Every city has a legendary icon that
must be remembered for all eternity. In the city of Allahabad, I
think it is Guruji. THE master of chaat.
He learnt the trade from his father,
and has been serving chaat for the lucky residents of Allahabad since
1945. Yes, you read that right, 1945! Even before India got its
independence!
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| Guruji |
Guruji is special not just because he's
probably the oldest living chaat vendor in this country, but because
he serves a special three-course phulkis. Now, lets get some
terminology clear. Phulkis is the term used in Allahabad for
pani puris, and I will stick to that. As I discovered, phulkis
are different from phuchkas, that is different from
golgappas, that is different from pani puris!
Napkin Chatter promises to do a full length feature of the national
variants of tangy spicy pani filled in crisp tiny pooris!
Enough of lessons, back to the three course
phulkis. First course, the puri is stuffed with seasoned matar
or mashed peas (this is
the regular filling for phulkis across Allahabad) and dipped
into nice tangy spicy pani. The pani is at room
temperature, not iced like it is in most parts of Delhi. Second
course, the puri is stuffed with garam(warm) sagoda ka
pani. If you're wondering what on earth is sagoda keep
reading this post. Third course, the puri is stuffed with potato that
is seasoned with green chilli and mint paste then topped with some
sweet imli (tamarind) chutney before being dipped into the
khatta (tangy) pani.
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| 3 Course Phulkis |
Guruji still serves each phulki
to each customer himself. At the second course, he warns each of them
“garam hai” (its hot, don’t burn your tongue!) The
commitment and dedication shown to his craft is incredible.
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| Sagoda |
Sagoda is a kind of pakoda in
some insanely yummy gravy/pani. I am saying pakoda because it
resembles one but it tasted far more flavourful than any
deep-fried-gram-flour entity I have had! This is drenched in a tangy
and spicy gravy of sorts. Its thicker than paani used for phulkis and
thinner than a subzi gravy. Served in a khullad (clay
cup), it is as appealing in
appearance as it is in taste. My
first taste of sagoda has
found a special place on my 'memory palate' (à
la Sherlock's memory palace!)
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| Khasta |
While we were chatting with him, he
whipped up a serving of
Khasta for
us to sample. Its a variation of a kachori. Smaller and denser with
more filling. He crushes a pair, tops it up with yummy
chutneys, dahi and fresh boondi! Its nothing like I have ever had
before, simply delicious.
The establishment is entirely family
run. While on the face of it, apart from guruji only the son is seen
making tikkis and dahi bhalla,
right from peeling potatoes
and making the various chutneys other members of the family are
involved. In a way, you can sense that love and bonding in the near
flawless flavours that are you are introduced to by Guruji. Come
here by late afternoon, because by evening the cauldrons are nearly
empty.
What makes this experience even more
awesome is the ridiculously cheap prices at which Guruji serves these
heavenly chaats. I asked him how does manage to price his chaat so
cheap, and he said “it is what is it”. Though he laments that
when he started out, he could serve 8 puris for one paise and now can
only afford to serve 4 puris at Rs. 5. I still think its a fantastic
deal, in the year, 2014, if you get chaat that tastes this good at
Rs. 5 you are blessed.
I have been blessed by the Guruji. I'd
recommend you set out on a chaat pilgrimage and pay your respects to
the holy master.
