EP 1 A Day in Rajkot, Gujarat | Places to eat in Rajkot, Things to do in Rajkot
Namaskar Friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Right now, we are in Rajkot, Gujarat's industrial town. I am standing at the Kotecha Chowk. You can see a MiG-27 on the round-about behind me. This is a fighter jet, which was used during the Kargil War.
Today, we are going to explore Rajkot as well as the local food. We will start our day with breakfast, of course! We've traveled 2 km to reach Trikone Park location. This shop in front is called "Joker Gathia." Let me introduce you to Kamlesh Bhai before going in.
Welcome Sir! Thank you! Thank you! Kamlesh Bhai is also a YouTuber. Tell us something about Rajkot. It is not possible to come to Rajkot and not eat Gathia (fried snack made with chickpea flour batter).
Today, we are at Joker Gathia. This city is also known as "Rangila Rajkot" because its people are happy-go-lucky. This is the reason Rajkot is also called "Rangila Rajkot."
Fantastic! Let's go in. You are in Rajkot now so I will tell you an interesting fact about this place. Gathia is made like this - Chickpea flour is kneaded into a dough and...
...that dough is rolled out and pressed into Gathia with hands that is why it is called Vanela Gathiya Bhai Sahab, please tell me which oil is used to fry Gathia? Kapaas oil (Cottonseed oil)! I've also heard that peanut oil is also used extensively here. (Nods) Alright! Please give us one plate each of this. Gathia and Jalebi is a famous breakfast of this city. Yes! It is a ritual that you eat this breakfast when you are in Rajkot. This Sambhara (relish) on the side is made of raw papaya, but here they have used carrot, cucumber and tomato. From what I've understood, we need to take a bite of Gathia with this Sambhara and enjoy! Now eat a bite of this red chili with it.
Hmmm! Gathia, of course, has besan (chickpea flour) in it,... ...but it also has the absolutely delicious flavour is also of black pepper. The flavor of this Gathia-Sambhara combination is doubled with this red chili. Second thing is that this chili isn't too hot. Very beautiful flavor! This place opens in the morning and you can buy Gathia here even till 2 a.m. Really! Yes, locals love to eat Gathia very much! If you get to eat this, you don't feel the need for fast food.
Hmm! Will we have tea after this? It is necessary to have tea after eating Gathia. Though the shop next door also sells tea, but we will go to another place, which sells good tea! Is it nearby? Yes, it is. After traveling for 2 km, we've come to a place near Shri Swami Narayan Temple. Right in front of us is the beautiful architecture of this temple. Kamlesh Bhai, the shop name is written in Gujarati. What does it say?
Nakkarang! Nakkarang, alright! What I can see here is that the tea is being made in wholesale here. You go any where in Rajkot you will see tea in wholesale only Look at this huge tea container. This container will be sold out within the next 30 minutes. Really! Let's order a cup of tea for ourselves.
There is no fixed time to have tea. You can have it anytime of the day. Ohh! Lovely! Here we go! Look at the dark colour of this tea! It seems they brew the tea for a long time. Yes, it takes between 1-2 hours. Enjoy the tea one sip at a time! I've had two sips of tea so far.
Its taste is satisfying. It has less water and more of thick milk. I just saw that they were also adding Bournvita to tea. So, I would also try one cup of that. Would you also like to have it? Please give us one cup each of Bournvita tea. Is it just bournvita or anything else as well? Only Bournvita.
You need to mix it in with spoon. Before I came here, I couldn't imagine that adding Bournvita... ... to the tea could result in such a beautiful flavaor. Kamlesh bhai was telling me that usually kids love this flavour,....
Kamlesh bhai was telling me that usually kids love this flavor,.... ...but I think even adults would be enjoying it. Yes, they do! It is called 'Bourn-tea.' Bourn-tea? Because it is bournvita with tea. Okay, okay! We are at the Mahatma Gandhi Museum. Today is Monday and museums all over India are closed on Monday. We made a mistake and didn't keep that in mind.
