Delhi 6 - Daulat ki chaat & Japani Samose

Continuing on Delhi-6 Exploration, Foodie Delights happened to taste another food, that is a vintage Signature Old Delhi speciality . The Daulat ki Chaat..Its actually a sweet..Not quite a Mithai not quite a dessert ...Its actually one of the most exquisite looking food one can taste.... A Huge, white milky & Frothy heap of whipped cream is kept on Huge vessels .. The Milk is whisked for hours together to get that frothy creamy heap .... The Daulat ki Chaat is not found in sweet shops or halwai shops, as we call in delhi ... There are local vendors, mainly hailing from UP & Bihar, who sell these on movable wooden stands ..... Priced at Rs 20 for a Plate, the taste actually takes a lot of precision from your Tongue .... The Cream just melts as soon as it lands on your tongue .. You realise that its just a very light puffed up cream, that leaves a very light lingering sweetness on your tongue ..Very lightly sweetened, Its topped up with Bhura (Unrefined sugar), some khoya to add a little crunchness, bite & bit of sweetness in the Dessert...Flavored with Saffron , Cardamom, which leaves a rich flavor in the mouth ... This is Old Delhis Classic & found in Winters manly, as the Cream melts away in the High temperatures in Summers... Old Delhi Loves its Deaulat Ki Chaat.....Unique, Great Concept, Novelty...Great stuff ....

Look at that..... Delight.......

Next we move from Chandni Chowk to a Place called Lala Lajpat Rai Bhavan...which is famous for its , another Unique food Item called the Japani Samosa .. On entering the Market, you will have to navigate your way through Tiny Bylanes, filled with flies, fleas,insects etc, before you find your way out on the main road, where the Manohar Dhaba is located

The Bylanes of Lala Lajpat Rai Market

Here it is , Manohar Dhaba proudly announces its Identity- Japani Samose wale ---- I came to Know from the Owner, that he has somehow got this Food patented & this name cant be used  any Other food...Looks like a organised way to sell the street food

The Japani Samose is a Deep Fried flaky, Crispy Kind of a Pattice, whch has a huge number of clearly defined & visbile edges , Layers, that give this patty, that extra crsipiness & that more flak ....... Deep Inside is a small Pea & Cumin stuffing ..... Served with Spicy Cholle, The Japani Samosa, has been a trademark food for this Shop for more than 40 years now....

Look at that...Crsip Layers of the pattice, just add the extra Crunch into the bite & the Oil in each layer, just helps soften the peas nicely .... Vintage Old Delhi!

Delhi 6 - Parathe Wali Galli

Chandni Chowk, Delhi 6 - is completely full of the Delhi Signature . The Delhi of Yesteryears, The Delhi, which has a Great history, The Delhi which has Great Culture, Amazing architecture, breath taking scenic beauty in this time of the year, The City which has besotted many a Historians, The City whose Charm have befallen many a Emperors, The City, over which many dynasties have fought... Many Of them have Captured it, many have ruled it, But yet never Completely understood it. The mystique that is Delhi .... Filled with this Mystique, this Signature of the unsolved, of the unresolved Cultural conflicts & historian debates, Stands the Delhi 6, or Purani Delhi, as Delhiwallas call it ... Purani Delhi, has that rustic, mytical Old world Charm of Delhi......May be there was an entire generation of People who came & settled in this part of the city, while teh city was still evolving from the aftermath of destrcution that the Partition of 1947, offered. The Pain & Grief of losing all at once, the painstaking journey of building the Life brick by brick, Fighting against all odds, whethering all troubles, & the small joys of gradually rebuilding your nest - Delhi 6, would have witnessed it all.. Thats why People even after leaving this part of their City in search of better Life, better houses, or due to Nuclear families coming into prominence, still feel. they have left a part of themselves in Delhi-6

Foodie Delights, tried to explore the Legend that surrounds the Food here at Purani Delhi - and in this attempt, reached the World famous, Parathe wali Galli in Chandni Chowk... ParatheWali Galli is like the seeding point, the originator of the street food of Delhi. Some also call it the mecca of Street Food (Dillis Ishtyle)

