Kachori!!!

I have always loved kachoris. I really thinnk making Kachori is an art and not everyone can make it well.

This post of mine on Adarsh Kachori Bhandar says a lot about the respect I have for someone who can make spectacular kachoris.

In Bangalore, yes, in Bangalore. Here in Bangalore, I found someone called "Saraswati Mishthan Bhandar". He is almost there in making kachoris as Adarsh, if not fully there. His is the best dal ki kachori I had in years. I have not been to Bhopal for almost 2 years now and already miss Adarsh. But this guy is just soo good.

You have to eat it to believe it. The other kachori he makes is "pyaaz ki kachori". Now that one again is splendid.

I still remember the "aloo ki kachori" of Cafe centre, Indore and Mayur shop at ghanta ghar, Ujjain. I dont think anything comes even close to the aloo ki kachori which Cafe centre makes and the way he serves it with 2-3 chatnis and finely chopped pyaaz. That guy is a champion.

Also, can you believe it, I have found in Bangalore of all the places in the world a shop which sells milk at night. Not close to home but still its there. I love all sorts of food (except for Chinese) but dont think any place in the world comes even closer to Malwa and the food there.

Bangalore definitely is surprising me in some cases where I am mostly shocked by it :).

Leonardo da Vinci and Adarsh Kachori Bhandar

Say if Leonardo da Vinci comes to you and describes in great detail how he created the masterpiece "The last supper". What are the chances that you will be able to draw it the way it is? Not the most difficult question to answer.. the chances are Zilch, Zero, 0. Why? Because, its an art, you cant really draw it based on a description.

Similarly, if Adarsh Kachori Bhandar, New Market, Bhopal reveals his recipe of how he makes perrrrrr...fect Kachories, chances are that you wont be able to make it like that.

I love Kachori. I like Samosas too, but Kachori is really very close to my heart. Making perfect kachories is an art. A real art. There are so many namkeen vendors in the world who make them, but a very few can make what I call perfect Kachories.

The interesting part here is that all the vendors who make them (or rather create them) think that they make good kachories and they keep making them over and over without getting "continuous improvement" in process. Thats the reason why you can distinctly figure out the name of the shop based on the taste of the kachories they make. Thats not exactly the case with Samosas ( sort of a cousin of kachori ). Nearly all vendors can make samosas which almost taste the same. The only difference is the size - some make them larger than the others.

And because everyone thinks their kachories are good, there has been no evolution in kachori making since centuries. There have been some variants though - like Aloo ki Kachori, Bhutte (corn) ki kachori etc. But all these variants basically have the same problem.

So, what is actually a perfect Kachori? Well, there are a few characteristics of a perfect kachori -

- It should not a residual oil
- It should taste good, but even after eating, it should not cause any acidity or the feeling of residual oil within the system.
- When you press it, it should break rather than getting pressed - that shows how khasta is the kachori.

Typically, a lot of kachories you would come across do not satisfy all these criteria. They might taste ok but its the after-effects of eating the kachori makes a difference between good and not-so-good kachories.

Personally, the only shop which sells great kachories is - Adarsh Kachori Bhandar in Bhopal. My love for kachori however takes me to various places tasting various kachories which are mostly not great and so I have acidity post eating those - but I will not stop trying various kachories just because I might get acidity. I will continue. I feel the government should put some funds to make sure that there are courses offered on the art of kachori making, so that tomorrow, we can have people with qualification M.A. - Kachori making and Adarsh Kachori bhandar will surely get a Padma Bhushan :) and that day I will publish my non-fiction novel - "Zen and the art of Kachori making" :-)