So, now what we are going to do is once we complete our whole journey... ...and return to Rajkot, we will revisit this museum. Now you know about the weekly off. Museum timings are between 10.00 am and 6.00 pm.
This place actually housed the Alfred High School at first. This is where Mahatma Gandhi received his primary education, or I think till 8th standard. So, once we are back here, we will understand in better detail about this. Moving on, I've heard that Mahatma Gandhi's ancestral home is also located nearby? Yes, the house is there. Let's go then.
We cannot take our car beyond this point because the path is narrow. So, we are going to take an auto-rickshaw! Auto-rickshaw. Please come.
We've reached the ancestral home of Gandhi Ji, called "Kaba Gandhi No Delo." This means the home of Kaba Gandhi. Yes, that is what it means. And Kaba Gandhi was Gandhi Ji's father. Yes, Kaba was his nickname.
So, we will go inside and see this museum properly. Right at the entrance, there are two huge portraits of Gandhi Ji's parents.... ...his father, Sh. Karamchand Gandhi and his mother, Smt. Putliba Gandhi. On this side, I can see the famous world personalities expressing their thoughts about Gandhi. Rabindranath Tagore, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein.... ....so beautiful! A lot of people! Yes, a lot of people on this wall. On the opposite wall are portraits of Gandhi Ji and his wife, Smt. Kasturba Gandhi.
There is also a Charkha (spinning wheel) placed here. Beautiful! Sir, this is the guest room for visitors to stay in. And this is the prayer room.
For worship, etc. This room has sme very exclusive photographs of Gandhi Ji. Here you can read one of his statements made regarding non-violence policy. It is feeling so good being here. Gandhi Ji got married at the age of 13, around which, he met some friends...
....who influenced him to start eating meat. He even stole a gold ornament from his brother. When he realised that he was wrong, he wrote a confession to his father. This is the room where he took the oath not to repeat those wrongs. Alright. It is also written here that this is where he took the oath. Yes, it is written here.
These are some photographs of Gandhi Ji's younger days. This is a photo of the building, which we visited earlier,... ...which I said was earlier Alfred High School. Well, it was also called "Kathiawad High School." This is the space associated with the famous Satyagraha movement. There are a lot of photographs of celebrities put up here and other facts. The best thing is that under every photograph, it is written what the picture is about...
...and who else is in the photograph apart from Gandhi Ji. So, even if you don't know already, you can understand the context of the picture. Very Good! One more thing that I like is this museum is well-maintained. Eminent leaders of India! Beautiful! We visited the 'Kaba Gandhi No Delo' very well.
We also received a brochure enlisting dates of various events that happened in history. Like it is written here that during 1915, Gandhi Ji travelled to Ahmedabad,.... ....in order to launch the Satyagraha Ashram. Now we must leave here, since it is already 1 o'clock.
So, we will have our lunch. After a 10-minute walk from the ancestral house, we've reached TGT for lunch. Is it popular? Very popular! The Grand Thakar (TGT) is a famous hotel around here.
When you come here, it is imperative to eat Kathiawadi hotel. There is restaurant on one side and hotel on the other side. Yes! Thakkar Lodge! Kamlesh Bhai, this restaurant is quite large. Large as well as royal ambience! The time is around 1 pm. Despite that, 80% of tables are occupied.
If we were 15 minutes late, we would have had to take a token and be in the waiting line. Right! I've noticed that Thalis and bowls are placed already on all the tables. This is Papad Churi (Crushed savory papad).
This is Chilla (type of pancake) and this is Puran Poli (sweet bread). Very good! Ohh, lovely! This is a type of vegetable dish This is a mixed vegetable dish., is this called Undhiyu? yes This is a potato and eggplant curry. This one is Punjabi mixed vegetable curry.
Sir here is poori. This is sweet dish - Cream fruit salad. This drink is called Wali-Wali Chhaas in Gujarat. Is that for a special reason? Yes, our meal is incomplete without it.
