Moksha via veg food – Indore can help you out

If you are one of those who eat to live, you might want to skip the rest of the article. If you live to eat, let’s talk . I mean that need not be the only reason, but has to be one of the primary reasons to live.

I recently visited Indore for a marriage and was blown away by the amazing and innovative vegetarian options available there. Let me explain few of those in detail:

Indore Poha

You get this everywhere in Indore, especially in the mornings. One of the healthiest breakfast options in town, it is sometimes paired with with Jalebi (probably to make up for the ‘healthy’ bit!). It is stored in a perforated vessel and kept warm by steam coming from a vessel which has boiling water, and is kept below it. Poha is served with chopped tomato, onion, lemon, sev and a special masala. Try out this option with a glass of steaming hot tea on a nice chilly morning.

 

 

 

Bhutte ka kees

This is the best corn dish you will ever taste. A must have in every marriage, specially during the winter. It is a paste of corn cooked in milk and garnished with coconut, coriander and lemon. It has a very mild taste and the mild sweetness of the corn combined with the tang of the lemon alone is worth a trip to Indore!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Varieties of Namkeen / Sev

There is an old joke which every Indori knows. Someone went to buy poison to commit suicide. He had only 10 rupees, and he asked the shopkeeper to give him poison for 5 rupees and sev for the remaining five. That is how much Indore loves Namkeens. The variety that you get here is beyond your imagination. And the way shopkeepers make you taste all the flavors is something which needs special mention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indori Maggi

I am sure Nestle never imagined this before they made this product. The way Indore twists the Maggi, you will forget the normal taste for sure. There are at least 40-50 varieties available. What we tried was a cheesy veg Maggi. Very tough for me to convey what all it had. All I remember is that it was not made in 2 minutes, and that all the extra minutes were certainly worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baked Samosa

I am sure you have had a samosa before. You primarily find potatoes used as filling in north India, and maybe even beetroot in the south. But Indore folks prefer their ‘samosas’ to be different. The ‘crust’ is baked empty to start with, and then stuffed with a nice vegetable patty only when it is served. Onions, tomato sauce and obviously sev form a melange of toppings for this ‘real-time’ samosa. It is also called a baked samosa out here – to make you feel good about having chosen a healthy option!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garadu

I know the name sounds a bit funny, but it tastes awesome. This is the Indori winter special. Garadu is a type of Yam and looks like sweet potato. It is cut in small cubes, fried and topped with a fiery  masala made out of cumin powder, dry ginger powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, asafoetida, black salt and rock salt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shahi Shikanji

So here you are, done with all the eating, and you settle down to digest all of it by gulping down a shikanji. But surprise, surprise – the shikanji in Indore is not what you are usually used to. The Indori shikanji is made of rabdi. This might end up being the heaviest part of the meal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So do you have the ‘moksha’ feeling yet? If you have something more to add, go ahead and mention it in the comments space below.