When it comes to street food experience in India, Delhi rules. So, to bring the mouth-watering food from the gallis of the nation’s capital to Chennai, Main Street, the multi-cuisine restaurant in Residency Towers, is hosting an exclusive Khao Galli Food Festival this week. We at News Today went to check it out.
With the rains lashing outside, we decided to start some piping hot mirchi pakoda (molaga bhajji) and tawa panneer. The mirchi pakodas served here can even give tough competition to the ones served in our Marina beach. As for the panneer, they were soft and had absorbed the masala well and were delicious.
On the non-vegetarian side, we ordered the sheekh kebab and kakori parda adraki murgh for starters. The coarsely ground meat in the sheekh kebab was spiced and grilled well. The kakori parda murgh was juicy to bite showing that it was well marinated before it was cooked. We went for second helpings of both the starters.
No street food in India is complete without tasting chaat items, so we decided to attack that next. Main Street has a live chaat counter where we can customise how we want it prepared.
Jalmouri chaat prepared with puffed rice is mixed with chopped onions, chillies, tomatoes, coriander, spices and nuts and is a must-have. The dal kachori chaat we had next was also a real treat to the taste buds that takes you right to Chandni Chowk itself.
For lovers of Indian breads, they also have mutton kheema paratha and chicken paratha served with murg pasand and mutton khaliya. The parathas were soft and tasty and they could be had even without the side dish.
Having had our fill with the street food, we decided to taste Main Street’s famous Awadi Mutton Biriyani and we simply loved it. The Basmati rice was well flavoured and the mutton was very soft.
Switching to desserts, Main Street has an assortment of items and we liked the Shikand and jelabi the most.
The entire buffet spread is priced at Rs 1,300-plus taxes. The price seemed reasonable for the food served. The food festival is on till 19 August. Foodies, this is your best chance to experience Dilli’s street food in Chennai.