Sarafa Bazaar

By day, Sarafa is a jewellery market. Around 9 PM the shutters come down, the food carts roll in, and the same lane becomes the night food market every Indori will tell you about within five minutes of meeting you. It runs past 1 AM, it has been doing this for decades, and it is the single best answer to "what should I do in Indore?"

The system is the charm: gold merchants let food vendors set up outside their closed shops at night — the vendors get a market, the merchants get free overnight security. What you get is a 500-metre lane of chaat, kulfi, and things you will not find outside Malwa. Bhutte ka kis (grated corn cooked in ghee and milk) and garadu (fried yam with a sharp masala) are the two local specials to order first.

Prices are street-honest. We ate six things across two people and crossed ₹600 only because we kept going back for the malpua. Most items sit between ₹40 and ₹90. Carry cash — most stalls take UPI now, but the queue moves faster with notes.

Weekends after 11 PM are shoulder-to-shoulder. If you want photos and space to stand, come on a weeknight around 10. If you want the full carnival, come Saturday and surrender to it.