Flavors of Jaipur - Where to Eat in Jaipur

    Jaipur remains packed with royal buildings and noble haveli’s. Thousands of tourists come visiting every day. And the city makes sure that all these people are fed very well too.

    Jaipur greets every visitor with a wide variety of tempting and mouth watering culinary delights to opt from. You could choose to hop in one of Jaipur’s well known restaurants like LMB, BMB or Chokhi Dhani to enjoy the traditional Rajasthani thali or head out onto the streets to get a heady slice of the local snacks and delicacies of the state.

Having already tasted the authentic thali of the desert state in Khatu, Jhunjhunu and Pushkar, I chose to get a bite of the latter. Continuing from where I left in Flavors of Rajasthan – 1, here I bring some of the flavors I relished in Jaipur, ‘My Favorite Food Stops’ which I have picked over numerous visits to the city.

Samrat Sweets, Chaura Raasta

    Situated on the Chaura Raasta (Shop No. 273/274), it is a place that is very famous with the locals here. The place is especially known for its Khasta urad dal Kachoris, Pyaaz Kachoris and Samosas.

[ Samrat, a famous Kachori shop in Chaura Raasta, Jaipur ]

The hot, crispy Kachoris all puffed up and flaky outside, fresh off the kadai. They taste wonderful with the chutneys that they have. It is a treat to watch them make it in front of your eyes.

[ Frying Yummy Kachoris at Samrat ]

Hot piping Jalebis, the best I have tasted so far, small, hot and very crisp.

[ A man artistically preparing Jalebis in the cauldron ]

[ Transferring the Jalebis in the sweet, sugary syrup called chashni ]

Rawat Misthan Bhandar

    Situated at the polo victory cinema, close to the railway station and the bus stand, Rawat Misthan Bhandar is the most famous sweet shop in Jaipur. A variety of sweets like katlis, ladoos, barfis, pedas, are all perfectly produced and neatly stacked up in the shop.

[ Rawat Mishthan Bhandar, a very famous sweet shop in Jaipur]

Don’t forget to try out the local porous sweet dish Ghewar, topped with loads of pistachios and almonds… Wow it tastes so good!! They are mostly made during festivals.

[ Ghewar, a special sweet dish of Jaipur ]

Another specialty is their Pyaaz Kachoris and Mirchi Vadas, local specialties of Jaipur, both of them innovative, spicy and very tasty.

Lassiwala, MI Road

    Situated on the Mirza Ismail or MI road, it is the oldest and the best Lassi shop in Jaipur. Numerous other shops with same names have sprung up in the area. But nothing beats the original!

[ The oldest and most famous Lassi shop at MI Road in Jaipur ]

[ Taking a scoop of sweet curd to make the great summer coolant - Lassi  ]

    There is no better way to beat that scorching heat of Rajasthan than a cool glass of refreshing Lassi. Served in traditional earthen glass or kulhad, the lassi is sweet, a bit sour at the same time with a thick creamy topping… Definitely makes you feel much better, especially when the temperatures are soaring as high as 45 degrees.

Churans and Suparis

    After some heavy eating, what one needs is a good digestive. And Jaipur has got these special shops selling a variety of them like hing goli, anardana goli, aam papads, jeera goli etc. lined up in the markets of Jaipur.

[ A variety of Churans in a shop at Bapu Bazaar, Jaipur ]

    Besides these, the small hole-in-the-wall shops in Gheewalon ka Raasta and Haldiyon ka Raasta, entire streets dedicated to eateries, and pushcarts spread across the city carry no name as such. But what they lack in name, they amply make up for it in the food they serve and definitely deserve a mention.

[ A sandwich pushcart at the Bapu Bazaar entrance near the Saraogi mansion, 

a favorite with shoppers ]