City Food – Raj Kumar’s Jal Jeera Drink, Sadar Bazar
Season’s flavour. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everything changes. Winter too is changing to summer. But “the dukh (grief) inside you doesn’t dim, even though you start smiling again,” observes aloo tikki vendor Raj Kumar. His eldest son,…
City Food – Delhi-UP Border Cuisine, Anand Vihar
Food carts of diversity. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Borders tend to be formal, edgy places, which one is always a bit nervous to cross. So it’s a surprise to find such a cheery, festive place in the…
City Food – Madhur Jaffrey’s First Book, Delhi’s Most Iconic Cookbook
A culinary legend. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Attired in a Kanjeevaram silk sari, Madhur Jaffrey looks squarely at the potential buyer, her arms resting daintily on a chopping board. This was her first book’s cover, the year…
City Food – Rajasthani Dahi Bhalla, Gurgaon
Homemade street taste. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There’s the sweet chutney and the sour one, and the super-soft deep-fried bhalla soaked in dahi, and everything is topped with broken shards of crispy papri. The dahi bhalla here…
City Food – Shabnam Restaurant, Motor Market
The wall art. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here in the Walled City the entire restaurant is uniquely adorned with hand-drawn paintings. This is a feast not merely for taste buds but also for the discerning eye. And…
City Food – Malik Naan House, Turkman Gate
In the world of authentic cuisine. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky has lost its blue. The pollution has covered it in a haze. But there is still one place in the city where you can find…
City Food – Daulat ki Chaat, Walled City
Taste of winter. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s just another smoggy morning in the Walled City’s Galli Chooriwallan street. Some people are in masks, many are not. Lazy dogs are snoozing under vegetable carts, and greedy cats…
City Food – Aloo Bhaaji, Cotton Market
Dish for the home-sick. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There they are, lying in heaps — these shallow-fried potatoes in the shape of fingers. It’s only 8 in the morning but Muhammed Ali Khan’s footpath cart, in Old…
City Food – Chai ki Dukan Tea Stall, Mohalla Qabristan
Museum of tea kettles. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So many tea kettles in such a tiny shack. One is stuck between a mug and a jar. Another one perched by the gas range. And then there is…
City Food – COVID-Era Imarti, Mehboob-e-Ilahi Mithai Shop, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
Finding old taste. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It has finally reopened. Mehboob-e-Ilahi mithai shop (open from 6 am to 10 pm) is to be found again in central Delhi’s historic 14th century Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. Adjacent to…
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