India Food paradise

THE GLOBAL TIMES | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 20134

Uttar Pradesh

Disc verDisc verPart 05

Meerut

Mathura

Meerut ki GajakStarting his food cruise withMeerut, Petu entered the hot andhumid conurbation of UP. It took notime for Petu to follow the whiff ofthe freshly made gajak being soldat the corner stall of the road. Hecould not stop himself and pickedup one piece. The next moment, hefound himself trying out all thevariations of the gajak, namelychocolate gajak, kaju roll gajak,mewa gajak, shalimar gajak,khasta gajak and more.Watching the statue of MangalPandey, outside the 1857 memorial,with a gajak in his mouth, Petu

truly relished thispopular sweet UPis famous for.

Mathura ke PedeMunching his way up andahead, Petu reachedMathura. As he placed hisfoot in the city, the aroma offresh and rich gheeenveloped him. He followedthe aroma that led him tothe sweet vendorselling pedas. Petusavoured these very softand sweet pedas, one by one. Thesoft traditional folk song rasiyabeing played in the background seta romantic mood with a descriptionof love tales of the divine coupleLord Krishna and Radha Afterpampering his belly, Petu furthermarched on to Agra to savour thedelicacy its known for.

Agra ka PethaOn reaching Agra, Petu was famouslyreminded of the Taj Mahal, but hislove was for something else. Heimmediately spotted them at acrowded corner, shining crystal clear.They were the popular pethas ofAgra. Popeyed, he quickly grabbed achair near the shop and ordered forthis sweet, served dry as well as juicy.He let the shopkeeper know inadvance to not stop till he gesturedso. He gorged on the angoori petha,chocolate petha, paan petha, kesarelaichi petha, khus petha, santarapetha, dry fruit petha, sandwichpetha, kancha petha, mango pethaand coconut petha.

At Jhansi, thegourmand waited nolonger to stuff hisalready half-fulltummy with little packsof sohan halwa. Upon arriving in Jhansi,Petu had also visited thehistoric fort of Rani Mahal. Thebeauty and rich heritage of thefort mesmerized him. However,after relishing the yummy, dryfruit rich sohan halwas to hisheart’s content, Petu was

transported toanother world. As the last biteof the delicious brown sweetcontinued to melt in his mouth,he decided to proceed toAllahabad.

Allahabad ka SamosaHaving satiated his sweet toothwith gajak, peda, petha andsohan halwa already, Petu nowfelt an urge to flavour his mouthwith something piquant. And hiswish was granted as he set eyeson the amazing, innovativevarieties of the samosa- themasala samosa of Allahabad.These small size, aloo-lesssamosas filled with a special mixof spices is one of Allahabad’stasty delights. Petu hoggeduncountable pieces of masalasamosas and got as many packedfor his tummy. ‘What a mouth-watering marvel’, Petu thought,as he walked ahead.

Petu ka galiyara

Gajak from Meerut Pede from Mathura Petha from Agra Sohan halwa from Jhansi Biryani from Lucknow Samosa from Allahabad Paan from Benaras

Jhansi ka Sohan Halwa

Agra

Jhansi

One fine day, Petu, a fictional character created by AIS Vasundhara 6, set out todiscover and taste the delicacies of Uttar Pradesh. Read on to know the famous fooditems that Petu savoured, gorged on and stuffed his tummy with on his food trail

Heritage revivedCelebrating the rich anddiverse heritage of India,Amity International Schoolsindulge in the art, cuisine,tradition, lifestyle, flora andfauna of different states. Theyear-long heritage activity asenvisaged by ChairpersonDr (Mrs) Amita Chauhan, aimsat reviving India’s richheritage while bringing itcloser to the students .GT brings to you ‘DiscoverBharat’, a heritage series thatcaptures the ongoing heritagecelebrations at Amity Schools.It also complements theelective course on ‘Heritage’,soon to be launched by CBSEfor senior classes.State in spotlight:Uttar Pradesh.Next in ‘Discover Bharat’:Watch out for a skit on theheritage of UP

Lucknow ki BiryaniBy the time Petu found himself inLucknow, the city of nawabs andkebabs, he was way too hungry!He asked the locals for arestaurant that served good food.Having found one, he glanced atthe menu and ordered for adouble ‘dish of the day’. Withinseconds, Petu was served hotsteaming Lucknawi Biryani, apopular mughlai cuisine of UP.Its fresh aroma coupled with thesight of spices, flavour and colourtickled his taste buds. The softclear steemed rice, with a perfectmix of vegetables, heavy dollopsof ghee, a pinch of saffron andcardamom used as a garnishing,made Petu smile at every bite.Ah! Somebody was happy!

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Lucknow

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Allahabad

6Benaras

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Benaras ka PaanHaving toured differentplaces without rest orregret, Petu decided toconclude his food tour, withthe royal paan of Benaras.Benarasi paan, preparedwith gulkand, gratedcoconut and the flavour ofdry dates rolled in a betelleaf is savoured as analternative to a mouthfreshner. There are avariety of paan available in

different flavours. Maghaipaan and jagannath paanare the signature varietiesof Benaras. Petu munched as manytypes he could lay his handson. Indeed, this digestivebetel leaf left him feelinghappy and complete.

Contributed by Praachi Ratra,

AIS Vasundhara 6, VIII B

G T