India is known for its wide range of spices and herbs. Indian cuisines are a little bit spicier and flavorful. Due to diversification in culture, there are many kinds of cuisines and every cuisine has a different way of cooking using spices available locally.
The best way to explore the culture and cuisines of a specific region is to have local street food there.
Few cities are too popular for their street food. Some of them are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Jaipur.
Street food is the food and beverages sold by vendors or hawkers on the road. These are much cheaper than the food served in restaurants. From a simple lemonade to a proper thaali is sold on roads. The most popular north Indian street food is chaat and south Indian street food is dosa.
India is home to the highest number of vegetarians in the world. Almost 30% of Indians are vegetarian. The effect of this data is clearly seen on the food of India. The street food served in India is vegetarian mostly, especially in north and west India because most vegetarians live there.
There are many dishes which would be lost by this time but Indian street food vendors are serving them and making them popular.
Due to the rise in the use of social media platforms, food vloggers use it to explore street food of different regions. It helps vendors to increase their business and it works as guidance for people like what kind of food is served all over India and what they can eat in any specific area.
Even foreign tourists love to have food in these small stalls rather than in big food stores.
No doubt, There are some issues also in having food from such stalls which are
- The food is served roadside most of the time so there are dust particles in food if the food is not covered properly.
- Street food is sold at low prices so there are chances that the food is prepared from low-quality materials.
- Street food sellers don’t wear gloves and hair masks most of the time.
- The dishes in which food is served is not washed properly
But apart from these issues, there are many street food vendors who follow all the hygiene parameters and serve you best taste.
See, there is a difference between fast food and street food. Fast food is not served on roadside stalls, there are many international stores that serve fast food. In street food stalls, Anyone can have beverages like tea, coffee, fruit juices and shakes, snacks like samosa, kachori, bhelpuri, pav bhaji, and proper lunch like daal roti, chawal, sabzi and chole bhature.
Every city has some speciality in food, which makes the street food of every city unique.
- In Jaipur, Kadhi Kachori is very famous. Apart from this, the typical Rajasthani dish daal baati churma is also available in every street of Jaipur.
- Delhi is a hub spot of street food. In Chandni Chowk, the best north Indian food is served like cholle Bhature, Kulfi, dahi bhalla chat, and much more. For non veg lovers, Jama masjid is heaven. Majnu ka Tilla is famous for the variety of northeast food.
- Pav Bhaji, Dabeli, and Bhelpuri are the gems of street food of Mumbai.
- Indore is famous for its Tari vala poha, which is the favorite breakfast of Indoris.
Changes in the street food market by 2023
- In Delhi or in the areas near Delhi, People have been crazy for momos. It is not being served in Delhi for so long. But just in a few years, Momos made a big place in the heart of Delhiite.
- People eat to sit roadside, despite of their social status.
- Street food vendors are making good money and because of cutthroat competition, they are maintaining better quality and taste.
- Every food is available by this street vendor whether it is pizza, sushi and even tandoori dishes.
Conclusion
Eat from only those stalls which look clean. Indian street food is a good way for people to explore more and more food of different cultures on a low budget. Indian street food markets promote local talent and develop the local economy. So, it is a kind of help to poor people if we buy street food.