What is this Puran Poli made of? It is made with boiled Toor Dal stuffing. And after that? It is fried in ghee! It has an amazing taste! I can challenge that you won't get a tastier Puran Poli anywhere else. Hmmm! Awesome! You can enjoy the flavour of ghee in it.
Sir, you must try the dal here. I myself like it very much. Uff! God! This dal is something else! I am not exaggerating, but telling you honestly that... ...I haven't had such a delicious dal ever in my life. Ultimate! I was just discussing it with him how this Toor dal is so delicious! He told me they use tamarind, jaggery, their own spice blend and... ..that makes the overall taste so amazing. You must be cooking it over a period of time as well? We cook it for 2 hours. I am telling you honestly that though I haven't had anything else yet... ...but I am already a fan of this dal. I've found it so tasty. Thank you very much!
Let me taste this raita separately. This raita is amazing as well. For once, I felt as if I was eating fruit cream. Perhaps because its sweet, it has apple, banana in it with boondi, of course.
This Undhiyu is usually cooked in the winter season, right? Yes, it is a winter dish but here you will get to eat it throughout the year. What is the main flavour in this dish? The main flavor is that of 'Muthia' (steamed chickpea flour dumpling). What is muthia? Muthia is made of chickpea flour and rest, it has mixed vegetables.
It has been made with mixed vegetables and apart from that,.... ....the dominant flavour is also that of saunf (fennel powder). They seem to have used saunf in its tempering. Yes! Very tasty! I am going to taste Kadhi now.
Wow! Kadhi is very delicious. The curry leaves used in this kadhi tastes a bit different too, it is sweet. Yes, this is a variety of sweet curry leaves. It is different! Great! Kamlesh Bhai, I've been exploring food all over India for the past 4-5 years. And today's experience would count among the top 5 or top 10 food experiences.
It is good! The meal started with sweet and ends with sweet. Where would we go after finishing our lunch? We'll go to Bazaar now. Okay, so, you'll show us the local market! Kamlesh Bhai, which market are going to visit? We are going to Gundawadi Market. Is it an old market?.. yes We walked through the Gundawadi Market for about 15-20 minutes. Maximum shops are selling clothes, imitation jewellery, shoes, sandals...
...provision items, medicines, etc. Basically a market for locals! It is afternoon, yet you can still see lots of people purchasing necessary items. We've seen the market properly. There is another market nearby, now we are going to that. We've come to a different market, which is 1 km away from the previous one. We were told that imitation jewellery is a huge business in Rajkot. We've come to one such shop.
So, bhai saheb, please show us something in imitation jewellery... ....and if I find something interesting, I would like to buy it for my wife as well. Please show me a medium-size jhumka (ear-danglers). Tell me one thing, we know that the imitation jewellery of Rajkot is famous. Do you sell it outside the state too? Yes, the jewellery goes all over India. I have these earrings in my hands. This one is for Rs. 1000 and this one for Rs. 1350. I think I should also see these Kadas (Bangles).
Though I started with the earring designs but these also look quite beautiful to me. Show me this one. This looks good enough. This is for Rs. 720. Rs. 720? Rs 720 for a pair or single piece? A pair. It iss old in pairs.
What are these bangles made of? Copper material! Copper, you said. You guys have a great range! But I liked this set of bangles. Please pack this pair for me. So, Kamlesh Bhai, we have visited the markets now. Shall we go and taste some local street food now? Yes, we can eat Ghugra here.
How far is it? About a kilometre. We walked all the way to this shop called "Ishwar Bhai Ghugrawala." I can see some people eating Ghugra here. So, this shop is famous only for Ghugra? Yes! What is that? Chhaas? Yes, they serve Chhaas with it. So, the combination is of Ghugra and Chhaas.
One thing that I cannot understand so far, the Ghugra looks like a samosa... ..though its shape is different. What would be the difference between the two? Ghugra is made with simple masalas while samosa has lots of masalas. So, it would be safe to say that this chutney is the game-changer with Ghugra. Yes! Oh God! What a snack! You were right. This chutney has changed the whole game.