This is the start of the Parathe Wali Galli...There are some 7-8 Parathe Shops here in this Galli, But after lot of scouting around & reference from fellow foodie, we located the Original Pioneer of this world famous -Chandni Chowk ke Parathe

This is the Shop, which has quite a wide entrance, with seating for about 25-30 people at one time . One can also check the Photographs of some prominent Celebrities & Political leaders, hung on the walls, to lend credibility to their fame of Originality, authenticity & genuineness

The Champion Mixer, already has the range of Masalas in front of him - All the varieties or stuffings are neatly arranged in 8-10 small vessels

Look at that for a Range.. The No of Parathas in Sweets are as much as the Namkeen Varieties ...I am sure Analysts & Management experts would be stunned by the sheer variety & how these guys manage their SKUs, as we call in Business Parlance ...Any Body with common sense would tell you that, In unorganised Food Chains, especially Highly persihable commodities, its quite tough to keep so many SKUs & actuall able to make & offer these varieties in really quick time

Kaju, Dry Fruits, Rabri, Khoya, Sugar. Khurchan, Karela, Bhindi,Aloo, Muli, Gaajar, Mix, Paneer, Daal, Gobhi, Parat or layer paratha, Besan Paratha,Mutter or peas, Papad , Paper,Methi, Pudina, Nimbu, Mirchi, Tomato, Kela, Meva, Gudd .......... This is really unbelievable stuff.... Great Inventory Management, Excellent Processes, Terriffic Supply chain, Meticulous planning, Very fast turn around Time --- All are great takeaways from Management Planning perspective

Thats the Tag which is so proudly displayed..Established Since 1875 ....a Hundred & thirty six years ago....

Look at the plate for the Parathas ..they serve the Parathas with some condiments .. there is a seetafal sabzi, which is really hot & spicy, with loads of Garam Masala, a aloo ki subzi , and typical dhaaba style, the aloo is never peeled off, a Red Chilly, Tamarind & Banana Chutney, Mango & Carrot achchar

The Rabri Parathas are to die for .. Pizza hut you guys are late, we seem to have something similar to your Cheese burst, which was dished out some 135 years ago.....Its like a stuffed calizone ... You take a Bite & the rabri comes of ...... Hmmm amazing ...Right sweetness....just perfect..

The stuffings in front of the master Paratha Mixer....

All in all, a great experience .. Come savour the experienc, be a part of the mystique thats Old Delhi....Be a Part of History.......

Sweet potato( & Shakargandi) & Corns (Bhutta) - Delhis Winter Snack

As Discussed in my earlier Blog about Delhis Winters & the Food associated with Winters just makes stuff for a legendary romance .. The Beauty . The fog, The winters just make for a Great Evening ...... Shakgandi or sweet Potato is one of the Favorite Evening snack for Delhi esp. in Winters....

Roadside Vendor having selling Sweet Potato Chaat

 ShakarGandi Chaat or Sweet Potato Chaat - is baked . Boiling or steaming , it may not retain its sweetness... Added with Chilli Powder, Zeera Powder, Kaala Namak, a sweet roasted Powder, Lots of lime & you get a Healthy Snack ... Spicy, Chatpataa, Tangy, rich source of Carbohydrates.... Add a bit of the Green Wonder - Amrak, and it makes for a Deadly Dynamite Tangy Chaat ... Amrak is a rich source of Vitamin C....Really really tangy, juicy ....Khataai ka Baap

Look at that...Golden Yellow

The Bhutta being roasted over the Coal ... Look at that beautiful Golden yellow color .....and take a look at the Color that it takes ..... Black dots of roast over the Golden Yellow ..... Rub some spices, Lime Juice & again, a wonderful & healthy Snack -- The Bhutta is a great Companion & snack in the Winters......

Bhutta.... Ready to Eat

Amrak....Tangy, Juicy, Sour, Khatta, ..Khataai ka baap

 Look at that Green Beauty ..Amrak or Star Fruit . It makes for a Great Decoration in Salads and is cut in a Nice star shape .... Really Tangy....

