‘Yaar kasu mast khau che!’ I told Kinjal Rajpriya during our conversation yesterday. ‘If you were in town and it wasn’t lockdown, I would have taken you to taste the best bournvita ever. It’s a bit far from Ahmedabad but yaar bournvita maate javaye.’
I was ‘Ehh? Bournivita maate Ahmedabad ni bahar? Who toh ghar pe hi pilungi na.’ This conversation led to an hour of story-telling session. I listened and she spoke with passion and a bit of nostalgia. Most of the places she discovered were during her student days.
I am sure your post-lockdown plans include going on long drives, meeting friends, eating a lot. This list of places Kinjal Rajpriya goes once in a while for the love of travelling and food is going to help you a lot. Trust me!
1. Boriavi for patra – Most places in Ahmedabad serve patra with tadka, but if you want to try the fried crispy patra that Kinjal loves, you have to visit this place. There are a few stalls in the NH8 road which this patra. It’s about 50 kms from Ahmedabad. She discovered this place during a random drive along that road. She wanted to stop for a snack and the huge crowd around the stall made her more curious than hungry. She couldn’t resist from going and having a bite. She tried and fell in love with the fried crispy snack so much that during her college days in Vidyanagar, she would bring all her friends to this place just for the patra.
2. Anand for bournvita – The Maharaj Food Joint is very famous among the students in Anand. Though you get an array of food items, Kinjal’s favourite is bournvita. She has a special attachment to this place. Even after a decade, her order remains the same – a glass of bournvita with no sugar. She was a regular here during her college days. However, this place became more special to her when she took her co-actors there after a day full of film promotions. As she entered with various actors and body guards, the kaka, who serves bournvita, came up to her. With tears in his eyes, he said, “I remember you. You used to come as a student. Should I get you the same order – a glass of bournvita without sugar?” She was touched that two years later they remembered how she liked her bournvita. There’s a corner table waiting for her whenever she visits the place. Also, when you go there, you know what to order – ‘A Kinjal Rajprya style bournvita.’
3. Kalol for Melody wali chai – Are you surprised to hear ‘Melody wali chai’? Me too! So, let me tell you how Kinjal discovered this place. During her college days, she went with a friend for his industrial visit. During the journey they decided to have chai. While she was ordering one for her, a guy from another chai ki tapri came to her and said, “Ma’am ek baar ‘melody wali chai’ try karo.’ She thought it to be a joke. He said again, “Arrey, sach mein humlog dalte hai melody chai mein.” The idea of melody in chai surprised her and she obviously had to try it. It took a piece of melody and a cup of chai for her to fall in love with the place. After that visit, she took all her friends to try that unique cup of tea, and I am sure, she probably made a lot ‘Melody inti chocolaty kyu hai’ jokes with them!
4. Chiloda chowkri for chai and Monaco biscuits – There are a few places we like to visit for no particular reason. It probably makes us feel peaceful. For Kinjal, this is that place. After you cross Gandhinagar and before you enter Himmatnagar, you can find the place Chiloda. As Kinjal says, the drive to the chowkri clams her. The trees, the wide roads and then finally the Monaco biscuits dipped in hot chai makes her happy. In her words, “This place gives me hope to cross the border and drive to Mount Abu for the soft serve ice-cream like I did as a child with my family.”
5. Nadiad for methi ka gota – She hyped the methi ke bajji/gota and chai from ‘Baba ki chai’ so much during her ‘Kem Cho’ shooting days that everyone had this place in their ‘Have-to-try list.’ One day after the wrap of ‘Kem Cho’, the team came to her house early morning, woke her up and demanded that she takes them to this so-hyped baba ki chai wala tapri. I have heard that the hype is real and can’t wait to visit the place for breakfast and enjoy the hot methi bhajjis and chai.
This list has made me crave for chai and bhajji. I am sure you feel the cravings too. So, let’s try to make the perfect bhajji until we can’t drive down to Nadiad for them.
Author: Ruchika Jain