Jalua Kachori Rabri- Barrackpore

I know, if you hear of the name Barrackpore, the first thing that comes to your mind, is Biryani- two outlets to be more specific. And I don’t deny that. Even for me, biryani is almost like a religion. But if you ask somebody from Barrackpore, the Barrackpore station is will be remembered, probably not for the Dada Boudi emperor– but one small shabby roadside shop, churning out Kachori. this is the story of Jalua’s Kachori shop, Barrackpore. 

Location and details

If you go to Barrackpore by local train, just come out of the station and the shabby shop bang opposite to you, is Jalua’s Kachori shop. they don’t have any signboard and are not really keen to put up one either. The shop is open from morning to evening- standard timing and on all days.

And if you’re still looking for the location on google map, well, here it is… https://goo.gl/maps/D1yCzMfeAYimtTSU9

Regarding Jalua’s kachori

Jalua’s Kachori is there for more than a century, confirmed by the current owner. even the person serving, is working there for more than 60 years.  Just think of the scene. A hundred years back, Barrackpore was simple a suburb and since then, this shop is serving the same food. And once you enter the place, time almost stops for you. Sane furniture, same shabby interior and forget about customer service. Endless numbers of kachoris are fried outside the shop, op open road and even the sweets counter is on the main road. Probably to attract the roadside floating customer base- not sure.

Just one suggestion… Once you enter the Jalua’s shop and try to find an empty place, be aware of where you sit. Most of the benches are age-old and quite unstable. So, choose wisely to avoid embarrassment. 

And about the Jalua’s kachori

Honestly, if you ask me, the kachori, at the best, is above average. the good part is, they’re served super hot to you, straight from the oil. A runny dal is served with the kachori and they expect you to order at a multiple of 4 kachoris at a go. some sour tamarind (probably) chutney is poured on top of the dal, whether you want it or not, and is served to you. Well, kachoris are not bad, as I said. And you may even like it if you have them without any high expectations. The stuffing is less and the good part is, the feel is more of a luchi, than of a typical kachori. 

Kachori is a dish, known in history, for quite some time. In Sanskrit, it’s given multiple names- such as, Karcharika and Purika. We can have it’s mention in the sanskrit book “Drabyagun” and as well as “Bhabprakash”.

 

Kachori, as per my understanding goes, in primarily of three varieties and the difference is due to the stuffing. The first one has the stuffing of cooked kalai dal, or Black gram. The second one is with cooked chholar dal, or split chickpea lentil. And the final one, obviously, is with the stuffing of green peas.

Rabri at Jalua’s sweetshop

Now for locals, Jalua’s is known for something else, apart from their kachori. And that is rabri. I must say, more than the kachori, I was pretty impressed with their rabri. It’s the typical Bengali rabri. Thickened malai is cut in pieces and cooked in thickened milk. And in winter, the thickening agent is gur and not sugar. And automatically, the taste is better. Some rasomundi r payesh is also sold, but honestly, I never tried them and went for the big brother,rabri. 

Rabri is originally said to have been invented in Varanasi and traveled to Bengal. We can get its mention in Chandimangala around the year 1400. 

Rabri gram, Hoogly

Well, that’s all, folks. Jalua’s Sweetshop a century-old shop with decent kachori and pretty good Rabri. The location is fantastic, but the all the competitions coming up around, it’s probably time to better the game. I won’t say it’s a bad product. But there’s a scope for improvement. Maybe a makeover of the entire shop will help and considering the huge business turnover, it should not be a problem. However, do let me know of your experience at Jalua’s kachori shop, Barrackpore. 

Bon appetite!!!

I can be reached at indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com