Jaunpur famous food that I tried and you should too!

When I told my friends I am travelling to Jaunpur (and Varanasi), two of them gave me a list of #musttry Jaunpur famous food (and one asked me to try the local weed). I skipped the weed recommendation (I swear), but was excited to pursue the food recommendation list. For five days, I was in Jaunpur (60km from Varanasi), attending a friend’s wedding. And in spite of the whole shaadi-wala-ghar chaos, I managed to make some time to explore the Jaunpur local food scene.

First impressions – Varanasi has the mighty Ganga River, but Jaunpur is surrounded by rivers too. Gomti, Sai, Varuna, Pili and Basuhi make its land very fertile. The region doesn’t face any water shortage, but I don’t think they value water either. I had some hygiene issues while travelling around the town. There’s lack of proper sewage and the roads are horribly dusty.

It’s a surprise then that the street food in Jaunpur and Varanasi is something to write home about. I barely saw restaurants serving full meals, but the amount of street food stalls, carts, hole-in-the-wall shops and cafes are countless. You’ll often find locals making conversations on the sun and the moon over chai (tea) and some legendary snacks, some of which I tried and I’m listing here. Brace yourself 🙂

Samosa

At the outset, let me make it clear that I hate samosas. If you offered me a samosa, I will nibble on the corners and leave the stuffing. However, my trip to Jaunpur-Varanasi has changed these views to a certain extent. If Samosa is a work of art, the people of Jaunpur-Varanasi have mastered it. Your filling is key here, and you have to eat it piping hot, just off the kadhai. Every second stall in Jaunpur and Varanasi will serve this legendary snack. Club it with chai (tea) or cold drink, eat it with bread or on its own – the samosa hardly goes wrong.

jaunpur famous food — Jaunpur famous food – Samosas

Laung Lata

Laung lata is samosa’s elder sibling – it looks similar but tastes different, more like a sweet samosa. There’s no potato filling here. Instead a puffed pastry is deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup before serving it hot to customers. It’s crunchy, rich and tasty. The first couple of bites and I was tripping – it’s that good! If you have a big sweet tooth, you’ll like this one.

Pro tip: Keep sufficient space in your belly to finish this. I started off well, but struggled to wipe this off my plate.

Jaunpur famous food - Laung Lata — Jaunpur famous food – Laung Lata

Banarasi Meetha Pan

This one is a given, isn’t it? You can’t go to Jaunpur – Banaras and not try their Banarasi paan. Just like you can’t visit Mumbai and not eat a vada pav!

Watching the paanwala go about his daily routine of making hundreds of paans – in his dimly lit hole-in-the-wall shop – is an absolute sight. His hands work like a machine, adding all the ingredients step by step – some gulkand, mukwaas, coconut flakes, some glazed cherries to garnish. It’s a burst of colours on a betel leaf. He’ll then hand over his work of art to you, gently held by a toothpick.

Pro tip: Stuff the whole damn thing in your mouth and let it work its magic.

Imarti

The first time I discovered Imarti was in my office canteen, couple of months back. My office canteen food sucks but I’m appreciative of their efforts to always try out something new.

Imarti is a Jaunpur speciality. It looks like a Jalebi but is fatter and shaped like a flower. Another key differentiation is its deep red colour. The sweet is deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup but unlike a Jalebi the syrup is drained, making it a lot less sweet. Since I don’t like my sweets very sweet, Imarti worked for me.

Lassi

Lassi in Jaunpur – Varanasi is the real deal. I can vouch that you won’t find such awesome thick and tasty Lassi anywhere in the world, except Amritsar, may be. It’s served in a kullad (earthen bowl) and topped off with fresh cream (malai) or rabdi. On a hot sunny afternoon, walk into one of these road-side stalls and have this delicious bowl of goodness. Do NOT return without trying the Lassi. That would be blasphemy!

Chhena

Weirdly, Chenna is local to Odisha but some parts of Jaunpur and Varanasi specialise in it too. There’s a lot you can do with Chhena, which is basically unripened curd cheese made from cow’s milk. I tried a sweet that looked like a Rasgulla and came in different colours like bright yellow. The shaadi-wala-ghar, where I stayed made plenty of sweets using Chhena as a base.

Jaunpuri Mooli

Mooli or white radish is a local crop of Jaunpur and a staple in almost every household. A mooli ki subzi with puri or roti should be on your list if you want to try something local. Even otherwise, club your food with raw mooli and nimbu (slice of lime) as an accompaniment and you’re sorted 🙂