Sattu ke parathe at JNU Delhi

Last Sunday after my walk, yes thats Right, I am regular with my walks now.. I manage an early morning walk almost 5 times a week, which is not bad..Weekends is generally quite a hectic walk schedule, lasting an hour and about 6+ Kms ... After this kind of activity, a nice breakfast is well deserved & well earned .. In my quest for a decent breakfast went to the Jawahar Lal University Campus, or JNU as its fondly called, on the African Avenue ..... Home to thousands of Students, at Graduate, Post Graduate, PhD Courses, Faculty - JNU has more than a dozen of small & Big Canteens, which feed the thousands of students from Difenferent parts of the Country....Differentt Religions, Castes, Ethnicities, JNU is almost a Pot Pourri, of Ideas, Thoughts, Brains & Even food .....





The Beautiful JNU Campus..

Look at the Beautiful, Peaceful, Calm, Serene, breath Catching beauty of this JNU Campus.....Who wouldnt want to spend time here, who wouldnt want to eat here ... who wouldnt want to Study Here ???????



Serene, quite & peaceful....

Another Intellectual Conference...

I have been to the JNU campus on a number of occassions before for my after walk breakfast on the weekends...and have managed to get a Fair Bit of varierty at the Different Hostels for the different Hostels..Bread Omelette - the Very Basic, Golden Brown, almost a little burnt kind of omelette, Tomato & Vegetable Maggi, Parathas & Subji, Puri Subji, Bread Butter, Cholle Bhature ... Have tried some of the basic breakfas varieties...

This Time i was directed to the Purva Hostel Canteen, which serves some Very Good Sattu Parathas ... Now Sattu is a very Popular Ingredient used in Bihari Cooking ... The Famous Liththi Chokha of Bihar, makes use of the Sattu- which is a Chickpea Flour or Raosted Channa ka Ataa.... The Canteen Serves 2 types of Parathaas - Aloo & Sattu .... served with a Spicy Aloo curry .. The Curry will remind you of your Typical Mess food with the Potato skin not being peeled off ..... The Chai is thick, Milky, little strong & too sweet..Perfect to go with the Spicy Sattu ... Meal for 2 People - 3 Sattu Parathas / 2 Aloo Parathas / 3Cups of tea, for Rs 40/= is worth a try + the beautiful serene surroundings of JNU -- Its just great !!!!!

Local Canteen serving Breakfast for students

Parathas with Spicy Aloo Curry  Chaiiiiii...

Satuu ka Paratha..

The Campus Gate

..

Campus Food

Wherever you go in Life, whatever one achieves in life, wherever one eventually reaches, few things always remain entrenched in your memory for ever .... Your First Love, First Kiss, First Date, First Job - But one of the things that shape up your Career  eventually have a major bearing on ones life is Your School, Your College, Your Alma meter. Its the memories of your alma meter that one so fondly recalls in life at times when most needed & they provide an almost Instant dose of energy & charge .... College & Campus Memories are almost imcomplete about food ...Yes the food that we all ate as students .... Campus food or the food ate at our Favorite Cheap Joints with Friends, Girlfriends, Potential Girlfriends, Prospects for girlfriend...... All of us have our deep & fond memories of our Favorite food or restaurants where we gorged our hearts out .. Those are the days when one is fearless in life, fearless in Love & fearless in eating....Roadside food, street food, Outside Railway Stations, Outside Bus Stands, Outside small temples, everywhere .. I spent a good amount of my time in Pune & Mumbai .... Pune for  Engineering  & Mumbai for the MBA Mktg Course.....

