Chaiiwalah have recently opened up on Gregory Boulevard not far from the junction with Radford Road near to the library. They occupy the building that until recently housed the Real Burger Company and have been open for around about a month.
Chaiiwalah is a franchise that is expanding across the country, they are based on the original set up in Delhi in 1927 and initially set up in Leicester in 2015 where their first UK branch was located selling their ‘Sip of the East’
My mate Wahaab had put me onto them telling me all about their Desi Breakfast and the Masala Tea that they were selling and that it was totally legit. I am not one to miss out on an opportunity to check anywhere new out so I did as soon as I could 🙂
On the first trip I had headed over to Hyson Green to have one of the Desi Breakfasts, a very different type of “All Day Breakfast” than the ones that I usually describe on this blog.
The options were for a masala omelette, with either masela beans or daal, and with a choice of roti, paratha, or toast. I asked what they recommended and they said get the daal and the parathas, so I did just that!
I quite liked this breakfast, the thick daal made from red lentils has a nice spice level and was thick and creamy. I used the soft almost buttery paratha to mop it up with right out of the pot, I did have a spoon but the bread was much better for scooping :-).
The thin omelette was also quite tasty, it looked small on the tray alongside those breads but was actually bigger than it looks. I like the taste of the garam masala mixed in the egg as it was slightly unexpected yet welcoming as it was a different flavour profile for me at breakfast time.
It also came with a karak chaii which was a bit too sweet for my tastes, although I was interested to experience the taste of the cardamon spice in the drink. It is the evaporated milk that makes that smooth and creamy feel as you drink it. It did remind me of the chaii that we were given at roadside stops when we travelled around India.
I had the urge to get some fries so these “Imli Chips” sounded like just the thing to sort me out. The menu has described them as ‘tangy, tasty and moorish’ and to be fair that has to be one of the most accurate statements I have read for a while.
The fries or ‘freshly fried chips tossed in our signature imli sauce garnished with spring onions’ came to the table in a paper cone like you might have once got from the chip shop and it was a very generous portion.
The main tanginess and flavours in the sauce is from tamarind with hints of lemon, cumin and chilli. I think I would like to get my hands on a jar of this stuff to add to my chips at home! MIght have to make some if you cannot just buy it in a bottle 🙂
I honestly could have eaten these all day long, moorish to the max is what I am telling you. If you do venture over here to check out Chaiiwalah you really do need to make sure that you order a portion of these imli fries
The kebab roll from the Street Food section of the menu sounded and tasted a lot better than it looked. They had described it as a ‘take on the famous Hyderabadi kebab’ with it being ‘char grilled chicken seekh infused with aromatic spices; topped with mint yoghurt chutney and wrapped in a paratha’
I confess that I didn’t really read that properly and hadn’t spotted the word ‘seekh’ and not clocked onto the fact that it was essentially going to be one of those sausage like grilled ground meat skewer kebabs. In my mind I just read chicken so was expecting chunks of chicken. I can read it was just that the word NEW alongside had drawn me in and to be honest just read the word kebab.
Chaiwala in Nottingham is located at 64 Gregory Blvd, Hyson Green, Nottingham NG7 5JD
It is just across the road at the junction with Radford Road from the Medina supermarket. I rode here on the Tram to the Forest Rec stop then walked along Gregory Boulevard. Its about a 5 minute stroll.
Check them out also on their Facebook page and on their Instagram Profile