The yummiest food in India is still not in the restaurants

While the restaurants serve out some really "exquisite" fare in terms of food, the best of the finger licking yummy like hell food is still dished out on the outside of the restaurants.

And I say this with all due respect to all the chefs and hoteliers. In fact, I am a patron of some of these places myself. Some places that I love going to for a good meal. But its the tack in the mouth experience that I head out to the road side joints for.

In hindi they are called "thela" or stalls. Down south in Chennai, the stalls are popular as "kayanthi-bhavans" which literally translates to "seek by hand" place.. or self service places.

Delhi and its surrounding places now elgantly called NCR or National Capital Region today have the latest and snaziest malls holding the hippest of joints. And yet, the by-lanes leading to these malls have all these thala wallas (thela guys) who serve the lip smacking "junk" food that a foodie like me would love to gulp down. Gol gappas, momo's, bhel puris, pizzas... the list can go on, you get the point.

Drive down the road from Delhi to Jaipur, and you have so many dhabas lined between lovely mustard fields. And the love and affection that the dhaaba owners serve you, can overwhelm you.

Now one doesn't normally associate Jaipur with food. But if you know someone who has grown up in Jaipur, like my friend Sukesh, you would be in a position to unearth some treasures. Incredible as it may seem, Jaipur held my taste buds three days in a row. Lassi (sweet butter milk), daal kachori, alloo tikki (potato cutlet), paani patasha (a.k.a. paani puri, gol gappa, puchka, etc), chhole poori. Wow.. I couldn't stop eating. One of the best experiences was sitting at a four crossing, looking up the residence of the royal family on a small hill near by and wiping out the pau bhaaji clean. This was served on the crossing by a thela waala known around jaipur. The chart toppers without doubt - daal bhaati and choorma. Even a trip to the nearly deserted fort of Nargarh (where Rang de basanti was shot, scenes of dropping into a pond from a wall above, etc) yielded a taste bud winner - channa chor garam.

The next time i visit any city, I will remember to keep notes on the best thela waalas. Because a city isn't visited until its cuisine has been tasted.