In a nutshell:

Awesome khasta kachoris.that I remembered from my last trip to Lucknow 4 years back , served with outstanding aloo ki subzi & chholay.

Address & other details:  Bajpai Kachori Bhandar

The google map link is for Ram Asrey. Once u reach Ram Asrey, this kachori is bang opposite.

Meal for 2: Rs. 80 onwards

Cuisine type :  only vegetarian

Disclaimer: All restaurants / eateries reviewed by YUMMRAJ were visited by YUMMRAJ himself & he has paid for the full Bill & tips also. http://www.yummraj.com does not have even one featured / sponsored reviews. YUMMRAJ believes in going to a restaurant in anonymity, as a normal guest, experience everything & give a honest account of the same to you.

We paid Rs. 78 for 1 khasta kachori &1 poori that were each accompanied with a tokri full of aloo ki subzi & chholay.

I rate all the food items & then give a final overall rating which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster.

Description:

This Foodie madness post is a part of a series called Culinary pilgrimage – On a weekend in Jan 15 we decided to travel to Lucknow on Culinary pilgrimage. A 2 day trip to Lucknow just to eat out at the numerous streetfood shops that have survived over time……….We ended up eating at 9 places in a span of 26 hours & spent a total of approx Rs. 1200. The cost of staying at Lucknow & travelling to Lucknow from Delhi was, needless to say, many times more.

I do not know the real spelling of the shop name – Is it Bajpayee or  Bajpai or something else. The shop front displays the shop name written in Hindi – With years of neglect , one can hardly read what is on there but still legible.

This shop is opposite Ram Asrey Sweet shop & near Leela Theater in Hazratganj.

The shop area is occupied by the shop staff & owner only. Customers stand on the road, pay money & get their food from the shop.

Food is served in temporary bowls made of dried Sal leaves. It is then placed utop a paper rolled in conical shape (like a dona).

On one side of the shop on the road there were few high iron tables put up – People were carrying their food, placing it on the table & NJOYing it in company of complete strangers.

The poori was fried till brown – It was not the normal poori. It was crisp, had a bit of salt in it so that one can NJOY the taste as it is. It was good. Rate the poori 3/5.

The subzi was outstanding. It had two parts – chholay & aloo. The aloo was soft but not very soft. Masalas were strong & in good quantity. The aloo was not ‘hot’ but spicy. Lovely flavors & excellent taste.

Chholay was also bharpoor masaledaar. Spicy but not hot. Very very tasty. The chholay were soft enough to break when bitten & hard enough to retain shape.

Rate the aloo subzi & chholay 4.5/5

Overall rating of poori with aloo subzi & chholay averages out to 3.75/5.

The khasta kachori was like it was made in the kitchen of Heaven……………..Woooooooooooooooow. It was very crispy outside, was totally flaky & had the best possible texture.

Flavors of the filling were excellent – a mix of the daal within & spices. Filling was quite a lot in quantity as compared to the meagre fillings in Khasta Kachori in Delhi.

The Daal in the filling was a bit in chunks – not made into a smooth paste. That enhanced the texture & also the taste of the kachori.

Super loved the kachori & rate it 4.75/5

Subzi was the same & gets the same rating as above – 4.5/5

Overall rating of the dish averages out to 4.63/3

Overall rating of food at Bajpai Kachori Bhandar averages out to 4.2/5

I wud not b commenting whether it is the best kachoris in town but wud say it is unmissable if u r in Lucknow & specially if u r a vegetarian / love any good food – be it vegetarian / nonvegetarian.