Tag: delhi

A food tour of Chandni Chowk

On By DeepiIn food memoirs2 Comments

A long overdue trip to an ancient Delhi area comes into being as I step out for a heritage walk with a friend. It was planned just a night before we took the metro train together from Gurugram to Chandni Chowk. And while life has its own commitments—for me, it’s my two kids—I could still take the trip as my husband pushed me for it. “We are changing cities in less than a month’s time. So, you better go for it,” he said. 

Thanks to the changes that happened to the busy area of Chandni Chowk in 2018, we had only E-rickshaws and cycle wallahs around us. Thank God, we had some space to walk. Minutes of us walking a few feet from the metro station, young men start following us as if we were looking for lehengas. “Bhaiya, lehenga nahi lena. Hum shopping ke liye nahi aaye hai,” I told one of the guys after he followed us for a couple of steps. 

I skipped my breakfast. Didn’t comb my hair. Just landed at Chandni Chowk with my jacket and a friend. It was a busy morning as my in-laws were stepping out to their city, but I really pushed myself for this local trip. And so, I was hungry. 

We started with Matar Kulcha. The freshly cut ginger, onions and tomatoes tricked us to believe that it might be tasty, and boy, we were not wrong. It was lip-smacking! It costed us some 30 to 50 bucks for a plate. The kulchas were thin and freshly roasted. 

We left that lane (a few metres from the metro station), and towards the end of the lane was Natraj. So my friend, Namisha Singal, asked me if I was up for a plate of Dahi Bhalla. Though the plate was a bit cold for a cold December morning like this, we still liked it. She was wanting an aloo tikki or something with it, but we could easily finish the plate. The spice mix that went on the Dahi Bhalla made the cut. “My mother used to save this spice mix and use it on salads later on,” Namisha told me. Her father came to Chandni Chowk almost every month, and he went back to Faridabad with a little bag of Dahi Bhallas. 

After a few minutes, we met our heritage walk leader, Jibin George. It was amazing how he had these old paintings to show us on his iPad and we could clearly compare the changes. Soon we tasted our third dish. 

Jalebis. The shop’s name is Jalebi Wala. It had a board nearby that said Haveli Dharampura. So don’t get confused when you see 12 more Jalebi walas in the area. I was not so excited about this, but I was totally blown away by these jalebis! Two reasons I loved them: The chaashni or the sugar syrup was not so sweet. Plus, it had a runny texture, and not your typical sticky texture. Second, the labelis were both moist and crispy. And these were not too sweet either. So, the key for a really yum plate of jalebis is, hold on to that sugar. It really refrains you from having more. It is one of the best things I have tried in my lifetime! Imagine, I’m almost 40! So, you don’t have to miss these ever! I was told this shop has been running for 3-4 generations. And it’s the simplicity of these shop owners who make you respect them even more. 

Daulat ki Chaat

My fourth dish came about in the same lane. Daulat ki Chaat. When people told me about it, I imagined a big blob of aloo tikki with mithi chutney or something. But it was way beyond it. Daulat ki Chaat is basically milk froth. It stays as is thanks to the cold weather. Some of it is white, while some of it tastes of Kesar and is yellow in colour. It had a spoon of mawa too and a sprinkle of dry fruits like pistachio. Did I like it? It was too sweet for my palate, but I still managed to complete half a plate. The guy took 200 Rs for three plates of this Chaat. 

We entered a lane called Dariba Kalan. Interestingly, we happened to spot a Pani Puri wala. His cart looked super clean. He was also wearing gloves. So, I went ahead and asked my friend if she was up for a plate of Pani Puri. She ended up finishing her plate, but I couldn’t go beyond one puri. Even so, I didn’t finish that either. And I realised, if a cart is neat, it still doesn’t guarantee the best taste. Pani Puri is truly a tricky dish. She grabbed a nice cup of ginger tea, and we moved on to Parathe Wale Gali. Wow! I almost pinched myself here. As a mum of two toddlers, living in one of the best areas in Gurugram, what am I doing here? How could I manage to come so far? Am I mad? And I realised, it was one of the best decisions of my life. This heritage walks. We should take such walks often in life. Jibin explained the lanes and the history of the place so well—I could connect it so well; I will never get confused about any of the lanes next time. Delhi is truly beautiful if you take a chill pill and get the hang of it. Don’t just keep walking. Wait. Ask someone for the best way out, and you should manage to walk out of it with a smile! I don’t know if I make sense here, but anyway, here I was. Trying not to think of my elder child’s cough or the other child’s pick-up time from school. 

Enters: Pandit Gaya Prashad Shiv Charan. I have seen fried parathas on TV. Of course, I had my doubts if I would like any Parathas here. But I was wrong. The parathas were lip-smacking. But what truly made it work for me was the way it was presented. We get out seats early on, and are served a plate full of everything but parathas. We have tari wali aloo ki sabzi, sukhi aloo, hari chutney, mithi chutney, circa pickle (veggies in vinegar), and kaddu ki sabzi (pumpkin sabzi). The tables were wiped well, and the place looked tolerable in spite of the line outside the shop. The menu was damn confusing, but we somehow ordered two types of parathas. Lemon paratha was the first one. I was curious to see their style of serving lemons in a paratha and they were smart. There was a simple spread of lemon pickle inside the paratha. It tasted okay, and an eye-opener of a dish for me. Simple yet a bit complex. Next was a mixed veg paratha. And I totally enjoyed finishing my thali here. Will I go there again? Hell, yes. This is magic! 

