So I am once again at
what seems to be of late turning out to be my favorite haunt Chandni Chowk.
Only last week I was here for the jam bottles that I had ordered. This
time around it was the cake pans and muffin liners that got me here. Now don't
get me wrong, I have often made trips to this part of Delhi - the Walled City,
but nonetheless it still requires some steeling up to brave the chaos of this
place. With 'Teej' round the corner I have been dying to eat
some nice, melt in the mouth 'ghevar' (honeycomb sweetmeat) and
though Bengali Market is just next door with its two very popular sweet shops
but somehow their ghevar has never matched the ones I remember
eating in my home state of UP- the sweet used to be creamish with a
soft texture and one did not need any of the heavy 'khoya' which is
such a fad now.
 |
| A street view of Sirkiwalan bazaar |
|
| Chandni Chowk is a place
which is never short on buzz - the milling crowds, the innumerable hawkers,
small little masjids and mandirs - also, you
name it virtually everything of your daily needs is available here in its
narrow lanes where every nook and corner and every square inch has been
occupied by someone selling one thing or another. One has to be prepared to do
a fair amount of walking if you want to explore its meandering lanes and bylanes. The place is one big 'mela' everyday ... you need to be
an amazing trapeze artist to walk this age old historical bazaar without
stepping on to someones toes or still worse getting stepped over. |
 |
| Bade Miyan's famous kheer |
|
| But of course, my hidden
agenda to come here is to gorge on its sumptuous street food - that is
something to swear by, what with its original and authentic rich flavors. This
place is a virtual treasure trove of shops which have been around for generations
and which have passed on its recipes over generations and uncompromisingly
maintained its standard. One such place is this delightful sweet shop, selling
just one single item - an Indian delicacy, 'kheer' (a staple in
most Indian households on festive occasions). This was the famous Bade
Miyan"s kheer shop at Lal Kuan. One look at the creamy texture and I knew
this was not to be missed experience. The kheer (rice pudding) had a brownish tinge to it
which only comes after hours of cooking the milk on a slow fire. The milk had
thickened to a malai like consistency and it was a very rich
looking dessert. Sure enough, one bite into this lovely concoction of milk and
rice and the wonderful creamy texture of the kheer came through, seldom have I
tasted such well-made (though, very painstakingly) kheer.This labor of love is
also fed to you with equal amount of love and affection. A must visit
shop if you are nearby, if for nothing else then just to experience the old
world hospitality which is so rare in the Delhi I live in. |
 |
| Bade Miyan's old world hospitality |
|
| Came across this very
interesting looking fruit called canary melon or 'Sarda'-
apparently an import from our neighboring country and eaten a lot during this holy month of fasting. |
 |
| Sarda |
A lot of carts selling dates too
- again eaten a lot in fasts, for it is also a thirst quencher. This area had
shops selling utensils and perforated ladles.One of them looked interesting and I was in two minds to pick it up but realized it was too huge for home cooking.
One time I had got this
interesting masala (spice) packet for making 'kachori
wale aloo' and one of the ingredients listed in the masala was
'kachri', a wild variety of cucumber which grows in Rajasthan -
available in Delhi in its dried form, it is powdered and added to food for its
tangy flavor. Chandni Chowk is probably one of the few places in Delhi that you
can hope to get 'kachri'. I came across this shop with its
quaint old style doors painted an interesting green. The huge crowd outside was
what drew my attention. I was curious to see what they were selling that was
attracting such a rush! Turned out to be spices, of all types, whole, powdered,
special masalas for different types of curries, they even had
some dal masala. I stood there thinking how to make myself
heard in that din and then I heard someone asking for 'kachri' -
at last I was able to get hold of this elusive vegetable and see what it looked
like. As I said this place has it all!
 |
| The spice shop and it's green door |
Feeling very excited
after my last purchase - seriously how the smallest of things can make one feel
so happy, I then bought my baking wares and some cute muffin liners.
Then it was time to
search for the ghevar shop whose name I did not know- my only
clue was some place in Chandni Chowk called 'Gali Shankar'. Now an
interesting trend in this area is that when you ask people for directions
mostly they would tell you it is just a little further away. I think that is a
good ploy because if I had known when I started searching for this sweet shop
that it would require me to cover virtually more than half of Sitaram
Bazaar (one very well-known street in Chandni Chowk), I might not have
gone through it ; that just around the corner bit kept me going till after a
never ending walk by the end of which I was cursing myself for carrying my
fetish for having desi ghee ghevar to such levels.I reached
this much revered shop for quality sweets,but I was out of luck; the ghevar which
obviously seems to be hugely popular had sold out by evening. All that was
readily available was sev ki barfi, typically a Lucknow speciality. Btw
before you think that it is just another sweet shop, it turned out to be one
expensive sweet - at 480/ a kg it had better be good. So now before sawan (monsoons)
ends I think I will be making another trip here or otherwise it will be a wait
of one whole year to taste this sweet as it is mostly prepared only in the
months of sawan - little chance that my sweet tooth would let
a year go by!!!
 |
Ghevar shop's freshly made sev ki barfi
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment