Ever wanted to experience the delights of street food in Delhi but afraid of the possible consequences? I am a great fan of Indian food of any description and street food is one of my favourites. Over the years I have learned through trial and error that the best way to experience street food is to head to the heart of the city and to queue up with hordes of hungry locals who are fussier about their street food than most tourists. There are a few tricks to selecting the safest way of trying Delhi street “karna” without suffering the consequences of the dreaded Delhi Belly. If the food is cooked and served hot from the griddle, you usually can’t go wrong, and if the stall is crowded with locals then this is also a vote of confidence. But for those without the time, energy or constitution to know what is what and to venture into the great unknown delights of street food there is an easier, friendlier and more delightful way to do so.
Last weekend I went to meet Dhruv Gupta, the innovator of Old Delhi Bazar Walk in the heart of Old Delhi’s Sita Ram Bazar. We had arranged to meet at the Metro station, just a short ride away from the usual center of the city where tourists lurk in Connaught Place. I was easy for him to spot, being the only phoren woman standing at the entrance and after a short greeting we plunged into the crowded and seeming chaotic bazar of Old Delhi. Chatting and eating our way from stall to stall; I tried to contain my epicurean curiosity to a few tried and tested favourites, albeit cooked with different herbs and spices than I am used to. There was aloo chat, cachori with a delicious vegetable curry, the heart of the fruit of the lotus and gorgeous milk sweet. Along the way we visited a kitchen where traditional biryani was being prepared over an open fire and then climbed the stairs to this mosque.
It was evening time and the call to prayer issued over the noise of the bazar in the haunting lyrical voice of the muezzin. He kindly gave us permission to go onto the rooftop of the mosque where call to prayer mixed with the calls of the rooftop pigeon keepers. This totally delighted me since I had read about this in William Dalrymples book The City of Djinns.
The art and practice of the Kabootarbaazi is a time-honored tradition and is as much a part of Old Delhi as the crowded streets below. More than a hobby, kabootarbaazi is a sport of calling and cajoling and training the birds who have been released from their rooftop cages to swirl and swoop in the morning and evenings. A young man from a nearby rooftop noticing our interest gave Dhruv his phone number and introduced himself. Within minutes we had scurried down the stairs of the mosque to meet him. As he introduced us to his birds, his eyes kept scanning the sky and when he spotted a lone pigeon in the sky he sent his flock skywards and directed them to join with the solo bird in order to encourage it into his flock. Dhruv explained that birds are sometimes ‘bird napped’ in this way, requiring the owners of the birds to then go to the house of the bird napper and negotiate for the release. It’s more playful than sinister, a communication between sporting people.
Luckily I had not eaten at all that day and had only nibbled bits of the street food because I knew that more gastronomic delights awaited me at Dhruv’s family house. The Master ji Kee Haveli has been in the family for generations and is where his lovely wife had prepared a feast with her own fair hands, right down to home made paneer and pickles. Needless to say I was in foodie heaven, not only that but Dhruv and Richa are such lovely people I felt immediately at home and very reluctant to leave! They are both passionate foodies and doing what they love to do, which is to introduce people to the real heart of Delhi, their home, their hospitality and they do it all with passion, love and a real sense of delight!