Playing glutton in the land of milk and ghee -Amritsar

I was told by friends that often the locals prefer to send out for food rather than cook in their kitchens, now I know why:) The food is not only hot and tasty, its also fresh and clean. Despite my fears of the water they served to drink and the watery chutney and the not so fresh looking diced onions given as accompaniment with the kulchas not once did I suffer any tummy problems.

I have never eaten kulchas like this ever before in my life! Crunchy, tasty, mouth watering, so yummy that I could not desist from having more than I should have had! The Amritsari kulcha I devoured with relish, its for those who may not know much about a kuclcha- a flaky crisp white flour bread stuffed with potatoes, spiced onions chilly and pepper, jeera and anardana on the inside and roasted in generous dollops of butter to give that crunch. This kinda kulcha cannot be found anywhere beyond Amritsar I swear to you . A tiny ramshackle place in a side street off the main road dished up this tasty meal which I ate with tasty chole (albeit a bit watery) and green chutney which I washed down with a brass tumbler full of cool lassi. It was no over exaggeration that the best bread is available on the streets of Amritsar

This journey of food exploration from the streets of Amritsar certainly made me believe all I had heard thus far about how tasty food is in this city! Amritsaris do indeed dish up the most flavoursome and fragrant of food at the humblest of prices At dinner time I ordered straightforward simple food and given how ravenous I was, I downed most of it but must acknowledge that Lonely Planet probably is not the best judge of good north Indian food

At first glance Amritsar belies of prosperity, wealth and a certain influx of internationalism. The more I looked around and observed the more I detected a certain humbleness, a quality that many who were selling would not compromise on, a certain respect allowed to the women despite the hot bloodedness of the males from these parts of north India or the over crowded streets where congestion word was probably discovered.

My observations - chaos is not a bad thing, am sure there is definite method to any madness. However does chaos have to mean mess? Chaotic traffic? Dilapidated buildings? Guess the Govt doesn’t care but do we stop caring? Our cities look equally bad so not once am I passing any judgment here- all I am seeking is some of us need to wake up and stop accepting this degeneration quietly . We live in a sorry state and we shouldn’t be. We need to change things – we need to reflect care for things, we need to demand better things for ourselves from ourselves. And not allow it to get from bad to worse. And this observation is true for most of pilgrim cities I have visited in India

All too soon, it was time to head back home, while I was keen to get back to Pooch I also wished I had some extra time in hand to stop and buy Amritsari papads and Pinni’s and gur halwa for family and friends. I sat a tad wistful in the plane that it was all over too soon, but promised myself I would come back here with family and take in the sounds and smells and everything Amritsari slowly and joyfully and savour it. I remember seeing this little kulfi shop, the name of which I cannot recollect. I wanted to stop and sample its wares but could not, I know their malai kulfi is to die for! I wanted to have the Paneer pakoras and the kachauris and the desi ghee jalebis and the phirni and the bhaturas and the ma ki dal and the aam papar - all of this the next trip for sure! I know the patiala suits are gorgeous and awaiting me for the next trip. This is the land of senses alright- creamy yet textured, I promise to get back to this wonderful land soon