Life Without Alu?: Lassi and Namkeens of Loknath

Today I am going to share two of my favorite food items – Lassi and Namkeens and one of my favorite go-to places to have them – Loknath.

This creamy milky beverage is called Lassi. It’s a yogurt based drink and it can be savory or sweet. Some restaurants also sell flavored Lassi like Mango Lassi. The savory Lassis are often prepared by mixing spices in them while the sweet Lassis often have a spoonful of cream or nuts topped on them. As I have mentioned earlier, my home town – Allahabad is famous for street foods and they are usually served in the traditional way. This photo shows sweet Lassi served in a clay cup. Now this clay cup is handmade on a pottery wheel and is not only environment friendly but also instills an earthen smell in the drink. I asked the shop keeper not to add any extra sugar in my Lassi but I couldn’t refuse the dollop of heavy cream on top.

(Photo shows from left: Yogurt for making the Lassi and Rabri used for topping)

Its such a sweet comfort that some things in life never change, for example the Loknath Gali in Chowk. Every time I go there, its like reliving all my happy childhood memories. Since I wanted to do things the exact same way, my mom and I took a rickshaw to Chowk and spent the entire ride chatting with each other and pointing all those shops where we used to shop. Now for those who don’t know, a rickshaw is a light three-wheeled cart attached with a cycle. The driver rides the cycle and the passengers sit in the cart. It usually has a hood to protect the passengers from the heat or rain.

Now back to the topic, Chowk is one of the oldest areas of the city, packed with businesses. You can literally find everything there at whole sale prices but my main attraction has always been the food. Loknath has the smell of delicious food in the air, you can smell all different types of spices, pickles and sweets. Somewhere someone will be frying Kachoris or making delicious Bhature, walk a little further and you will smell all kinds of Mithai (sweets and desserts). In short, you will find some of the most yummylicious foods in this street. We did some shopping and then went straight to my favorite shops of Lassi and Namkeens.

Why are these cookies piled up in huge heaps? Well for starters these are not cookies but Namkeens. Now let me tell you what this word means: Namkeen comes from the Hindi word Namak which means salt. So it basically says savory snacks.

You must have had Samosas or even Mathris from the Indian restaurants or Chat cafes, they are also available in ready made packets in the Indian stores. If you like snacking on Indian Namkeens you have to go to this savory paradise. They have all kinds of snacks like Papri, Mathri, Kachori, Khasta (a puffed pastry made with a filling of lentils) etc. Another special item of these Loknath shops is Samosa. Normally you will find Samosas with a potato filling about medium in size but Loknath’s Samosas are prepared with a filling of lentils and spices and are smaller in size. They are called Masala Samosas and are fried in Ghee (Clarified Butter) which brings an intensified silky, rich buttery taste. All the Namkeens are freshly prepared everyday and you can store them at room temperature for about a week, believe me they don’t go bad.

Now I know you must be thinking, all this sounds really good but why should I go to Allahabad just for the Lassi and Namkeens? Let me tell you, Allahabad is not only a food paradise but also a place of historic and religious significance. There are lots of places to see and lots to eat and not only Lassi and Namkeens, Loknath is also famous for other dishes like Chat, Dosa (a type of Crepe made with fermented batter of Rice and lentils), Chow mein, Rabri (this is prepared by thickening the milk so that it has lots of cream in its layers), Paan (made by filling Betel leaf with Areca nut or Supuri and sometimes Tobacco, Fennel Seeds and Mints, it is very popular in Bengali families and is often chewed after meals as a mouth freshener), Sambar Bara (Sambar is a Vegetable and Pigeon Pea Lentil Curry served with Bara which are doughnuts made with a batter of Black Gram Lentils) and varieties of Dalmoths (this is a savory dry snack made with crispy fries of Gram Flour batter and sometimes lentils, it is usually a combination of Fried Peanuts, Puffed Rice and spicy tangy spices).

(Photo shows from left: Khoya and Paneer)

Locals also go to Loknath for their day to day grocery shopping for spices, fresh produce and milk products like Paneer and Khoya (prepared by thickening and drying whole milk in an open pan, Khoya is often used for preparing desserts and puddings).

This yummy food list is almost never ending but I don’t want you to take my word for it. So plan a trip to Allahabad and make sure you are going to this Loknath Gali for all the yummy food especially for the cool Lassi and Namkeens.

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