The rich elixir.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

There’s no getting around it. The Delhi Walla loves those sleepy markets where an entire day can be whiled away and where time seems to charmingly come to a halt.

That’s not the only reason I frequently, and leisurely, turn up at Aurobindo Place Market in south Delhi. The building — constructed by Delhi Development Authority — is so aesthetically challenging that it offers pause for thought. The same is true for that gigantic concrete butterfly in the park outside.

But the real reason why I patronise Aurobindo Place is the amazing almond milk, a genuine elixir, sold at a modest dairy booth. It turns a lazy bumpkin into a bundle of energy and can even work the other way, gently calming the soul into a state of sweet drowsiness.

What’s the secret? Crushed bits of almond floating invisibly in thick creamy milk.

By the time you’ve half-finished the drink, the almonds nearly overwhelm you and utter contentment sets in.

Friends have reported the same uplifting experience with this remarkable beverage. Many of them have a set shopping ritual that ends with this drink.

For the past 20 years or so, it has been prepared every morning by the genial Shyam, right inside the booth — Quality Dairy & Paneer Bhandar.

Founded by Khajan Singh Aggarwal, it sells other dairy products as well (some swear by its paneer), but I place all our chips on the almond milk alone.

Badaam milk’s lazy charm

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