Food Tour: Chennai!

On to the much anticipated exclusive blog – Food Tour: Chennai!  After one painful but not altogether debilitating bout of food sickness earlier in my stay here in Bangalore, I have finally worked up the courage to try out some street food and really get a feel for South Indian grub.  As my Delhi Ultimate Frisbee friend Garrett says, once you get sick once- you are basically to go.  Your body is stronger and can handle the spices, sweat, dirt and grime that make street food and local restaurant fair the delicacy that it is!

First stop on Sunday’s Chennai food tour was post-frisbee breakfast at Saravana Bhavan- a local favorite (at least to the college-going Gopalapuram folk!)  It was truly fast food style with big images of the various delicacies, standing room only, and the aroma of ghee and coconut filling the air.  Veera ordered a bunch of things for us while I waited in anxious anticipation for my breakfast feast!  And boy what a feast it was!  Luckily we had been playing all morning because the sheer quantity of food was quite impressive.  Parotha, a flakey spiraled dough bread, served with yogurt sauce and a delicious sambar was probably my favorite.  We also had a plate of idli and vadha- breakfast staples you don’t want to miss.  Always served with sambar and chutney, I’ve grown to like these fermented rice cakes and salty donut snacks!  Dosa has always been one of my favorites in terms of South Indian breakfast foods, and today’s was no exception.  Although it was a little-too ghee heavy and crispy for my liking, the chutney and sambar were superb and its monstrous size was the perfect photo op!

After 5+ hours to digest and work up our appetite (see previous blog for the day’s activities) we were back on tour Kailash Parbat, a swanky restaurant and lounge that happened to have chat (street food) and snacks.  We forewent the typical chat items since we’d be having those later on the street, and instead got sweet lassi chole bhatura.  Chole bhatura is puffy fried bread and orgasmic spicy chickpea curry.  Lassi is a thick yogurty drink right up my alley (and far better than the watery milkshakes I order and hope for the best at other restaurants).  We split each, which was the perfect amount to tide us over to the next stop on the list: Marina beach food!

Veera had been ranting and raving about bhajis, South Indian vegetable fritters not to different from onion rings.  You can most commonly find bhaji stalls on the beach, so we grabbed some ketchup (Veera said their sauces are a little iffy at times) and headed to Marina beach.  After walking around and soaking in the carnival-like atmosphere for a bit, we picked out a bhaji stall.  People sat around on plastic chairs enjoying their bhajis and having good conversation in the light of the cooking station.  You ordered a plate (I think it was about 2 Rs per bhaji) of whatever vegetable you wanted.  Apparently the hot chilies are all the rage, but we stuck with cauliflower, plaintains, potatoes, and red onions.  Pretty good, but nothing to rave about.  It tasted basically like onion rings—wanted some more spice and flavor!!

Onward to get some quality fruit juice at one of Veera’s favorite juice points.  Such a variety of choices, we ended up all going for the Indian cocktail (a blend of six fruits) since it was so hard to decide!  The orange walls and modern décor made be feel like I was in one of those millions of frozen yogurt shops (think Red Mango, Sweet Orange, Pinkberry, etc.)  I was very content with my choice, though sometime when I have a larger appetite (aka when I go for Chennai Heat), perhaps Ill get a yogurt or ice cream based smoothie J

Last stop on the food tour was the most anticipated and most “risky” in terms of chances of getting sick yet- Calcutta Chat!  There are thousands, maybe even millions of chat stands around the streets of India, all of questionable hygiene and cleaniness standards.  I’ve always been intrigued by the spherical fried puri balls stacked up on carts throughout the streets but have been far to scared to actually try it out.  With Veera’s confidence leading the way to her favorite chat destination, we arrived at a shack with a few other people indulging away.  We eat got an order of pani puri- crispy bread spheres that the cook punches a hole with his thumb into, fills with a masala potato blend, and dips in a jug of both sweet and salty “pani” or water.  You get one pani puri at a time and are required to eat it all at once.  After finishing that puri, he fill up your mini dish with the next, and the next, and the next.  This guy was making us go particularly fast—quite the binge eating experience if you ask me!!  The food was truly an experience in itself.  Not my favorite of Indian foods, but I’d definitely try this “fun” snack again! Veera asked if I was still hungry, and I said “sure, why not?” so we tried one more- pav bhaji.  I had this with Shweta at Corner House a few weeks back, but this was far more authentic.  Pav bhaji is a fast food dish native to Maharashtra of a spicy potato and tomato curry blend and buttery bread garnished with onions, baked pav, and cilantro (yuck—I picked this out!)  The thick potato curry stews on the flat stove until it is ordered and then the buttery bread is prepared.  Pretty sure I had a quick heart attack when I saw the shear quantity of butter he used to butter/cook the bread, but hey—its all about the experience, right? We got mixed pav bhaji which is when the bread part is mixed in as opposed to on the side, but there are lots of variations.  A delicious, filling end to our food tour and the weekend in Chennai!

So overall—

favorites foods of the day: parotha, chole bhatura, lassi

favorite experience: hands down, pani puri

This was only a mere sampling of the enormous variety of foods that make up South Indian cuisine and street food.  There are so many left to try—if you have any suggestions, please let me know!!

Saravana Bhavan- first stop on the food tour :)

Parotha = stringy, flakey yumminess! 

So proud of her South Indian roots!

Look at the size of that dosa- unbelievable!!

Chole bathura at Kailash Parbat.  Sometimes those barthuras are ENORMOUS, but I was more than happy with this lovely one!

Bhaji stall on Marina Beach

Lots of oil and veggies = bhajis!

I hope the bhaji lady enjoyed being a star in this food tour blog!

Our plates of various bhajis (and ketchup)...dig in!

Pani puri man...the red jar is where he's getting the pani waer from.  You can also see the little metal dish each individual puri is served in

Me and the pav bhaji cook

So full but so ready for our mixed pav bhaji plate.  Yum. Yum Yum.