To Baroda or not to Baroda? 6 Vadodara food stops that you cannot miss.

Uday told us that he did not grow up in Vadodara. He was from Porbandar in Gujarat. Work took him to Surat from there. He then moved to Vadodara for personal reasons. He acquainted himself with his new home, its attractions, markets, places to go and places to eat. He did this so that he could answer his guests’ questions about the city. He symbolised the go-getter and entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarati to me.

He guided us to some of the best places to go and eat like a local at Vadodara. What follows is a list of where we went.

Tamtam is a snack unique to Vadodara. Shri Ram Tamtamwala is where my friend, Dr Kurush Dalal, told me to go to try it. As did Uday.

According to their website, the business started with a gentleman named Shriram Durga Prasad Gupta selling tamtam from a basket in 1947. He then set up a street stall and then a small shop. Today’s establishment has been built on years of hard work. The shop is airconditioned, neat and clean, There was a long queue of people buying packages of farsan (savoury munchies), including tamtam. Their production has been automated now.

There was a counter on the left where a distinguished-looking middle-aged gentleman was making what they call ‘tamtam ‘salad. This is what we had come to try. The way it works is that you pay for the quantity that you want and then queue up in front of the salad counter and wait for your turn. Not knowing what to pick, we asked for 2 packs of 250g each for the 5 of us.

He took out a variety of farsans from different jars in a near rhythmic manner and put these into a paper cone. Then in went finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, tomatoes, green chillies, pomegranate seeds, green grapes and lime juice. This was then mixed together and served. You have to eat it fresh.

This mix of different types of farsans is called tamtam and is sold in packets for takeaway too. It becomes a salad when mixed with fresh condiments. A rather refreshing and delicious one at that. One which does not meet your dietitian’s definition of salad, but then what happens in Vadodara happens in Vadodara. You can buy packs of tamtam to take home for your friends. AND yourself!

There are multiple Manmohan samosa outlets in Vadodara. We stopped at one on our way back from the Statue of Unity. I was famished and said so to Uday. The good man took a bit of a detour which flummoxed Mama who realised that this was not our route to the hotel. We drove down the bylanes of the city till we reached our destination.

I was the only one from our group to get off once we reached. The family elders were too tired and K was sleeping soundly. Uday showed me where to go and stayed back as it would be difficult to park in front of the shop. I reached a small street-side shop. This humble shop was quite neat and clean despite the dusty and busy road that it was located on. There was a queue in front of the shop and I joined it.

They have bhajiyas and batata vadas at Manmohan but samosas are what everyone was there for. Freshly fried samosas were brought out in a large aluminium box and you could sense a collective feeling of joy. The samosas were massive. The aromas from the box made me very impatient for my turn to come.

I took a video of the shopkeeepr as he took out each samosa, placed it on a paper plate, added chutney and gave it to the patiently waiting customers. No one took notice of me as I shot the video. Folks are used to influencers shooting for Instagram these days after all. What they might not be used to is a balding Gen X gentleman with a salt-and-pepper beard, acting like a Gen Z Instagrammer!

My turn finally came. I clutched my paper plate with a samosa and stood on the pavement to eat. The samosa was piping hot. I almost singed my fingers when I broke it. It was so hot that steam rushed out immediately. This was the real deal, unlike the smoke that enshrouds molecular gastronomy dishes!

What excited me most about the samosa was its massive, deep-fried and crunchy, maida crust. This was the stuff of dreams and I had hit the jackpot! The samosa filling had finely sliced cabbage in it along with potatoes! Sliced cabbage featured in the sweetish chutney served with the samosas. This gave a bit of a crunch to the texture.

I had just one ‘problem’ with the samosa. The fact that it was really tough to wait patiently for it to cool down before one could have it! That took a lot of self-discipline. I took a couple of samosas for the family elders to have in the hotel later.  They loved the samosas even though they (the samosas) had cooled down by then.

The samosa that I had at Manmohan is what is known in these parts as ‘Punjabi samosa’. It is the ‘patti samosa’ that is more native to Gujarat. This is smaller in size than a Punjabi samosa and is flatter too. The crust is thin and holds the filling together, hence the name patti (strip of cloth). These are similar in shape to the Leventine sambuca. The filling could range from minced mutton when made by the Iranis and Bohras, to spicy mashed potato when by Hindus. At times boiled and mashed peas, and paneer are used as the base. Soam in Mumbai does a cheese palak one. My mom in law loves them though the petulant child in her would prefer them to drop the spinach and keep the cheese.

