In the trail of Bistarband at Bharatpur Rajasthan
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I had been on a surprise deputation to Bharatpur, Rajasthan for an official work. Though initially sulking over the assignment as it would keep me away from my family at Bangalore for a month there were some very good culinary experiences at this new temporary workplace.
The middle-aged soft spoken master
mentioned about a sweet called “Bistarband”
which literally translates into English as “bedding rolled into a bundle.” He mentioned
that he himself was unaware of the sweet and came to know about it only when
his motorcycle got stolen. Now that sounded really weird. What's the co-relation between a local sweet and a motorcycle theft?
This further spiked up the
interest in the sweet. Well, as it turned out the police officer who came for inspection of the theft case had mentioned of the sweet to him. The officer had requested the master to get a
kilogram of the local delicacy. Until then the master himself though a native of the place was unaware of the sweet's reputation. I have reasons to believe that the officer had agreed
to pay for it, of course!
I argued to the master that isn't the Pyaaz Ki Kachori (deep
fried puffed flat bread made of refined wheat stuffed with onion) more famous and popular as it seemed
from the numerous shops selling it in Bharatpur. The master reasoned that Pyaaz Ki Kachori is a dish from Jodhpur
and not a local one. So that rules it out of the competition.
And so we (I and my other
colleagues from Bangalore, namely Vishwa and Ankush) started on the trail
of Bistarband. The address to look out
for was Bharatpur Misthan Bhandar, Kotwali
Bazaar, Bharatpur.
We did reach there in an auto-rickshaw
in no time. And thrilled were we to be there anticipating the tastes in our
mouth! We inquired is there a sweet
called Bistarband to the sober man
behind the counter while few others inside were preparing samosas (a deep-fried triangle shaped Indian
snacks made of refined wheat with boiled potato stuffed inside after spicing).
Bistarband
stood
up to its reputation!
 |
| Bistarband |
It melted in our mouth as we took it in a plate made of dried
leaves. A plate made of dried leaves is a far better option than the plastic
one!
We guessed and discussed that it must have
been made of casein. To which the owner explained that it wasn’t. Instead it
was made of pure milk which was burnt over for a long time with a small amount
of alum added to expedite the process. The paste was then rolled into a bundle
with some cream and dry fruit stuffing inside. A heavenly feeling
indeed! Both to hear and to taste! Bistarband!
 |
| Bharatpur Misthan Bhandar Chef Preparing Samosas |
We then tried the freshly fried
samosa which to my opinion surpassed
the Bistarband! The potato stuffing
used was made of long potato stripes unlike at other places where the potato is
generally boiled and smashed into a pulp. It seemed that here probably the potato was not boiled but baked in an open pan for long. It looked reddish black in color from far. As explained by the owner the potato stuffing was flavored with hand grind
spices and hence the unique taste.
Further, true to the shop owner's claims the
samosas at Bharatpur Misthan Bhandar didn’t make you feel full. I guess this last parameter can be the yardstick to judge a good samosa.
It shouldn’t make you feel full!
 |
| Bharatpur Misthan Bhandar Kotwali Bazaar |
Thank you Bharatpur!
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