Chennai Food Street: Sowcarpet Street Food - Chats, Sweets and Beverages

Kakada Sweets - Sowcarpet

I have been to Sowcarpet on many occassions and have never been disappointed.  The entire stretch is lined with  tiny and small dhabas, push carts, makeshift stalls with Hindi speaking workers keep boiling, frying, stirring from dawn till dusk. It is the long street where age old eateries have emerged and still thrive, serving  crispy jalebis, golgappa, pyaz kachoris, pau bhaajis, aloo sabzis, bhindi, raita, shahi panner, chotu motu bhel, kulfis with different flavors and Kolkata paan at last but not least. People love to walk along this crowded stretch and like to enjoy these North Indian ‘reality bites’ around here.

What is golgappa? In North India people call Pani pooris as "Golgappas" and in West Bengal its name is "poochkas." It is a fun to witness the preparation of golgappa. With an inviting smile, the vendors poke his thumb into crispy fried shells (small puris appear like a golden sphere).  Later fill it with fresh garbanzo beans (chick peas) and boiled potatoes, then dip the puri into the ice cold sweet and sour water (pani prepared using tamarind and jaggery). Then topped with savory green chutneys, spicy masala powder and finely chopped onion pieces. The item will be served one by one in paper cup and the customer waiting with anxiety will eat it as a whole.

Vada Pav (Wikipedia)

Maharashtrian fast food Vada Pav is gaining iconic status in India. This street food, once enjoyed by poor man in Bombay, is attracting  rich and famous businessmen, family and students. People  flock around vada - pav stall at another corner.   Golden colored oil fried vadas are inviting. It is nothing but potato pieces mashed with garlic, chilli and coriander masala and dipped in chick-pea flour and fried in oil.  The crafty vendor slices the pav ("pav" is the Indian colloquial for bread) and butter it well, spread with green chutney and sprinkle some garam masala powder. Keep vada in between pav and served hot.

Pav Bhaji (Wikipedia)

Pav Bhaji is another Maharashtrian street food, now served every in Indian street food joints. Pav means bread. Bhaji in Marathi means vegetable dish. Bhaji is a mixed mashed vegetables usually displayed in a large tawa. The sliced pav will be shallow fried in butter and the crisp golden yellow pav will be served with bhaji, a dollop of butter, with optional toppings of grated cheese, dry-fruits and even fresh fruits. It is becoming an all-time favorite in Chennai.

Kakada Ramprasad is famous in Sowcarpet.  It houses, chat corner, sweet and snacks counters and as well as a restaurant. It is well acknowledged as one among the best sweet shops in Chennai. The Badam milk at this restaurant is one of the finest and tasty drink with perfect consistency and thickness.

Sowcarpet Images

Jilebi Maker at Sowcarpet

Sandwichwala

Namkinwala

Hot Kachori and Samosa at a Chatwala

White Pumpkin Peda

Gol Gappa or Pani Puri

Sowcarpet at Mint Street, Chennai: A Reminiscent of North Indian Small Town

Min Street A Congested Place

From Park Town to Mint there exist a narrow and heavily congested street with tightly packed buildings with its culturally rich heritage and history.  It’s called Mint Street - a world wherein wholesale markets,  hardware stores, clothe shops, temples, eateries, pavement vendors, street hawkers and stranded cattle  compete for space. The street always remains busy with people carrying head loads of bundles or tri-cycles transporting huge loads of goods or Scooters overloaded with entire family, noisy auto-rickshaws, man-pulled carts and sidelined pedestrians. The entire stretch is an assortment of shops selling all kinds of things - electronic goods, bangles, materials for jewellery, sarees, salwars, dry-fruits, sweets, fruits Rajasthani pickles, papads spices. Name boards of firms and business houses appear in Gujarati, Rajasthani and Hindi scripts.

What could be the tradition and culture of Jaipur or Jodhpur is becoming common scene in Sowcarpet and men found in shops and streets wear traditional kurta and dhoti and young and old women walk past  in traditional lehenga choli or colorful sarees with faces fully veiled. It is reminiscent of a small North Indian town.

Long back in 1700s this street was called as washers street, since the Telugu speaking washers and bleachers employed by the British East India Company occupied this street. Soon Beri Chettis and Gomutti Chettis followed them to this place. Also there were middlemen and dubashes. Later on during 1740s Gujarati from the land of Saurashtra known for its textile factories occupied the north western part of mint and got extended their area up to Elephant gate. The Marwaris (from parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat states)  known for their money lending business also mingled with these joints. The present name 'Sowcarpet' derived from the Hindi word 'Sahukar' meaning money lender. It is a place where people from different states, different languages, different cultures live together in harmony. 

Mint Street at Sowcarpet - Street Scene

Sowcarpet Narrow Lane Glittering with Rake - A Day before Raksha Bandhan

Textile at Sowcarpet Lane

Women in Sowcarpet Lane

Typical Marwari Elderly Woman

Typical Marwari Elderly Man

Men at Rest in Sowcarpet

Juna Jain Mandir

Mehendhi Session

Street Scene at Sowcarpet

Another Street Scene in Sowcarpet

Chandraprabhu Swamy Temple, Sowcarpet, Chennai

The architectural inspiration of Chandraprabhu Swamy Temple at Mint treet, Sowcarpet, Chennai was derived from the Dilwara temples near Mt. Abu in Rajasthan.

Name: Chandraprabhu Swamy Temple aka Naya Jain Mandir

Category: Jain Temple

Location: 345, Mint Street. Sowcarpet, Chennai - 600079. Tamil Nadu, India.

Dedicated to: Chandraprabhu Swamy, the eight Jain Tirthankar.

Architecture: White marble Jain temple (built with the lime-and-soapstone and marble). This temple draws its architectural inspiration from the Dilwara temples near Mt. Abu in Rajasthan, India. Present temple is new. Previously in the same site was housing one of the oldest Jain temples of Chennai known as 'Swetambar Jain Temple.' The temple is located on an elevated plinth at the present site.

The main shrine has the marble idols of Chandraprabhu Swamy, the eight Jain Tirthankar (Jain holy teacher- 24 Tirthankaras are considered to be the creator of Jain religion) along with two disciples on his either sides. On the left side of the main shrine there is an image of Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tirthankara, while on the right side of the main shrine an idol of Adinath, the 1st Tirthankara, has been positioned. The temple also houses idols of minor Jain deities including Vijaya Yaksha, Vasupoojya Swamu,Muniswartha Swamu, Mallinath, Seemandhar Swamy, Jwala Devi, Padmavathy and Main Bhadra. The circumbulatory corridor also houses few Hindu deities. The temple also provide meditation hall (dhyam mandapa) in the basement.

Also Refer: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/South/Tamil_Nadu/Chennai/photo1412944.htm and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=208077429374950&set=a.208403836008976.1073741842.100005180830717&type=3&theater