Deliciously Delhi

Ras,
Man you can’t resist bringing the name Benazir into your articles, can you? Nevertheless a nice article especially the food part. I still drool thinking about the student days in Karachi going for the Zahid ki Nihari in Saddar or to Waheed restaurant off Burns Road for Kabab Fry and topping it up with Pista Rubri from the Rubri wala next to the restaurant.

I hope I get to visit Dilli sometime for the Nihari near the Jama Masjid. I have heard a lot about it.
Raheel

Thank you for an excellently readable article. I have been off real kababs for almost five years now so your article tends to bring back memories.

Some questions, which may also add a little extra flavour, and not just from or for Muslim males either . . . .

# The two Karim`s are inter-related. Perchance, did you visit the one at Nizamuddin on a Thursday, if not then please try to do so next time, and proceed on to the Dargah for . . . .

# Did you happen to pass/spot the famous jalebi-wala on your walk from Jama Masjid/Karim to Ghantaghar/Ghantewala? If not, please do so next time and tell me if you can eat more than 100 grams . . . .

# Were the marriage brass bands practicing outside Bhagirath Palace when you walked past? Most of them claim linkages to similar brass bands from Hyderabad/Sindhh and are able to move from tunes for birth to wedding to funeral without missing a beat . . . .

# Kheer Benazir at Karim`s/Nizamuddin is fine, but the onion slices dipped in vinegar and served with masalas are named after an ex-Information Minister of Pakistan . . . .

Next time you go to Aligarh, may I suggest you travel the longer way around at least one way? Please drive from Delhi to Agra, then cross the Yamuna at Agra from where you can back-track a wee bit to Aligarh.

Nothing I miss more about Delhi than the food. Karim`s.... there`s the ultimate reason never to go veg! Great read!

Great article Ras. If you get a chance, read a similar article called Dilli Ka Dastarkhwan by Sadia Dehlavi.


Veeresh: I have been to the Karim`s in Nizamuddin but not the one in Jama Masjid. I know the owners are the same but is there any real difference in the ambience or food of the restaurants?

Ras: There is a Dilli colony next to Bahadurabad in Karachi. I haven`t had their nihari but chicken boti was very good. I think you can get ``Dilli ka khaana`` relatively easily in Karachi. They have something called ``cheentay ki roti`` which is eaten fresh out of the tandoor with aloo gosht.

Are you a Dilli-waala too?

Ras

A good article. Karachi`s Burns road has been an old faithful. Lahore had the Mcleod Road -and now probably the food street.

It is a fact that the variety & taste of these dishes is out of this world and other foods do not match it. Choumein, stake, pitza may be all fine but it is the nans, kababs, bhuna ghost, biryani, cholay that do the deep satisfaction.

nhk

Siddiqui Sahib, you forgot to mention everyday ubiquitous Indian fare of `Rajma-Chawal`, `Palak-Paneer` and `Cholay-Chawal`. Essentially you have ended up describing purely Pakistani cuisine which is alien to Indians who mostly eat only vegetarian dishes. India is mostly a vegetarian culture to the extent that they religiously abstain from eating even eggs wheras our dishes which here you erroneously refer to as `Indian` are conspicuously made of meat and that too of beef. Example is `Keema-Paratha` (Note to Indians: try to read it as the way its written and not `kHeema`) which is a pariah in India where you`ll have to restrict yourself to eating `Gobi/Aalloo Paratha`. No one in India knows about Nihari, Haleem or Beef-Pilaf as it is against their religion to consume such dishes. Even in predominant areas where beef is eaten in India, its supply is erratic subject to the whims of fundamantalist-party goons in power. Kebabs are eaten in India but are made of Mutton and not beef. The perennial orange coloured `Tandoori-Chicken` continues to remain an Indian tardemark!

