“Perfect food creates perfect mood,” they say and what
better place to be in than the Capital itself. Amidst the chaos and the ever
increasing crowd of Old Delhi, there lays the aroma coming from a few street
food hawkers placed in every possible nook and corner. ‘Purani Dilli’ as it is referred to, is the area around Chandni
Chowk; an area that is famous for its street food and is known as the food
capital of India.
The narrow alley called ‘Paranthewali
gali’ has been operational since 1870 and used to be visited by Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru, Jayprakash Narayan and others. Coming to the parathas, they are fried in pure ghee in
cast-iron pans and are served with chutneys in mint, banana-tamarind variants
and vegetable pickle. There is no better place to earn calories than any of the
paratha shops.
A few miles walk and you reach the Jama Masjid, the largest
mosque in India. Look left or look right, one thing is rest assured that there
will be no shortage of people selling Papdi chaat, Gol gappes, fruit dishes and
what not. Two types of chaats that
satisfied my palate were those of a fruit called Khirni and the other of sweet potatoes. Amazing
how little innovations with simple ingredients give birth to a wonderful fresh
flavour, isn’t it?
For non-vegetarians, there is a restaurant just in front of
the Masjid called ‘Karim’s’. One of Asia’s best, Karim’s goes back to 1913 when
Haji Karimuddin established the hotel with the aim to serve royal food to
common people. With delicious succulent kebabs to the flavourful biryani, it remains a treat for every
non-vegetarian purist.
Moving towards New Delhi, Connaught place is said to be the
hub for foodies. The area is covered
with sweet shops and is also famous for its matka
lassi. This flavoured source
of nutrition puts one on a heavenly ride for sure. The moment you get to
the sophisticated areas of Delhi, also termed ‘New Delhi’, the difference in
the spices is subtle but distinctive. Throughout the visits to the political
parties, media institutes and the
Vice President’s residence, we were served with a barrage of samosas and dahi bhallas. A bite into these makes you realize the richness in flavour;
Delhi has an array of taste bud
ticklers in store for people of all kinds.
Last but not the least, the chhole bhature that were served at the hostel we lived in were
exclusively out of Delhi’s very own spice box. The Capital of India with its
cosmopolitan nature has managed to soak in flavours from all parts of the
country. For a true foodie, it is imperative for him to carry a ‘Delhi belly’
on his way back from the National capital.
