City Food – Roadside Chai, Around Town
King of brews. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] As Delhi acquires the trappings of a modern metropolis, the carts dedicated exclusively to serving tea are becoming fewer. But it is still possible to stop in the middle of…
City Food – Gol Gappa, Around Town
Taste explosion. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is more felt than tasted. The shell cracks open, the cold, intense spiciness washes around your mouth. Before you know what is happening it is gone. Made of whole-wheat or…
City Food – Delhi Belly, Around Town
The capital shame. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Messy, smelly and non-stop, Jane Austen would have described it as a continual state of inelegance. Delhi’s biggest embarrassment, it is also the title of a Bollywood film. The phrase…
City Food – Haleem, Meena Bazaar
The one-dish meal. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is hearty food, different from the subtle confections of traditional Mughlai cuisine, like koftas and pulaos. Yellow and with paste-like consistency, haleem is a one-dish meal of wheat, lentils…
City Food – Roasted Peanuts, Around Town
The soul food for winter. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Peanut roasting is a cold-weather trade on Delhi’s streets. The Bhaiyyas, mostly migrants from the impoverished countryside of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, fill up their carts with popcorn,…
City Food – Imarti, Mehboob e Ilahi Mithai Shop
The sweet decadence. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Thick and sticky, the loopy imarti is as decadent as the court of Delhi’s last Mughal. Its crusty deep-fried shell packs in a pool of extravagantly sweet sap. The disciplined…
City Food – Kebab Stalls, Urdu Bazaar
Delhi’s cheapest kebab destination. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] In pre-Partition Delhi, when the Walled City was home to educated and wealthy Muslims (who later went to Pakistan), Urdu Bazaar was a street lined with Urdu-language bookstores. By…
City Food – Julia Child Makes Rumali Roti in Nizamuddin Basti
The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of Nizamuddin Basti, a congested village in central Delhi. A cheery 28-year-old, Child hails from the state of Uttar Pradesh and has been…
Photo Essay – Fast Food City, McDonald’s Delhi
The world of McDonald’s. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s easy to say why you think a McDonald’s burger is bad. It is unhealthy, fattening and industrial. But then all of Delhi’s traditional food too is fattening. Tell…
City Food – Bhutta, Delhi Streets
Soul snack for the monsoon. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a monsoon thing. As the air gets humid, the respite is in the dry, crackling, slightly burnt ears of corn, the bhutta in Delhi lingo. Street vendors…
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