Bazaar Bites

by Priya Bala

Imagine… The joy of tasting fried mussels on Kozhikode beach… Being awash in nostalgia as you eat a kachori in a 100-year-old Allahabad institution… Eating singhara at a shop without a name and wondering how it became quite so famous… Falling under the spell of Dal Lake even as you tuck into skewers of tujh, grilled over coals… Bazaar Bites takes you on a journey through India’s most vibrant street-food hubs and through their delicious and diverse offerings. Part travelogue, part food guide, this book, spanning over 40 Indian cities, also brings you up close with the vendors of street food, many of whom have been practising their craft over generations, and tells the captivating story of their passion, dedication and resilience.

312 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2024

Reviews

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Street Savouries-
Review of 'Bazaar Bites' by Priya Bala and Jayanath Narayanan

Quote Alert
"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 '𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲'. 𝐈𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐭-𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦-𝐭𝐡𝐞-𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐢 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐚 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠."

Indian street food, divided by states and content but united by foodies is a huge business and art form. Overcoming the pandemic and sprouting cafes and delis, it continues to not only satiate the hunger of those for who it had been devised in the first place (migrant workers and labourers) but also attracting food connoisseurs on their food tourism or food walks.

In Bazaar Bites, the authors have taken a food trail in India, sampling street food that differs not only in taste but also in its monetary value. So while you may find in Dharwad a peda of Babusingh Thakur who migrated all the way from Unnao to escape plague. Today the pedha, devoid of any preservative or colour, has a GI tag. The book is full of such tales about food.

I kept on googling the joints written about in the book and found that I had been to a few of them, including Hotel Mahadeshwara Mylari of Mysore which only serves two kinds of dosas. A gallery like small shop, if you eat dosa here you will forever wish to go back and have twenty more.

A wonderful treat.