Pune was about reaonable food & my first experience with Maharashtrian Food ... My tryst with Vada Pav started here..Vada Pav with Cutting chai used to be a Hot favorite for Breakfast & Lunch......Punes Very Famous Marzorin , Located on MG road, which served some of the Best Sandwiches, Milk Shakes, Pastries ... Or Budhdhani Wafers, which serves some of the Best Potato Waffers In Pune ....... Or Kapila Kathi Rolls ...Pune is actually a Foodies Paradise with Junglee Maharaj Road, housing a record breaking no of Retaurants in a Single Lane ........ Pune was where i discovered the Foodie inside me ....... On Days when one would have a little more money to spare than usual, Hotel Aurora Towers, or AT, as it was commonly known, served the most amazing Non Vegetarian Chicken Sandwich Called Sky High.....
Mumbai, is where i did my MBA & with in a few months of my Course, realised that if Delhi is famous for its Tandoori Food - the Tandoori Kukkad, the Chicken Tikka or Mutton Champs, Mumbai also has a huge & Impressive Street food...Infact I could never Imagine eating outside any of the Railway stations, with strong perceptions about their Inferior quality of raw materials used..But Mumbai is different... I have had some of the Best Omelettes  Pav Bhajis- Outside the Mumbai Local stations ... Omelettes  made in Butter & the Pavs lightly crisped on the Tawa with the Butter ... It used to be quite a meal  a very economical one ... You would also get the Baidaa Pullao or the Egg Pulao & Polish it off with a hot & strong Cup of Adrak Chai...

Or many times while being awake till late night or early morning if you could call it, when Hunger pangs would strilke, the Local South Indian Vendors - Anna - would be standing with his cycle carrying a drum of Hot Coffee & a Hot Case carrying Idlis & Vadas, served with Coconut Not Chutney . Not the Best of the meals, but quite satisfying for a hungry soul & for a Pocket having a Big Hole ... Bun Omelettes & a Cutting Chai in any of the Irani Restaurants in Mumbai along with a simplified dope of the Common Mans understanding & views about the Big Issues of the Country ...& one is ready for the day..No need to rummage through the News Papers..Not that  One really cared to, as a Student...

I am lot of People would have their many many fond memories of the Food they ate at Campus, as Students, that whole experience of eating with a group of friends .. That slight tension, of who can eat faster, or get the better or meatier piece of the Dish, & finally, who would ask for the Bill & what would be the share of Payments, in case of a Dutch ....Vow...Miss those days, miss that Food ...as the famous song from 3 idiots said -- "Give me Some SunShine, Give me some Rain, Give me another Chance, I want to Grow Up Once again.....

Delhi Food Festival-2011 - A Photo Journey



The Food Fest Begins.....

People inquiring about food.....

Delhis Street Food Lifeline - Chaat, GolGappa, Aloo Tikki

Punjabis Favorite- The Deadly Basin Ka Chilla



Veg Kathi Kabab Combo



Veg Champ & Gatthe Ki Sabji..in a Tomato Gravy




Hmmmm..... Aloo Tikki....Delhites love their Tikkis

Still Looking for More.......



Varieties of Pickles



KatPutlis ..Thats what Life tells us who we are



Nomadic Food ...Use of Local Natural Ingredients






Variety of Kulfis on Display

All in all an amazing Display of the Variety, Range of Delhis Food -- Right from Morning till the Desserts post a Heavy Mail, everything about Delhi Food is just like the City ..... Spiicy, variety, Generous in terms of the helpings but also being a Pot Pourri, in absorbing differenet flavors of the Regions & absoring them in its won.. Be It the Mughlai Specialities Like Biryani, Chicken Kurma, Chicken Changezi, or be it the Parathe Wali Gali, or the Variety of sweets - Jalebi, Daulat ki Chaat, Kulfi ,Rabri, Gulab Jamun ------ Its all very much part of being Delhi Food & part of being a Delhite ....Its great to be a Foodie in Delhi



Kathi Rolls - The Smart Street Food

Popularised a Great Deal in the Eastern Part of the Country, Kathi Rolls have been almost glamorised as Kolkatta Kathi Rolls...There is nothing that can mathc the pleasure of having a really Oily, Crispy Maida Roll ,stuffed with a Spicy Chicken Stuffing, sauted & fried Onions, Shades of Sauces - Red Chilli Sauce, Green Chilli Sauce, Coriander - wrapped in a small Paper & handed over to you for a bite ..... Imagine biting that highly spicy, Crsipy, really Oily & filled with loads of Chatapatta spices & biting this in the Chilly winters of Delhi & north ... This is a real Comfort food for the Soul

