City Food – Sattu ka Ghol, Turkman Gate & Other Places
A gift from Bihar. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Eclipsed by Mughlai and Punjabi cuisines, Delhi’s parallel world of Bihari food is invisible to all, except the millions of migrants from Bihar. Tracing it is like mapping a…
City Food – Youssef Safwat’s Pizzeria, Venice Ghetto
Pizza from Cairo. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Places are as shifty as time. The ancient Jewish district of Venice is no longer a ghetto. It still has its old synagogues but today it is home only to…
City Food – Mummy Giusi’s Kosher Bakery, Venice Ghetto
The family story. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the family. Mummy Giusi. Papa Davide. Their shy son, Nicolo. And his cheery girlfriend, Eleonora. Together they run Panificio Volpe Giovanni–the only old-fashioned bakery in the ancient Jewish district…
City Obituary – Historian Ramachandra Guha On Rohtas, The Samosa Man of St Stephen’s College
Rohtas, died February 2, 2016. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] India’s most prestigious college, which traces its origins to the late 19th century, has lost an important element of its legend. Rohtas, the man who had been selling…
City Food – Auto Drivers’ Dal-Chawal Stall, Kasturba Gandhi Road
Meal on the go. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All bankers look the same. They probably regain their individualistic personas during their lunch breaks. Same is the case with people of other professions too, including the capital’s auto…
City Food – Daulat ki Chaat, Gali Kallan Kahar
The snow dish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is it a snowy desert, or a dessert? One winter morning The Delhi Walla came across street food vendor Kamal and his Daulat ki Chaat on Gali Kallan Kahar, a…
City Food – Browning the Onions, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
The pyre. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The younger cook is standing by the fire. The elder cook is peeling the onions. The Delhi Walla meets them one evening in central Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. The cooks…
City Food – Number Walli Kulfi, Delhi Stock Exchange
The digital dessert. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The hot season has gone but it is still possible to taste summer-time Delhi. Just grab a kulfi, the Indian-style ice cream that comes in flavours like pista, rose, cardamom…
City Food – Hello to the Queen, Ajay Guest House, Paharganj
The backpackers’ fantasy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is the most curiously named dessert to be found in Delhi. The decadent Hello to the Queen is available only in a few places in the capital. The Delhi…
City Food – Chhole Bhature, Kwality Restaurant
Full of hot air. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Envious outsiders dismiss us Delhiwallas as boastful loudmouths. Apparently we are full of hot air. The trait is accurately reflected, with a pinch of salt, in chhole bhature, Delhi’s…
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