out on top with the chutney . Quite like what we get on the streets of Delhi - but the crispy wafers made all the difference - crunchy and naughty as i wud call it lol . The mattar well cooked , also know as gugni in kolkata - with garam masala and nimboo to do the magic .

Aloo Tikki

Aloo tikki - the best aloo tikki is nice and crisp from outside Karari as we call it ... served with Yogurt and the chutneys 

Gol Guppe with Three Types of Waters

The Three varieties of water - Heeng , Theeka , Mixed khata meetha  - he had two mixtures for the gol gupas - one was the mattar and the other was dal moth in a spicier chutney ... just had five each lol ... but i loved the earthen pots for the water .. so very traditional banaras style . The water was fresh and refreshing my favorite was the khata meetha one .

Palak

Palak Kee Chaat

Simple crispy kind of healthy with the palak and the sprouts - cold sweetened curd , salt mirchi and chutney thats it - just had two plates only lol .... could have done one more but then ,you know how it is with a wife around lol . The crispness of the palak ke pate was amazing and together with all the other simple ingredients made it so enjoyable . Hope it was not bhang ke pate ......

Maide ke Matar Kachori

Ya they look like dahi bhallas or ram ladoos but they were mattar kee kachori made in maida .... very interesting mixture of mattar inserted in the maida ball and fried ....tasted awesome withthe sabzi .

Bharti Sanghi 

Born in a traditional Marwari house, Bharti Sanghi started from a home kitchen in Golf links 8 years ago and shifted to a professional unit at Okhla

She was convinced that the recipes of foods and juices handed down over generations, were full of health and taste unlike the modern day fast foods and aerated cold drinks. This conviction led her to create “Life” the flagship brand of fruit beverages, food products and Mithai for Home Alone Foods.

Her Daal ki puri, Ker sangri and gatta are enjoyed by the young and old. In fact the North Indian Cuisine lovers have included these dishes as a must have in most parties, weddings and impromptu family dinners.

The thepla’s have a natural shelf life of about 10 days. Most children who go abroad, are taking these with them. This has prompted her to package these items and her breakthrough has come by offering a shelf life of 4 months on Phulka, paratha, thepla, etc, apart from Rajasthani curried and dry items like Gatta, Sangri et al.

She has a special section for diabetics. The range includes, RTS Sugar free Nimbu Pani- a boon to diabetics. Her latest mithais are also available with sucralose which is very safe and an accepted sweetener worldwide.

Every diwali we get thaalis made from Bharti with Mattar kee Kachori ,Gond ke Ladoo and Chandrakala -  she decoratedthem for us in tradiotinal bandhini cloth in baskets .. it has been a tradion for years now ... people , freiends really look forward to the diwali hamper with goodies . 

Tigers Overall Experience : "Im Going to Banaras for a three day street food trip with my Mom In Law".Primarily to discover as this kind of food ,unfortunately is not available in meri dilli .

Was amazing to see the Chaat Enthusiast let loose , and Adventurous lot of people . Very clean , Fresh ingredients ,cant be duplicated and it was FREE hahahahah thanks Bharti for inviting us over and exposing my palate to Banaras Kee Chaat and yes thanks for reviving my Mom In laws childood Memories .