Indore: A Foodie’s Street Food Paradise

If you are a foodie, don’t miss out on the incredible street food markets of Indore! Check out this guide to street food paradise!

Spending half of the day on the train, I had enough time to do my research about Indore. Although there’s not much to see, I still ended up with very crucial information: it happened to be a paradise for foodies when it comes to street food. Huh! And I thought about scrapping it for some temples in Ujjain! (Side note: I’ve had the opportunity to visit Ujjain for a wedding years later, and let me tell you: GO! I’ll surely write about it soon)

Apparently, a post-Holi festival was going on and everyone was once again coloured all over. Consequently, everything in the city was shut and the autos charged a bomb. Having an amazing, super comfy hotel and nothing to do all day long, I had time to do lots of street food-related research to be prepared for the evening.

There are two main street food markets in Indore, Chappan Dukan (or 56 Dukan) and Sarafa Bazaar. The latter is around a hundred years old and came into existence when the owners of the jewellery shops in this lane offered the space in front of their shops to food vendors in an attempt to keep their shops safe with all the noise and crowds. It’s a must-visit, especially at night, the lane buzzing with life.

Here is the result of my research for the must-eats and from where. Please note: that’s just the result of my online research without trying it (yet). My own comments I’ll add after this list 🙂

Poha Jalebi

Yes, Poha (flattened rice) and Jabeli (a sweet dish mentioned below) in one! It’s apparently a popular breakfast here. (Personal opinion: I don’t like sweet poha, but I think one should at least try it once)

Best at: Prashant near Suyash Hospital, Ravi Alpahar, Chappan Dukan, Young Tarang

Khatta Samosa

The typical Indian Samosa filled with potatoes but apparently tangier in taste. Comes with a spicy and sweet chutney.
Best at: Swadisht Samosa Corner

Moong Bhajiyas

Deep fried lentil balls served with fried chilis and chutney. A popular evening snack in Indore.
Best at: Agrawal 420, Mahalakshmi Stall, Uncle ji ke Moong Bhajiye

Bhutte ka Kees

Very special for Indore, made of grated corn, boiled and fried in ghee, then mixed with besan, hing, cumin, coriander and their own masala.
Best at: Joshi Dahi Badahouse, Sarafa Bazaar

Mawa Batti

The Indore version of Gulab Jamun, full of rich and crispy nuts.
Best at: Many stalls along Chappan Dukan

Dal Bafla

Made of wheat, curd and spices, which are first boiled together before baking. Similar to the Rajasthani Dal Baati.
Best at: Swadisht Samosa Corner

Jalebi

I always call it “fried sugar”. It’s a coil of batter, crispy fried and then dipped in sugar syrup. Insanely sweet but once you get used to it, really yum. Especially with vanilla ice cream ❤ Best served hot, they are not that great anymore when they cooled down.

Best at: Giriraj Jalebi Bhandar, Chavni

Jaleba

Basically an insanely oversized Jalebi (I didn’t expect it to be that huge!).

Best at: Various shops at Chappan Dukan, Sarafa Bazaar

Hot dog

Not what we generally think of speaking of hot dogs, it looks more like a burger.

Best at: Johny Hot Dog (try Egg Banjo!)

Kulfi Faluda

The Indian ice cream kulfi paired with thin spaghetti type noodles topped with sugar syrup. Sounds weird but is super yum!
Best at: Maduram Sweets, Nema Kulfi Faluda Centre

Garadu

Deep fried yams topped with spices and lemon, best served hot. Apparently only seasonal in winters but nevertheless a speciality of Indore.
Best at: Various stalls at Sarafa Bazaar

Khopra Patties

A speciality of Indore, basically an Aloo Tikki stuffed with coconut and deep fried. Served hot with a sweet and tangy sauce.
Best at: Vijay Chaat House

Dal Batti Churma

Not only a Rajasthani dish but apparently also popular in Indore.

Dahi Bada

Best at: Joshi Dahi Bada (apparently it’s a whole show how he prepares it)

Sabudana Ki Khichdi

A dish made from soaked and boiled tapioca pearls with potatoes and ground peanuts.

