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
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
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
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…
City Hangout – Blue Chai, Kale Tea Stall
The street of the tailor’s needle. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Winter in, blue out. Neela aasman kho gaya—the blue sky is lost. Soon the air above Delhi will be all grey, dusty, smoggy, cold. Indeed, in our…
City Food – Black Halwa, Ballimaran
A dessert changes its name. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is one of Old Delhi’s most iconic desserts, but Its name is a racist slur, the Hindustani equivalent of the N-word. And now the owner of an…
City Food – Kamlesh Kumar Saini’s Lunch Kiosk, Ajmeri Gate
A moveable feast [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] What to do when one’s village is midway between the bustling urban centers of Motihari and Muzaffarpur? You accept them both as your homelands. That’s why Kamlesh Kumar Saini named…
City Food – Cotton Candy Men, Around Town
Mama-bhanja chronicles. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Quietly they are walking along the pave. A huge tokri, basket, is clamped on the back of each man. The baskets are filled with rolls of blue and pink wool, heralding…
City Food – Om Pal’s Parantha Cart, Satsang Vihar Road
Life of a cart. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The two peepal are picturesque, but he didn’t chose the spot 25 years ago for these eye catchers. Back then, the trees anyway must have not been as luscious….
City Hangout – 20 Hyperlocal Chai Spots, Around Town
Trees of Kasturba Gandhi Road. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here are Delhi’s 20 hyperlocal chai spots. Each of these places deserves a page-length praise but the detailing has been kept minimal. Sequenced randomly. 1. Zina Tea Stall…
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