This chutney is very spicy, then it also has sweet n spicy chutney on the side. The stuffing inside Ghugra has almost no masala in it. I think Ghugra without this chutney won't taste as good. Otherwise, this combination is tasty. And the best combination of this spicy snack is with Chhaas.
Kamlesh told me that in Rajkot, it is normal to drink Chhaas several times during the day. You will be served Chhaas at almost every shop. I've also heard about a famous chutney of Rajkot.
Sold at Rasik Bhai's shop. Yes! Where is that shop? It is close by. Walking distance? No, it is about 1-2 kilometre away. We'll go there after finishing our snack.
We've come to a shop whose chutney is absolutely famous. One of my family members had told me a few months ago that... ...when in Rajkot, I must visit Rasik Bhai Chiwdawala shop. This famous chutney is now a signature dish of Rajkot. Let us go in and talk to the owners.
We have the shop owner with us. We've heard a lot about the chutney you sell. We want to taste the chutney, but with what can we taste it? What combinations do you have? Sir, one you can taste it with this Chiwda. This is another variety of Chiwda. These two varieties of wafers are the main famous items of our shop. Main famous items! So, we would taste it with these wafers? Yes, you can taste chutney with wafers.
We have two chutneys with us. One is the sweet mango chutney. And this is the chutney that we've come here for. Before I eat it, please tell me what the main ingredients of this chutney. Sir, main ingredients are green chili, peanuts, salt, turmeric powder, and powder of a local fruit.
This third one here is the dry form of this very popular chutney for those who place orders. They say, it needs to be diluted before eating, just like the one served at this shop You can add some water to it and eat. Okay some water to be added. How is it? Let me eat a few more wafers with it first. It is a very different taste. Why is it sour? That is because of the fruit power, wood apple.
And spicy because of the green chilies? Yes, green chilies! This chutney is amazing, delicious. Much better than our expectations. Too good! Now let me try this chutney in the dry form as well to see how it tastes. No, too sour! You will find it too spicy as well as too sour. Let me tell you, your sweet mango chutney is delicious as well.
But not as much as this one, since we ate it first. You should also taste this chutney mixed with this chiwda. Okay! It is an old combination. In fact, this was the first combination sold at this shop. This is chiwda? Yes, it is a famous item sold here. Let us mix it and try.
What I ate earlier was different in taste and now this taste is totally different. What is the shelf life of this chutney? Without refrigeration, it is 15 days and with refrigeration, it is 2 months. 2 months in a fridge, lovely! How did you like it? What to say! I am still enjoying the flavour! I am just wondering about the amount of flavours that we've been enjoying since morning.
We had amazing breakfast, delicious lunch and now this chutney! Sir, that is why this place is called Rangeela Rajkot. Bhai Saheb, what is the weight of this packaging? 350 gms Sir. What is its cost? Rs. 60. Since morning, whenever I've eaten something, I feel like eating Chhaas, instead of water, after it.
That is why I requested them to order each of us a glass of Chhaas, which they have already. Everything in this shop is awesome! But the best of the best is the combination of this wafer and chutney! So, Kamlesh bhai, where will we go now? Race Course! Alright! So Race Course is also an iconic location around here? Yes! We have reached the Race Course! Kamlesh Bhai just told me about the Galaxy Cinema located right opposite the Race Course. The sound system of this theatre is very famous. In fact, someone told me this morning that in Jaipur too, there is... ...an iconic cinema called Rajmandir, where people love to watch films. people come here to see the sound system at this cinema.
We've reached the Race Course location and we are going into this store.... ....'Amra', located above this Raymond Showroom. Let us go inside. Since we entered this shop, Amit Bhai shared a lot of knowledge regarding fabrics with us. I was personally not aware of a lot of those things. Amit Bhai is the owner of this shop.
Though I had come to buy a shirt for myself, but now... ...I think I should buy a sari for my wife. Definitely! Yeah! We have our Sari floor downstairs where I can show you the choices. This is Gaji silk sari, with a 'Lakdi Patta'. It is block printed, completely handmade, it is for Rs. 6,500. You can see this is all hand-block printed.
