City Food - Fig & Honey Ice-Cream, India International Center

City Food – Fig & Honey Ice-Cream, India International Center

Legends of a legend. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The chef is refusing. He wants the recipe to remain a secret. Chef Vijay Kumar Thukral is a living landmark of Delhi’s iconic India international Center, and the recipe…

City Life - Rajbir & Joseph Stein, Around Town

City Life – Rajbir & Joseph Stein, Around Town

A tale of two citizens. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A chilly afternoon briefly brings two citizens into close vicinity. He is a street vendor. He was an architect. Rajbir. Joseph Stein. Rajbir is standing beside a central…

City Food - Gajar ka Gur, Around Town

City Food – Gajar ka Gur, Around Town

Like a rare metal. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gajar ka halwa is red. Because gajar is red. This is the case most of the times. Perhaps you might have heard of white gajar ka halwa. A rare…

City Food - Poet Ghalib's Daal, Somewhere in Delhi

City Food – Poet Ghalib’s Daal, Somewhere in Delhi

On the poet’s birth anniversary. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Happy Birthday, Ghalib! You turn 226 today. It’s not easy to crack Delhi’s greatest poet. The most sophisticated Urdu intelligentsia find his poetry formidable, for Mirza Ghalib is…

City Food - Tasty Trinity, Gurgaon

City Food – Tasty Trinity, Gurgaon

Gaalis in the galis. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] In foggy December, one of the few consolations during the gloomy thandi can be the company of jalebi, pakori and adrak chai. Every pincode in the big wide Delhi…

City Food - Gajar ka Halwa, Around Town

City Food – Gajar ka Halwa, Around Town

Carrot tourism. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Red Fort looks red from the outside. But a lot of it is white from within. Gajar halwa sports this very same red. Carrot is red after all, most of…

City Food - Madhur Jaffrey’s An Invitation to Indian Cooking, Around Town

City Food – Madhur Jaffrey’s An Invitation to Indian Cooking, Around Town

A city’s suisine. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] All cookbooks contain recipes. Only a few give insightful glimpses into a culture. Only a very few of those manage to propel a cuisine to worldwide fame, Some such books…

City Food - Gur or Jaggery, Gurgaon

City Food – Gur or Jaggery, Gurgaon

The gur of Gurgaon. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gurugram’s name traces its origins to the ancient days of Mahabharat and means guru’s village. Its former name of Gurgaon too implied the same. Even so, it is possible…

City Food - Daulat ki Chaat, Paharganj

City Food – Daulat ki Chaat, Paharganj

The winter season delicacy. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] His uplifting smile is the rich icing to the sweet lightness of his daulat ki chaat. Namaste winter, and salaam to the season’s first sighting of Old Delhi’s cold…

City Food - Morena Gajak, Old Gurgaon

City Food – Morena Gajak, Old Gurgaon

The Morena affair. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Murano in Italy is famous for its glass work. Morena in India is famous for its gajak work. Time to return to a sweet indulgence of the year past. Head…