The next dish in your list should be Chole Bhature. But we were too full for it. Of course, the next time I’m here, I’m going to try it. But Jibin pointed out the two places that serve the best Chole Kulche in Chandni Chowk. Kanwarji Bhagirath Mal and Tiwari Ji Chole Bhature. Life is simple, if we keep it simple. Going to the busy lanes of Chandni Chowk was so different than just reading about it on Instagram. We should go out there, more often. We shouldn’t abandon our historic, old corners of the city. It really brings so much together for me. Makes me feel small but valued. We got to value this. Do you know what I mean? 

End your trip with a glass of Falooda Kulfi at Gianis di Hatti.

All pictures credit: Deepika Bhutra Nandal

Taste Memory Talks: Safar Ke Saathi

On By DeepiIn interviewsLeave a comment

I’m a slow traveller in life. I have my own pace, my own observations and my own learnings. It’s never defined by a trend or a person. I usually make my own silly mistakes (sometimes huge ones) or happy discoveries and learn along the journey.

I’m someone who dies for meaningful conversations. And so, recently, when I saw an 86-year-old enthusiastically solve his Sudoku puzzle and read a fat book, I was bound to start a conversation.

He said he was reading a food book about mangoes. And shared a few interesting snippets from the book. All underlined by him. But that wasn’t the start of the conversation.

He talked about his vibrant career in Science and his education graph. And places. Of course. That was the highlight of our conversation. He talked about Delhi, Lucknow, Japan, Lahore and more. He also took a note of this blog of mine. Not many people care to do that.

Towards the end of my talk (read: we were travelling together in a plane with my husband next to me who was as excited to talk to him), I recorded his voice and here, you can hear him out talking about Chandni Chowk and a few other dishes he loves in Delhi.

Dr Ashok Jain has an extremely interesting background. Born in Lahore and grown up in Bihar, he has seen life that is beyond my imagination. From teaching kids (without going to school) to getting big degrees thanks to his passion for Science, Dr Jain has come a long way and how.

He proudly calls himself a Dilli Walah. And I found whatever he said as golden words. His paper-like skin on his hands told me he’s truly lived a rich life even though his simple outlook can fool you. And that’s what I love about such people. Sometimes, the most interesting personalities (with their interesting clothes, makeup and whatnot) have nothing much to share—hardly any reflections in life. I would call that a poor life in true sense. While simple people like Dr Ashok Jain can make every minute of the hour interesting as they take you along their journey, slowly, without any rush.

Yes. I’m that traveller, who’d happily ditch her earphones and novel and carry on a chat of a lifetime. And it’s one of the reasons why I love travelling. Because it helps me forget the anxiety that I might have during flights or just random travel times.

Hear out a few things that he talked about with this little audio clip. What kind of a traveller are you?

Hope to meet you soon, Sir. Delhi is truly a beautiful city!

Go local, Delhi style

On By DeepiIn TravelLeave a comment

Today, we went to Dilli Haat to attend the Dastkari Haat Crafts Bazaar. It was the first day of this exhibition. Why, you may ask? Well, I was just tired of browsing Netflix and YouTube for inspiring and fun videos. Really wanted a break from that. So, after a having a heavy breakfast, I and my husband stepped out in our car and hit the highway, from Gurugram to Delhi (INA area was our destination). Although I have been to Dilli Haat several times earlier, I still wanted to spend some time here.

In the first five minutes of stepping inside, I bought a cotton backpack that had block prints on it. Cotton is a better version that polyester backpacks, I thought, while buying it. In the next hour, we just roamed and saw different crafts that artists exhibited there.

Soon, we decided to go for a quick visit to the nearby Lodhi Gardens. Took a rickshaw (our car was parked safely at Dilli Haat parking lot), and walked inside the garden area for a bit. I was surprised to see so many people enjoying picnics there; to them, much like us, the smog didn’t seem to matter. After about an hour of walking aimlessly, we were hungry. But, the restaurant there had a long waiting list, so we grabbed a plate of sweet potato (with a dash of lemon juice and black salt) that the street vendor was selling at the entrance gate.

Then, we took a rickshaw to yet another historic place, Humayun’s Tomb. After entering the main gate, I noticed a huge line for tickets. It was around 2 o’ clock in the afternoon. I almost fainted looking at the queue, and announced to my husband that I have no energy to stand here for tickets. It could take at least an hour for us to just get our entry tickets. “We’ll come back next time, early in the morning,” he said, and we quickly hired a rickshaw back to Dilli Haat.

Once inside the open and crowded area (1st January seemed to be a happy ‘strolling’ day for us all), my attention went to a Shibori dyed Kurta. It was a green piece with white parrots printed/hand-pressed on it. But I wasn’t convinced with the price and gave it a miss. The vendor was from Bikaner, Rajasthan, I noted.

A small stall nearby was selling hand-block quilted bed covers and quilts. These furnishings were extremely beautiful and decently priced as well. I knew if I bought something like these from a website or a decor store, I will be fooled for the price. So, I bought a red Mogra print quilt that I absolutely loved. Though, the print has become extremely common, I thought I might myself have it and not regret later. It was somewhere hidden in the pile of stuff, and I was glad I noticed it before anybody else could.

We were starving presently. After looking at a few spaces (that were mostly distributed state-wise), we zeroed in on Navdanya Organic Food Cafe, where we had Rajma Chawal and Sarson and Makki ki Roti. Both our orders were decent in taste. Soon, we reached the parking lot, and hit the road for home. It was nice to see the sun setting during our long drive. Some great trance music was being played by a local English radio station, and I and my husband were almost dozing off (with our eyes open) at the moment; thank God for our seat belts that saved us from hitting the dashboard.

How did you spend your first day of 2018?