Rajasthani, Awadhi stalls toast of food court

Lucknow: Mouthwatering food items at the Lucknow Mahotsava ground are tickling the taste buds of visitors. From Amritsari chhole bhature to Lakhnawi chat and from pizzas and burgers to bhelpuri and paav-bhaji the foodies are savoring the varied Indian cuisines. But the main crowd-puller of mahotsava’s food court are mainly Rajasthani and Awadhi food stalls which offer an array of sumptuous vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes.Out of the total 40 food stalls, Rajasthan has set up 12 stalls.
For veggies stalls set up from Rajasthan are making a fair attempt to introduce Mooongdal pakori, cauliflower and chilli pakori, Rajasthani thali, gatte ki sabzi, etc. The other Rajasthani dishes luring the visitors include, Dal baati churma, Raj kachori, kesaria doodh and Bikaneri jalebi and churma laddoo prepared in desi ghee.
Rita Singh, along with her family at one of the Rajasthani stalls said, “Kachoris reasonably priced and cooked in the most traditional way were worth the effort of coming from all the way from Aminabad. But the outlets having non-vegetarian selling biryani, kebabs, chicken masala, qorma, chicken tikka and fish fry are also recording high footfalls.
“Having delectable galawati kebabs and roasted chicken served with lachcha paratha on a winter afternoon is certainly one of the best experiences,” said Shahid, a food connoisseur.
Haryana’s famous king-size jalebi, Meerut's khaja and Nankhatai, Aligarh's Halwa Paratha and kisosks selling fried-steamed momos are among other delicacies gaining popularity among the visitors.
Apart from the food stalls, one cannot miss the paan (green betel) stall placed in the centre of the food court. Besides having a variety of local paans, including Desi, Banarsi, Saunfia at Rs 20 per piece, the lone paan shop Banarsi paan waale has also different types of flavored paans costing Rs 50 each. Along with Apple, Bhelpuri, Mango, Chocolate, Strawberry, Gilori, Khatta-Meetha and Peda paan, Rasgulla paan are the latest addition. “After eating mutton biryani having a flavored paan is heavenly,” said Lalit Motwani while chewing a Rasgulla paan.