Best at: Sawariya Khichdi

Shikanji

AKA Nimbu pani, or simply Indianised lemonade with masala and black salt.
Best at: Madhuram Sweets

Shrikhand

Yoghurt blended with nuts and sugar with different flavours like badam, kesar, mango and masala (I LOVE Shrikhand, to die for!)

Sandwiches

Best at: Make my Sandwhich

Maggi

Not just the regular instant noodles but served in 25 different styles!
Best at: LIG Square

Kachori

Lots of varieties apart from the basic ones filled with lentils (dal) or potatoe (aloo). You find kachoris filled with onion (pyaaz), peas (matar), corn (bhutte) and fariyali.

Best at: Laal Balti Kachori, Gelda Kachori, Ravi Alpahar, Prasid ki Kachori

Baked Samosas

Basically a pati or puff which is available in so many parts of India. They serve it stuffed with freshly chopped onions, tomato, ketchup and sev.

Pani Puri

The classic, available everywhere in India. Hollow puris stuffed with diced potatoes or boiled chick peas and then dunked in tangy and spicy water.

Best at: Sarafa Bazaar

Malpuas

A sweet winter speciality of Indore made of milk, mawa, sugar syrup.

Lassi

Fresh yoghurt blends with sugar and various flavours. Not only in Punjab but also here in Indore.

Best non veg

Pishori Dhaba (Chicken Lollipop, Boti Chicken, Amrisar Fish, Butter Chicken)

I also found two particular shops online which sell some very special ice cream.

Gulab Jamun Ice cream

Live Tawa IceCream

Hapus Ice cream with Shrikhand

Agarwal Ice Cream Shop

Chappan Dukan

I started around 7 pm at Chappan Dukan. Because of the holiday, some of the shops I really wanted to try were closed: Vijay Chaat House, Madhuram Sweets and Young Tarang. I hope to have enough time to go there again on my last day here, when I’m back from Maheshwar.

I went to the famous Johny Hot Dog to have Egg Banjo. Was really delicious and only costed 30 INR/~0.40 $.

Since the other shops were closed and I didn’t feel like having non-veg, I thought I’d give LIG Maggi a try. I ordered Cheese Maggi and – huge mistake – a Chocolate Oreo Shake. Oreo shakes are my biggest weakness, just can’t resist. The result was that I was so full afterward that I could hardly eat anything else anymore. Both were good but my bar for Oreo shakes is quite high and it’s maximum a 3/5.

An aunty was roasting some green things in a big tawa which I hadn’t seen before. She let me try two and it turned out to be green chana (chickpeas) in its shells. A really nice snack!

I also found some fancy pan shops where they sell all kinds of paan, some covered in chocolate and whatnot.

Sarafa Bazaar

After I had covered it, I continued to Sarafa Bazaar. What an experience it was! Absolutely fascinating and a must-visit for all foodies. I was initially a bit concerned about safety going there alone but one doesn’t need to worry at all.

The first stall I went to was a sweet shop where I tried Shrikhand for the very first time. I had never even heard of it and fell in love!

I then went on to try Moong Bhajiyas at some random stall which unfortunately disappointed me quite a lot. Maybe it just wasn’t the right stall. Although I couldn’t even finish it, I had fully reached my capacity and couldn’t eat a bite more. That’s the disadvantage of solo travelling, the lack of a partner to share all this food with!

The further I went, the more crowded it became – but at the same time, the more fun. There were so many different food stalls, I didn’t know where to look first. So many new types of snacks I hadn’t seen yet and the live preparation which I personally always find very interesting!

I think, I was most impressed by the Jalebas. What kind of giant invented this thing?! I can only eat ONE Jalebi maximum because it’s so sweet but this… this is four or five times the size! Insane!

I do hope to return to Indore with more time in hand and most importantly, with a partner in crime to snack through the entire Sarafa Bazaar! 🙂 (Fun fact: even the second time in Indore I was alone and had to snack myself through it again by myself 😀 )

Full as I was, I hoped that I would manage to get up somehow for my next adventure to Maheshwar on day seven!