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Imagine
life in Amritsar without the mouthwatering roadside foods. If the
recent Supreme Court ban on cooking food items on the roadside in
Delhi is extended to Amritsar, it would spell doom for scores of
vendors, especially migrants. Residents would be deprived of the
famous Amritsari kulcha, pav bhaaji and tikkis. Makeshift stalls dish out these snacks to a regular clientele on the Madan Mohan Malviya Road, outside Ram Bagh, Eagan Road, Rani Ka Bagh, opposite Guru Nanak Dev University. In Amritsar most customers savour street food to stimulate their taste buds. but even for the poor, a stuffed kulcha for Rs 5 is a full meal. Amritsari cuisine of tandoori chicken (roasted chicken), kulcha chhole, puri, lassi, pappad-wadian have become a part of Indian cuisine. Amritsaris’ love for live and verve are projected through its food culture. Narrow and labyrinthine streets selling foodstuff are a favourite haunt of foodies. Most of them have tables on the street. Even at six am the aroma of breakfast wafts in the walled city, especially outside the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Mandir. Eating joints keep buzzing till midnight. It is said that one’s visit to Amritsar is not complete till one has the multi-layered parantha, followed by a plate of phirni or kheer. Tea stalls and small-time dhabas near various landmarks of the city sell desi-ghee paranthas stuffed with potatoes, cheese and even omelettes. Amritsar has the highest consumption of desi ghee and butter in the state. Snacks are even sold on a no-profit-no-loss basis by the Durgiana Committee and Mata Da Mandir. Aminchand Sodha Company dating back to 1911, is perhaps the oldest in the city. It is famous for its lemonade, milk soda and badam milk. Roadside rehris popular for chicken, fish and meat are located. Kulcha chholle is unique to Amritsar and almost all localities have at least one famous kulcha shack. Also legendary is the Amritsaris’ love for lassi, with shops specialising in the drink. Makeshift stalls are all bunched together on short stretches. As the sun begins to set, the auto workshops and their ilk start pulling down the shutters - and as darkness descends, the unkempt street metamorphoses into a hub of activity. Within minutes, out come the tables, and the street-side pots and pans, and on go the flames. Lights that are designed to illuminate decorated rooftops are switched on and food stalls come alive. By about 8, the crowd
starts swelling appreciably and soon there is not a spare inch in
sight.
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