City Food - Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Appetite German Bakery

City Food – Honey Ginger Lemon Tea, Appetite German Bakery

The divine addiction. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This city of sweet milky chai has a place that makes this humble drink without the traditional ingredients, and it is still deliciously addictive. The Delhi Walla is talking of…

City Food - Wenger's Cake Shop, Connaught Place

City Food – Wenger’s Cake Shop, Connaught Place

The Capital’s oldest surviving cake shop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The most beautiful place in Delhi is not Humayun’s Tomb but Wenger’s. The landmark bakery in Connaught Place’s whitewashed A block appears crowded in all seasons, at…

City Food - Banoffee Pie, The Big Chill Café

City Food – Banoffee Pie, The Big Chill Café

The best pie. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You can have the world’s best banoffee pie only in Delhi. And in Delhi you can have it only in the much-loved The Big Chill chain of cafes. And the…

City Food - Phirni, Around Town

City Food – Phirni, Around Town

Taste of Kashmir. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Many Kashmiris leave for Delhi during winters to escape the harsh cold in the valley. Between November and February, the relatively wealthy families hailing from Srinagar, Pahalgam and Anantnag stay…

City Food -  Dussehra Dal, Vasundhara

City Food – Dussehra Dal, Vasundhara

Heralding the new season. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every primary school essayist can tell you that the Hindu festival of Dussehra is observed in Delhi and in many parts of North India to mark the victory of…

City Food – Heera Lal’s Kulle Chaat, Chawri Bazaar

City Food – Heera Lal’s Kulle Chaat, Chawri Bazaar

Invented delights. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He picks up a whole boiled potato, scoops out most of its flesh with a knife and fills the ensuing void with delicious stuffing. Depending on your taste, he can substitute…

City Food - Delhi's First World-Famous Cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey's Invitation to Indian Cooking

City Food – Delhi’s First World-Famous Cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey’s Invitation to Indian Cooking

Mostly The Subtle, Spicy Cooking of Delhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] On the cover, dressed in an aubergine and red Kanjeevaram silk sari with a golden border, Madhur Jaffrey looks squarely at the potential buyer, her slender…

City Food - Tabassum Gazi's Cooking Class, Gali Pahari Wali

City Food – Tabassum Gazi’s Cooking Class, Gali Pahari Wali

Pakistani cuisine and more. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The room is a humble private apartment, with a mattress on the floor, a small, flat-screen TV on the wall, and a refrigerator beside the door. Here the women…

City Food - Fruit Sandwich, Jain Coffee House

City Food – Fruit Sandwich, Jain Coffee House

A Chawri exclusive. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Jain Coffee House looks terribly modest. Yet it is an essential Old Delhi destination. Situated beside a granary in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar, it has been serving fruit sandwiches…

City Food - Cold Water Trolleys, Around Town

City Food – Cold Water Trolleys, Around Town

Summer special. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Rose petals, lemons, a sunflower and water — this glass is a dream. Selling cold drinking water for 1-2 rupees per glass, refrigerated water trolleys invade Delhi roads every summer. Some…