Uday took us to Durga Sweets for breakfast the day we were flying back. We reached at 10.30 am. I ordered a patti samosa and something called a ‘Chinese patti samosa.  I tried the Chinese samosa first. It had a filling of insipid noodles and was quite forgettable. I then had the real deal. Patti samosa with a spicy potato mash filling. This was fabulous. Unlike in the case of the Punjabi samosa, this was more about the filling than the crust. It was more spicy and I could feel the chilli heat sear your mouth. This negates the argument that Gujaratis have only sweet food. Do keep in mind that my tolerance for spice is medium to low.

The sweet shop owners gave us a corn handvo on the house when we were about to leave. It was a mix of savoury and sweet and was rather delicious.

Jai Mahakali for sev ussal was one of the top Vadodara food recommendations that readers gave me. Uday agreed that it was a must-visit. He took us for lunch the day we visited the grand Sayaji Rao Palace in the morning. The two were located close by though they represented two very different worlds. That of the ruling class (the palace) and the bourgeoisie and the working class (Mahakali).

We reached at 1pm. The rest of our group stayed in the car while I got down and went in. The place was crowded. There was a snaking queue to get in. I went to the counter inside and tried my luck and asked for a place. “How many,” asked the very busy-looking man sitting there. On hearing that I was alone, signalled to a waiter and told him to take me to a shared table in the inner section.

My table-mates realised that I was a sev ussal virgin. They, along with the kind and elderly waiter who came to take my order, took me under their wing and explained how the process worked.

This is what I gathered. A waiter gets you a bowl full of ussal once you place your order. The ussal is made with dried yellow peas and is more savoury, than spicy.  He also gets you a plastic bag full of soft and tiny pavs. These are much smaller than the pavs served with missal in Mumbai. You can either take the whole bag of pav or choose how many you want. The waiter gave a surprised expression when I asked for just 3. I later understood why. They were so addictive.

You then add the thick and crunchy sev provided to you to the ussal. And tari (the oil which rises to the top while cooking the ussal) on it and which is served separately, to make it spicier if that’s what you want. There was a small vessel filled with more ussal on the table. You can add more of it to your bowl, and more sev too. This seemed to make the dish an ‘unlimited one.’ And at a very economical price. No wonder the place was so popular. Unless I was missing something.

The combination tasted fabulous and was most soul-soothing. I dipped the soft and cuddly little pav into the spicy gravy, scooped it up and had it. This, along with the crunchy sev which added textural contrast, made for an unforgettable combination. If I had the time, then I would have bowl after bowl of this.

Is the sev ussal very different from missal? It is hard to say given that there are so many versions of missals. It is best to just enjoy life rather than overanalyse things.

There’s a cheese version which the young gentleman beside me had. This is Gujarat of course. Home to the world’s biggest lovers of processed cheese. There was a buttermilk made in-house that seemed to be quite popular as well.

There seems to be a large chunk of Gujaratis who love eggs. Many eat eggs outside of home, if not at home. Eateries selling eggs are quite popular. I remember going to Bhai Bhai Omelette with K for dinner in Surat. It was quite a surreal experience to find so many people queuing up to choose from the 50-plus odd egg dishes on offer.

Raju Omelette in Vadodara was recommended to me by Vadodara-based readers. It has several branches across the city. Uday took me to the OP Road branch which was close to our hotel. For once he didn’t have any recommendations on what to eat as he was a pure vegetarian and had not tried anything here.

The omelette in the omelette pav was a typical street-side omelette. Deep fried, spicy, joyful. Slip it in pav and you are in heaven.

The boiled egg tikka was interesting. Sliced and chopped boiled eggs, served in a thick Moghlai restaurant-like red gravy. It tasted perfect. I packed what I could not finish and took it to the hotel My mom-in-law and K’s masi had it. They enjoyed it despite it being too spicy for them.

K and I wanted to go to a Gujarati thali joint at Vadodara and said so to Uday.

Uday of course had an answer for our request as he always did. He took us to Mandap Restaurant which is located in the Express Hotel.

The restaurant had a very calming and relaxing feel to it. This, given that we had made the trip to the Statue of Unity that day, was just what we needed. The place was packed. The crowd consisted of a mix of corporate groups and joint family ones.

The service was warm. The waiters were not pushy and over-familiar, unlike how they often tend to be in Mumbai thali joints. They were attentive and were quick to get refills.

