It will take one whole life to travel all across the country however if you want to cover the best of India then Surat is a must addition in your list. Awarded as the best city to live in, it not just gives a good lifestyle but also adds explicitly to your flavors.
I spent a whole day in Surat looking for different flavours of the city. Bombarded with so many unusual names Locho, Undiyo, Ghari, khari, Sarsiya and many more, got me intrigued to try them all, which needed me to bulk up my appetite. There is a famous local saying “Surat ne jamn ani Kashi nu Maran” which translates to if you have eaten food in Surat and if you die in Kashi, then your life is blessed.
My food tryst with Surat started with a popular “Gopal Locho House”, where we got to know that Locho is actually Chana dal with mari Masala from Gopal, the owner of the eatery. They have it in much variety, clubbed with many fast foods too. I tried couple of flavours garlic, lemon spice and let me tell you I was amazed how such simple ingredients could make something so tasty.
As I moved on in the “City of the Sun” (Surya Put as it was originally called) transformed itself into “The Diamond City” with its brilliance in Diamond mercantile, I found out that the liveliness and colour that is visible in the people of Surat are also present in the huge thalis that is often used to serve food.
Little in my imagination, it occurred that I will see a local eatery that is famous for eggs. Yes! You heard it right. This was the very popular “Bhai Bhai – Omelette Center”. It has been here for about 40 years with more than 10-15 varieties of egg dishes.
In fact Sanjay, the owner of this eatery, demonstrated their signature dish “kachhi lahori” where he made the base with egg, green garlic and spices then made gravy with boiled eggs and spices to pour over it. This whole process took him less than 3 minutes and it was one of the best and the softest egg dishes that I have tried so far. Sanjay, an MBA graduate who has found passion in eggs is a rare thing to see.
I got a chance to see the lucrative Diamond market and meet people there who are as sweet as their food and as colourful as their attire. For your knowledge I must tell you that Surat city is also known as Silk city, city of bridges. So many names to a city only goes on to say how multi faceted this place truly is.
The city that has festivals all round the year must have delicious dishes round the year too. To add to adventure for taste I visited a home which belonged to Paresh and Preetiji’s home. That’s where I got to learn all about Ghari, a famous Gujrati Dessert.
It was interesting to see how she fried the maida stuffed with mawa & Besan stuffing without actually putting it in the frying pan, by only pouring hot ghee on both the sides of ghari. She served it to me with a layer of ghee on it, garnished with dry fruits. It was very heavy but so tasty that I didn’t feel the guilt.
Wherever I went in Surat, one thing that I got in abundance and found everywhere which was good hospitality. Trust me you don’t want to miss out on the great flavors of Surat. Plan your trip soon to the city of Bridges!
