"Food-Street" or "Khau Galli" or "Thindhi Street" or "Old Market Road, Visvesvarapuram", call it anything. This is the best location to enjoy street-food. A fest for vegetarians. A place to hang-out with family & friends & enjoy the food. Delight for veg food lovers ! Butter-gulkand-with-ice-cream-and-fruits, I just canot resiste that test !! Many more items that pull me back to this street very often, with family.
We go there almost once-a-month. Uaually, Fri or Sat evenings & the place is always crowded. It is a one-way & no-parking street, mostly for pedestrians. But ocassionally, you can see cars parked & people eating from the cars & then of-course the traffic cops trying to shoo the parked vehicles off.
As with every street-food, the prices here are very reasonable & easy-on-the-wallet. The place looks traditional & old and looks like an evening-market kind of street. The shops & their specialities that I have tested so far:
* V V Bakery -- just at the entrance, on right-side -- a BIG bakery, looks old & traditional types -- sells lots of diff biscuit + bread + buns + cakes + pastries -- I would say a little expansive but I like the items.
* Ghee dosa / Butter dosa -- costs Rs. 20/- per piece, price same for plane & masala -- the guy literally pours Nandini Gheen to his dosas, directly fromt he 1 liter pack :-) -- simply delicious -- 1 very strong looking leady runs this place and her cash box is always overflowing -- I have seen it always crowded, 10 - 15 min waiting time.
* Paddu & Ginna -- this is just opp the ghee dosa shop -- they sell many more items like: idly, vada, dase. I have tried Paddu ("appe" in marathi) & Ginna (sweet made of the 1st few days milk after a cow or buffallo delivers her baby). Both items test very good.
* Gobi-Manchurian (live) stall -- better you do not see when the guy is deep frying the gobi (curly flower) -- but the final dish is good :-) -- on the adjacent stall I have seen "rumali-roti" as well.
* Pav-Bhaji & Vada-Pav -- I have not tested a better vada-pav then this in Bangalore, of-course, next to what Kalyani makes at home :-) -- there are 2 stalls side-by-side & both serve good pav-bhaji & vada-pav and at times kacchi-dabheli as well -- you should see, when the guy puts Amul butter to the pav, he literally dips the pav in butter. This makes it more tasty.
* Ragi-Roti & Rise-Roti -- this is next to the vada-pav stall, this guy sells ragi-roti with brinjal curry. Both roti & curry are good. You can try this different item. Behind this stall, there is a shade where they sell Idly & Dose. Very resonable price.
* Obbattu (Puran-Poli) -- costs Rs. 10/- per piece & is worth it. Simple thin obbattu made with "chana dal" filling.
* Gulkand with ice-cream & furits -- costs Rs. 40/- & more -- this is a shop on the left end of the street. he sells literally everythig: cigrates, coconut-burphy, masala-soda, masala-thumpsup, every kind of soda with masala, spicy bhel puri, sev puri, and masala puri , chips, small time chocolets. Simply amazing shop. But do not miss the Gulkand. It is stuffing but again worth.
* Sweet corn -- cost starts from Rs. 25/- onwards -- I donot know why it is called as American ? -- at the end of the street, you will find 2 or 3 push-carts, with impressive setup on it, battery operated radio & a small fan to stroke the fire in his charcoal pot, for frying the Sweet corn. They have 6 - 7 varieties: simple salt-lemon, butter, with raw-mango, with a green chutney, with pinapple, etc. Worther the money !
* Sweets -- gulab jamuns , rosogollas, jelebis, soft milky khoya, thick creamy basundi, various falvoured milk (kaser, badam, etc) & ice-creams.
* You also get -- potato, chilli, capsicum and banana bondas (bhajis) -- they sut the bonda & stuff it with a mix of grated carrot + onion + something :-). I could not dare to try this so far looking at the grated carrot in it but I'm sure it is feast. Lots of people (young & old) queue for it.
** Avarekai Mela (Festival) & check -- at "Sri Vasavi Condiments" -- just at the entrance on your left-side -- you can buy everythig avareki here: Dosa, Vada, Obbatu, Sambar, Rassam, etc. The shop sells
Location on various maps .. Wikimapia, Googlemaps, Yahoomaps, Ovimaps.
Note: I'll try to get some photos & also get the exact shop names & will update this post after my next visit to "khau-galli".