The food was delicious. Comfort food in a sense. There were soft rotis, cuddly bhakris, kadhi, dal dhokli, sabzis, khichdi… you could choose two of the various dessert options. We went for the gulab jamun, fruit custard and shrikhand. The flavours of the dishes were subtle and well-balanced. The dinner left us with a peaceful, easy feeling, as the song goes.

I tried to figure out from the waiters, the cashier and even Uday, about the part of Gujarat that the food belonged. “Typical Gujarati khaana (food),” was the answer that I consistently got!

• I have covered the traditional eateries in this post. Vadodara has many new restaurants, including chain restaurants, which offer both pan-Indian and international cuisine.
• Non-vegetarian food is easily accessible. Our hotel, Vivanta, had nice options in their daily buffets and in their a la carte menu. We went to the Peshawari at Welcome Hotel which had its signature lamb and chicken kebabs. Stand-alone restaurants serve non-vegetarian food as well. There are roadside tava joints which offer non-vegetarian kebabs, tava fries and biryani. Plus the omelette shops that I mentioned.
• Where to pick up food gifts: Shri Ram Tamtamwala for tam-tam packs (they have other stuff too), Jagdish Farsan (multiple branches) for fulvadi, rajvadi and lilo chivro; Ambassador Sweets for assorted halvas.
• Sightseeing:
  • Within the city: The Sayaji Rao Museum is a must-visit. Sur Sagar Lake for a touch of peace and quiet amid a bustling city. A drive or walk around the old city can transport you to another era.
  • Day trip to the Statue of Unity. Day trip to Champaner, which is known for its architectural splendour. We missed out on the latter because of time constraints.
• Shopping for clothes. Suggestions courtesy Uday. Sankalp Bandhej for bandhani which is a type of print that is typical to Gujarat. You get saris, salwars, and dress materials at Sankalp. These are tie and dye and are on the expensive side. They do the final finishing once you purchase it and courier it if needed. That worked out well for us. If you want to look at something for everyday wear at good quality and lower prices, then go to Baroda Prints opposite Sankalp. Here you will find tee shirts, shirts, shorts, dresses and skirts, saris, salwars, and linen.

Sur Sagar Lake

Statue of Unity

Sayaji Rao Palace.

Jagdish farsan. multiple locations

Ambassador Sweets

• You can’t use your car once inside the complex and have to get off at the parking lot. You have to cover a long stretch to reach the statue from there and need to look at travel options to do so.  You might want to book a golf cart if you want to avoid walking. You have to book in advance and we could not manage it. There are pink electric auto-rickshaws driven by ladies and you can hire these by the hour at a fixed price. They go up to the main complex but you would still have to walk the last stretch before they check your tickets, frisk you and let you in.  There are unofficial autowallas who will offer to take you to the Statue of Unity. We avoided them. There are buses too. You can get more accurate information on all this on the website and can book your entry tickets in advance.
• The toilets inside are clean but are not so in adjacent sites such as the safari.
• Buying an express ticket helps you avoid the queue at the lift inside and this is advised if cost is not a problem.
• We went on a moderately-crowded day and it was still rather stuffy in the viewing section. The authorities should look at improving the air circulation here given the crowds.
• Food options are poor. There is a rather sad food court in the complex with Starbucks and a few other counters. We went to the Ekta Food Court for which we had to go back to the the entrance. That was morbid.  There were two Indian food options with poor quality, oily food. Your best bet there is the Subway counter.
• The express ticket allows you to go to other sites such as the safari, but remember that it gets boiling and can get rather tiring. And we were there in December.
• Don’t miss the exhibition on the life of Sardar Patel, the first deputy PM of India, and the Iron Man of India inside the complex. It is truly a humbling and awe-inspiring experience. I noticed that school groups formed a large number of visitors that day. I am sure that the visit would leave a deep impression on them.

Pink autos driven by women

The final stretch to the complex. You can avoid walking if you are on a golf cart

Beating the crowd with express tickets

The viewing gallery

View of the Narmada from the viewing gallery

You can go up to the viewing gallery at the feet level from outside. This is in the open.

At the outdoor viewing gallery by the feet of the Statue of Unity

The hotel is located in the new part of the city. You can reach any part of the Vadodara within half an hour.

They kept us on the recently renovated floor. The rooms were clean, and bright and looked nifty. K and I were upgraded to a suite. This had a verandah. We were floored by the warm, professional and courteous service. The food in the buffet was quite nice.

Videos of the places we visited

Raju Omelette: