Champaran Mutton | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Food has a delightful way of reproducing itself. Just when you think nothing can be done to enhance the taste of crispy kachoris, an innovative chef goes and replaces the usual carrot-chilli pickle with apple jalapeno flavoring, giving the dish a delicious twist. Gets kicks. Street food, I noticed especially in 2022 (though this trend has been around for a while), is being presented with little tweaks here and there, adding flavor to old favourites.
As I look back on a year well spent, I notice that street food – traditional and new – is occupying the high table.
For example, a place called Madam Chutney gave me immense pleasure. The restaurant in Greater Kailash 2 (M-20, 1st Floor M Block Market; Mo: 9999386300) serves familiar, yet different street food. Its nawabi dahi batase are golgappas with a stuffing of boiled potatoes, ripe mango pieces and sev, and a sweet and sour curd chutney. Its crispy kachori is crispy, as a kachori should be, but it’s the apple jalapeno flavor that makes it memorable.
Another drool-worthy dish is the Jalebi Chaat, a must-have at Amaltas Indian Tapas & Bar in Greater Kailash (Mo: 8595324189). It is a salty and crispy jalebi, which comes in a sweet and sour flavor from a mixture of curd, chutney, sev and pomegranate.
meat bhaji | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Amaltas have also given a zesty twist to sandwiches, which are an essential part of street food in western India. Its Amdavad special sandwich, derived from Gujarat’s fermented rice and lentil batter dish, handvo, is stuffed with spiced potatoes and sprinkled with crunchy sev. I love keema (minced meat), and am very fond of Amaltas’ meat with bhaji pao – a keema patty topped with a fried egg, and served with toasted pav.
It is my pleasure that innovative street food whets the appetite for traditional street dishes. I especially remember the annakoot ki bedmi (a spiced flour poori) with aloo ki sabzi. The restaurant, which has branches in several parts of the city including Bengali Market (mob: 9711088031), has all kinds of delightful breakfast dishes such as matar kulcha: soft kulcha, served with lemon, white-pea dish. Their potato bedmi is also fantastic – the bedmi is crispy, and the stuffing is deliciously spiced.
Another eatery that gave me immense pleasure this year was Kulcha Ambarsariya Da in Amar Colony Main Market, Lajpat Nagar (Mobile: 9717430017). Their stuffed kulchas are delicious, and come with chole (with buttered chipotle), they are light, yet scrumptious. There are many types of fillings in Kulcha, from potato-onion and cauliflower to moong dal and green chillies.
Obviously, there has been a festival of food and drink throughout the year. Not everything that warmed my soul was street food. I get totally emotional when I think of Layla’s Yemeni Mandi Chicken, a dish of rice flavored with a big piece of roasted chicken. Laila (L-27, Ground Floor, Zamrudpur; Mo: 9310764949) serves excellent shawarma stewed with meat and onions, and their lamb with hummus and lafa bread will leave you wanting to go back for more. Then there’s the Bihar food of Chhonk (D-145A, South City 1, Gurugram; Mobile: 8860200021). The menu includes mouth-watering Champaran meat dishes, Dal Puri and Methi Puri from the region.
As the new year approaches, I give my beret tip to everyone who added flavor to 2022. Let 2023 be even more blissful.
Jalebi Chaat | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
mandi biryani | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement