Varanasi Culinary Fusion: How 'City Of Temples' Is Blending Northern Staples With Southern Flavours

Varanasi: Taste often acts as a medium to connect people from diverse locales. The Kashi Tamil Sangamam that is scheduled to be held in Kashi on December 2, promises to showcase the unique blend of Northern and Southern flavours.

Varanasi, known for its temples, is also synonymous with taste as it is home to unmatched culinary skills. There is food to be relished on every occasion and at any point of time. Its specialities have found foodies craving for them across the country bringing together different cultures.

Kachori and jalebi are two items that are staple in breakfast across the northern part of the country. Jalebi is combined with milk, curd, rabri and poha bringing out unique flavours to entice the consumer.

Similarly, kachori comes in different forms despite giving the appearance of a bland puri. It comes filled with lentils, onion, paste of spices and also mava giving it both salty and sweet tastes. Although it is omnipresent across the north, it attains a special flavour in Varanasi when it is fried crispy red in oil and is served on a leaf with delicious spicy vegetables.

Interestingly, the demand for both kachori and jalebi is increasing in South India as well. Those craving for tasty and healthy food are now trying out combinations of various items to satiate their taste buds while not feeling guilty of consuming the extra calories. This has reciprocally led to a demand for the South Indian cuisine in the northern states. This fusion of food is a new phenomenon that can be experienced.

Incidentally, Varanasi happens to be a place where one can find lip smacking food from both the north as well as the south. Being the religious and cultural capital of North India, kachori and jalebi stalls have held a special place among the street food here for a long time.

There are many shops selling these items that are decades old and their number continues to grow with the increasing tourist arrivals. One of the popular shops that is more than six decades old is Jawahar Saav that sells kachori served with spicy vegetables and a variant of jalebi known as jaleba which is hard from outside and soft from inside.

Ajit Kumar, who is the third generation owner of this shop at Khova Gali, is passionate about his ancestral profession. “The people of Kashi love the taste of kachori and jalebi but now many South Indian food stalls are also opening in Varanasi offering excellent flavours,” he said.

The people can now be seen savouring South Indian flavours of idli, dosa and uthappam on the roadside. New variants like fried idli and fire uthappam point towards amalgamation of culinary techniques.

Kerala Cafe is one of the joints that has been bringing the flavours of the South to the people since 1962. Its owner, Venugopal claims that it was the first South Indian cafe in Varanasi. It started as a small cart in 1962 under his father Subrahmanya Nair who had come from Kerala to visit Kashi and stayed back to cater to the visiting South Indians.

“It quickly transformed from a cart to a shop and from a shop to a restaurant. Today, the restaurant is operated by the third generation,” said Venugopal. The customers line up in droves, waiting for their meals. This restaurant also serves flavours from the north strengthening the bond between the two regions through food and beverages.

Apart from this, the very old Iyer Cafe, Udupi and many other South Indian restaurants in Kashi are serving the South Indian palate to the people. The people of this city adopt every flavour. Shubh Tiwari and Supriya expressed their amazement at having both northern and southern cuisine when visiting Kashi. "We're fans of it," they said.

Food lovers say that availability of both the cuisines in original taste makes Varanasi special. There are many locals who remain loyal to the traditional dishes of the city. People like Dilip Yadav prefer the kachori and jalebi that is the city's signature dish. “Even today, Banarasi paan is enough to prove its point. South Indian food has its own place, but the true flavour is found in kachori and jalebi,” he said.

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