Indori kulhad chai gets flavourful makeover!

Indore

runs on chai. Period. The fuel that pumps the city has withstood the test of time, reinventing and reforming itself through all these years to lord over the hot beverage list. The humble beverage is an integral part of the Indori food platter, as the famous poha-jalebi remains incomplete without tea. According to claims of the youngsters here, an average citizen can easily consume about 3-4 cups a day beginning with the strong adrak ki chai and poha to ending it with slowly sipping the blissful hot

masala chai

on the street at night. With time though the evergreen kulhad tea has undergone through flavourful reinvention where combinations like

paan

chai, rose chai, chocolate chai and

irani chai

have emerged as winners for the young Indoreans. We scoured the city old and new to bring out some new flavours making this winter a hit!

Rose and Paan take a dip in chai

While it is easy to imagine these flavours in tea mixes without milk and in posh cafes, Indori chaiwallahs have made them versatile and accessible to all by incorporating them in kulhad chai. Priced at a nominal Rs. 10 per cup, these flavours are now trending in lanes of Indore from new side of Vijaynagar to the night markets of Sarafa. One of the most popular joints that serves this kulhad chai at Chhappan Dukan is Chai Sutta Bar which is always packed to the brim with students and working professionals who head over for their chai fixes. “The central location of this place and their unique flavours of rose and paan chai make it an instant hit among youngsters. While paan flavour gives a cool refreshing feeling with each sip, rose chai has a fragrant aromatic effect on the palate. Who could have imagined such flavours in a milky kulhad chai!” says Richa Singhania, a food connoisseur from the city.25-year-old Anubhav Dubey, owner of the café which has multiple outlets in the city at Chhappan, Bhanwarkuan, Geeta Bhawan and other cities like Pune, Mumbai and Jaipur shares “Indore is a place that is open to experiments with food. But it has to be appealing to win them over. We though why not introduce some fun flavours to kulhad chai and make it more interesting, but at a pocket friendly price so people don’t have to spend too much to enjoy it.”

Cocoa rush in the kulhad

When sweet flavours like paan and rose can land a spot in kulhad, can chocolate be far behind? Looking at Indoreans love for cocoa in various types of coffee, chaiwallahs in Sarafa decided to hero it in a cup of chai. Balancing the sweet with some bitter and rich texture of cocoa and drinking chocolate, chocolate chai is the latest offering of night markets. Santosh Soni, a chai kiosk owner from Sarafa explains, “Chocolate is a big hit with youngsters, be it in their desserts or coffee. Everyone asks for extra chocolate powder in their beverage. So one fine day we decided to brew chai in the same way as coffee with chocolate, and served it in kulhads. It was an instant hit. Now every chaiwallah in the city has a cup of chocolate chai included in their menus.” The versatility of chocolate blending with almost every Indian flavour has made it more appealing. Tanisha Deshmukh, a mass communication student who confesses to chocolate chai being her current addiction says, “Chocolate makes everything better! And I love the fact that a regular drink like chai that almost every person of varying income classes has, becomes a novelty with the addition of chocolate. It is making my winters better, and I may try to replicate it for my Christmas party.”

With a pinch of salt and masala

One of the best things about Indoris is that they take life as it comes, with a pinch of salt. This holds true for their tea as well. Lining along the streets of Old Palasia, tea vendors specialise in selling Irani chai. This uniquely flavoured tea has been popular in the city for its perfect blend of being creamy, sweet and salt at the same time. Chai-e-Irani, a kiosk at Shree Nagar neighbourhood that houses most of the hostels and paying guest facilities is a hit among youngsters for its creamy Irani Chai and paranthas. “It is one of our regular hangouts for breakfast, and even dinner at times. Besides that we like to just have multiple cups of Irani chai here during our study breaks” states Pramesh Shah, an engineering student who stays in an apartment nearby. Karunendra Pandey, chef and owner of Chai-e-Irani explains how it is made, "16 different types of tea leaves are brewed in a pot while milk is boiled for over 1.5 hrs on low flame so it reduces to 50% and becomes thick. The final brew is then mixed in a kettle over coal and served hot to patrons. The favourite accompaniment to this brew is bun maska."

Another version popular in the city is Masala Chai, where the constituents of each concoction differs from kiosk to kiosk. Sometimes cardamom takes the limelight in the mix or it is strong clove that wins the day with its heady flavour. Anubhav’s café also serves one of the most loved masala combination. When asked about his secret masala he says, “The masala chai kulhad came to be after a year of kitchen experiments. We kept adding and subtracting aromatic ingredients like cardamom, cloves,

cinnamon

, peppercorns etc. The masala is a secret recipe now, and Indore is hooked to it!”

Pics: Arpit Joshi