“The heart wants what it wants” goes the song. And as we know, the way to a man’s heart (apologies for the gender bias) is through his stomach. And the stomach is a funny place. Its growls are a somewhat psychosomatic process. Like last night when I was craving for “Goja”, the crispy – syrupy fried cookies that only a native from Bengal would know. Some would try to propose Meethi Mathhi as an alternative. But NO. It is not the same. The stomach and the heart wanted Goja to go with the rains. Period.

During such trials, PlaceofOrigin.in can come to the rescue. This is India`s first and largest platform for famous local foods. On PlaceofOrigin.in, one can discover 4000+ unique sweets, snacks, biscuits, dry fruits, pickles and staples from 400+ famous local brands from across India.

They carry unique specialties like Shrewsbury Biscuits from Pune, Dharwad Peda, Sandesh from Kolkata and Pachranga from Panipat as well as unique local specialities such as the Chanachur of Bengal, Thokku from Andhra Pradesh, Pinni from Amritsar and so on.

Especially, PlaceofOrigin.in has an impressive selection of Indian snacks from all over the country. In fact, the snacks section came to my mind last night. Although Goja as a snack is mostly popular locally in Bengal, would PlaceofOrigin have it?  I browsed this portal with a mixture of hope and skepticism. And bingo! There it was – Goja supplied by Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick, one of the most popular sweetmeat chains in Kolkata. Not only that, there were cakes from Nahoum and cookies from Flury’s, two iconic bakeries in Kolkata.

In this process, I also discovered some amazing known or new snacks. For instance, Jam Biscuits and Khatais from Ellora Melting’s Moments, Dehradun made me nostalgic. We have stopped at this bakery many a times during our trips to Uttarakhand and detoured just to gorge on their fare. Moreover, cheese, dry fruits, Theplas from Gujarat and Banana Chips from Ernakulam, Kerala, got me all floored.

The diversity in India makes us rich inheritors of a wide variety of food each unique to a region, a state or even a place.

When we buy from PlaceofOrigin.in, what we get is not an imitation of the food item prepared elsewhere, but the actual thing.  Authentic and original – the way the item should be.  And without the pressure of travelling down to that place, only at a click of a button.

I am a fan of this portal and have been trying out new stuff!

Meanwhile, thanks to PlaceofOrigin.in, my Goja is on its way from Kolkata and just in time for the ongoing monsoons in Delhi.