Now see this silk... Look at this piece! See the fine product and see the work! Beautiful! You would be shocked to know the price. Only Rs. 2500/-. Beautiful! What is this? It is a fabric and, again, you can use it to make either a sari or a dress. Beautiful. This is again another fabric of ours. Women go mad to use it as a dupatta or make it into a dress.
As per my personal choice, I think this design is the best suitable. This colour is evergreen too! Amit Ji, I would like to purchase this sari from you. Sure! No issue! One second! Please get this one packed.
Till our sari gets packed, I was discussing with Amit Bhai this chart,... ...which depicts different fabrics as per their breathability and comfort. Linen is one fabric with the highest breathability and comfort. Nice that we met him and were able to purchase something as well from him Now, please get our bill settled. We didn't realise how the day went by. The time is 8 pm and we have reached this place for...
Dinner! ...dinner! Kathiyawadi Dinner Sir! Yes, Kathiyawadi dinner. So, what is written here? "Ravi Chapadi Undhiyu!" Before you leave Rajkot, your one meal has to be Chapadi-Undhiyu. Kamlesh Bhai, first of all tell me what is Chapadi? Chapadi is cooked dough balls of wholewheat flour. Coarsely grinded flour? Yes. Brother, please give us one plate each of Chapadi...
...and with that, we have Undhiyu? Yes, and their special Madhpuda! Madhpuda! What is that? You will have to eat it to see what it is. Now, what we are eating here right now is somewhat like... ...the Rajasthani Dal-Bati's Bati. We got Undhiyu and Madhpudo with it. And this spicy chutney! So, we will mix it with the crushed Chapadi and eat.
So, I am going to mix Undhiyu first. They charge Rs. 110 per plate. They first serve 3 Chapadis in a plate. But you can have more. So, in a way, for Rs. 110, you get unlimited food. Should I add Madhpudo to it as well? Yes! If you mix up everything, it will taste better.
It is nice! The Undhiyu that I ate this afternoon, I think that was tastier. I mean this is good, but that was a different level. So, I am going to add Madhpudo to it.
You can add this garlic chutney too, to make it spicier. A short while ago, Kamlesh Bhai was telling me that this Madhpudo... ...is basically potatoes cooked in a tangy tomato gravy. Add the chutney to it.
Is this chutney made of garlic? Yes, garlic! Adding this Madhpudo has enhanced the taste of the meal because of the tanginess from tomatoes. Also, adding this chutney changed the flavour of the meal completely. So, you can add it a bit more.
The taste that was okay to me first, is now much more delicious. Tell me one thing, this Chapadi that we are eating right now... ....is it a really famous dish in Rajkot? Yes, locals love to eat it, especially for dinner. Our today's journey ends now at 9.30 pm.
We are standing at the same Kotecha Chowk from where we began our journey this morning. Our hotel, Hotel KK, is visible in the background. We hired a room for Rs. 2240 on double occupancy basis. They also offered us a 20% discount. And our tariff also includes breakfast. Our stay here was decent.
Tomorrow, we are leaving for Junagadh. Kamlesh Bhai told me that in Junagadh, I would get to do a lot of sightseeing too. And the culture of that place. Their culture too. Very nice!
So, Kamlesh Bhai, thank you very much to you. You spent the whole day with us. You came to Rajkot. It is a matter of pride for us.
He guided us throughout the day. I liked the hospitality of this place. Wherever we went, people were very nice to meet. Now it is time to say bye-bye! You will see our tomorrow's journey in the next episode. Before saying bye, let me also tell you that the day starts late in Rajkot...
...at 8, 9, even 10 am at times. But, correspondingly, people are out on the streets till even midnight. Actually, the day has just started for Rajkot. This is the beginning of the day for Rajkot.
This is why it is known as "Rangila Rajkot." Please come and eat to your heart's content! That is alright! Bye to you and see you soon! Thanks for your time! I've heard that these caves were discovered by Sh. P.P. Pandya in 1958? Right.
He is a renowned archaeologist. Hmm.
2021-05-10 10:12