Just Like Momos, which are now available in almost every nook & corner of Delhi, esp, in winters, Kathi Rolls joint are almost omni Present across the length & breadth of Delhi...A Flat Round Bread made out of Maidaa Dough is placed on the Giant Tawa ... Mix of Onions, Cabbage, little salt, red chilli, spices, ketchup, chilli sauce , lots of oil are thrown on the tawa & the mix is given a good & hearty mix .... The Chicken Gravy, is also sauted on the tawa ... An Egg is broken on the Bread & spread over the bread evenly.....
The Onion Mix, Chicken Gravy are then placed over the bread roll & folded into a roll wrapped in a tissue paper The succulent chunks of chicken retain their Juice

"Nizams Kathi Roll" in Connaught Place has been serving one of the best Kathi Rolls in New Delhi for a Long Long Time... A really really oily & crsipy Paratha , quite big, full & a meal in itself'
Zaika Kathi Rolls, based in Sec 18 Market, Noida - also serves some really lip smacking Kathi Rolls
De Pauls - Based at GK-1, Janpath, have been serving really fantastic Kathi Rolls for some time in adddition to their fantastic Sandwiches & Cold Coffee
CR Park MARKET, also houses quite a few Kathi Roll vendors trying to sell some what similar version of the Kolkatta Kathi Roll
PVR Saket Market Complex - also serves some Local Kathi Roll vendors, who sell this really hot & spicy snack

Hot, Crisp, Oily & Spicy Kathi Roll.......

Best had in winters, on the street, with a really spice & tangy dip, mixs with the Chicken & Onion Spices

Parathaas at Murthal

Ask any Body in Sonepat, about the Famous Sukhdev Dhaba at Murthal, Chances are that apart from Dircetions to reaching the Place, People may give you some tips on what to order from the Famous Dhaba

Started in 1956, by Sardar Prakash Singh, to serve refreshing & nourishing, quality food for Truck drivers, Travellers..Sukhdev Dhaba at Murthal is almost a Household name in Murthal, Sonepat....Variety of Parathas they serve- Aloo Parathaa, Pyaaz Parathaa, Aloo Pyaz Mix, Gobhi Parathaa,Paneer Parathaa, Dal Parathaa, Mooli Parathaa, Aloo-Pyaaz Mix Parathaa .... These Parathaas are served with a Huge Dollop of Fresh Home made white Butter... This Butter is quite different from the Pasteurised butter we generally eat ... The white butter is hugley popular in North India especially Haryana & Punjab and these 2 being huge consumers of dairy products, white Butter or Desi Makhkhan, tastes best with a Piping Hot Parathaa

 

Ashok Machchiwalaa at Kalkaji

Serving Fried Fish for the last 25 years in South Delhi, is Ashok Machchiwala...Been present & feeding Kalkaji for 15 years now.. Ashok Machciwala, is quite famous with foodies from across Delhi.... I met one fellow foodie, who had come from Karol Bagh to pick his half a Kg of fried Fish..........Its shifted now Just Opposite HDFC bank at KalkaJi



Ashok Machchiwalla

 The Big Pieces of Surmai Fish have been marinated since the day for almost 7-8 hours...One can buy the fish as per weight- with Min weight being 150gm...... The Marinate is simple & basic - Turmeric, Salt, Red Chillies, Garlic & Ginger Paste, Garam Masala , quite well marinated ... The Pieces are cut as per the weight requirement & put in the big Kadhai to be deep fried ..........

Small shop serving wonderful Fried fish

Priced at Rs 600/Per for 1 KG of the Fried Fish seems a Little high especially for a Road Side shop....But in winters its worth the Experience ...... Generous dose of Masala is sprinkled over the Fried Fish along with a Dash of Fresh Lemon Juice ..served along with Raddish,Oinons, Green Chutney & Fresh Lime




Fried Fish...This is how it looks......