Sarafa Bazaar

That's the name of the night food market in Indore.

Yes, you heard it right. It starts at 8pm and goes on till 2am. The Sarafa Bazaar is located behind Rajwada palace and is a crowded jewellery market in the day and night food bazaar at night.

I read in a blog that no one knew the origins of this midnight food Bazaar but it is believed to be about 100 years old and that it was encouraged by the jewellery shop owners so that their shops were secured at night.

Not sure if I believe that one. But nevertheless, I got a chance to witness why this place is so famous among the locals and non locals alike.

On my visit, my observations about this midnight food market are as follows:

Variety and Choices:

The streets had multiple stalls lined on both sides selling juices, snacks, sweets, kababs, ice creams, kulfi, chaat, and many other things. There were multiple stalls selling same thing beside each other and it really didn't matter as there were customers buying from both of them or all of them.

The rich culinary vegetarian heritage of Indore was visible in variety of food preparations that included starters, main course and dessert.

Belonging and Connectedness:

The people who came to this street came in groups, with their families, friends, colleagues, guests and loved ones.

The lack of space for seating did not hinder the people coming together to have a great time over a meal.

I hardly found any food delivery people. The people who came there were seriously looking forward to come to Sarafa to eat and connect with each other sharing food, telling stories and bonding over a meal.

Customer is king:

The side panel of a stall installed LCD tv and the street vendor was broadcasting the ICC cricket world cup match. People could eat and also catchup on cricket at the same time.

Crowd pullers:

This one is hilarious, there were two people dressed in 1 kg gold (literally) serving kulfi. 🤣

Specialities and Delicacies :

There are shops serving Baraf Gola - crushed ice ball dipped in colourful flavours.

There is a stall selling lime soda in different flavours and you find the vendor chatting friendly with his customers and bringing out the child in them as he persuades them to drink with specially prepared Masada powder as they take a sip before the glass overflows, much to the delight of the other people in the group.

This was an evening / no night filled with activity, warmth, surprise and ofcourse unforgettable moments in Sarafa Bazaar.

P.S. while I would have loved to taste these Delicacies, I was not in my best health to do so..

So, if you, my reader is convinced that you want to try this out, I would love to join you on your next visit to Sarafa Bazaar in Indore.

#writein30 #sarafabazaar