Re:GuruJee#7

Yaar, do you have to bring up this India-Pakistan thing even in food? There are millions of Indians who are non-veg in a big way. Maybe they dont eat beef just like you dont eat pork. Otherwise, there are no limits. In fact, there are many hindus like myself, who do eat beef when prepared outside the house in restaurants etc.

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That`s an interesting point. I remember a friend telling me a while back about a wedding she attended in India where the hosts served pure vegetarian fare, including rajma and chawal. As someone who is used to heavy-duty Pakistani wedding food (qorma, biryani, zarda) I found it delightful. Not too sure how well that menu would be received in Pakistan though. People would think sautelon ki shaadi hai . . .

I don`t have such pleasant memories of Delhi food. I was out for 3 days after eating a `hamburger` at Connaught Place (food poisoning). Fancy restaurants weren`t much better.

All the reccommended eateries turned out to be bore. Narula`s was the craze at that time. I was able to take only one bite of the ``best pizza`` in Delhi.

Lemon Wala, Ice Cream (kulfi wala), Biryani wala in Chandani Chowk turned out to me mediocre fare.

Delhi was twice as expensive as Chandigarh. and the fare half as good.

I think Amritsar has better food. The mithai in Amritsar is much better. And other dhabas and restaurants that dot the roads of India. And they are reasonable.

As far as `muslim` food, I remember going to this roadside dhaba like tandoor place in Delhi that was crowded. His rates were really high ....and the host got only a small portion....it was good.....but nothing that made me break into an impromtou Bhangra.

India has come a longways from the rajma/chholay chawal and tandoori chicken. I was surprised to see these small town hotels and restaurants on the outskirts of Chandigarh turning out excellent dishes in Indian, Chinese, and Italian fares. And they do smashing business. City folks throng to these eateries in droves. Even with `connections`, it is hard to get in sometimes.

``Essentially you have ended up describing purely Pakistani cuisine which is alien to Indians who mostly eat only vegetarian dishes. India is mostly a vegetarian culture to the extent that they religiously abstain from eating even eggs wheras our dishes which here you erroneously refer to as `Indian` are conspicuously made of meat and that too of beef.``

Gurujee, that is not Indian cuisine, It is Brahmin cuisine that you talk about. India is much bigger than the culinary horizon of Brahmis from Uttar Pradesh.

I have had excellent beef curry in Kerala. Bufallo kababs in Nizamuddin, pork momos in Chanakyapuri, butter chicken at Pindis`s and Gulati`s...all these places in Delhi, are paradise for non veggies. Only bore place which was largely veggie was Gujarat. And those guys put sugar in dal.

the fare at karim`s in chandni chowk is way better than the nizamuddin karim`s...the time we were there...

digression:

the best pizza i`ve ever had was from an old established bakery in connaught circle...everytime we`d be in delhi we`d detour to grab some:)

“A mini-Pakistan was very much alive and well here”

Hindu groups to deride Muslims in India use mini Pakistan and there is no need to repeat that. Muslims in India are Indian. Those are historical Muslim areas in Delhi way before Pakistan came into existence.
There are areas in Karachi and Lahore that resemble Delhi. If people start calling them Mini-India, Would you agree with them on that?

Now food! The delicacy of Delhi food is captured in Karachi not Lahore. Most of the food sold in Lahore streets is made up excess use of lard/ghee/Tallow etc the lack of or accurate proportion of spices is evident. Food does not become delicious by using lots of Lard/Ghee/tallow or intolerable amount of Red chili(lal mirch). Lahore food is an example of abuse of spices such as red chili and black pepper.
Authentic chefs/cooks of Delhi origin cooked food in Karachi at least in the Burns road area. It may have changed now. However, the food in Lahore is no way near authentic Delhi food.

Your write-up reminded me of my travels in Delhi and in the surrounding areas such as Aligarh, Deoband, Meerut etc. in a car and frequently stopping at dhabbas to eat food.

Thanks for bringing back old memories. I am looking forward to be in Delhi this summer.