Sights n smells of Dilli 6

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

Ghevar shop's freshly made sev ki barfi 

Street food of Old Delhi - Kalmi Vada | lentil fritters

It is an undeniable fact that for good authentic chaat there is nothing comparable to what one gets in Chandni Chowk, a market in Delhi, dating back to the Mughal era. Though one has to traverse through narrow streets and a sea of humanity but the food shops here, some of which have been around for over a century, make it worth the effort. A walk through its meandering alleys will lead to some of the most delicious street food. There are small hole in the corner shops and khomchewalas (street hawker) at each nukkad (corner) which do not figure in any food guide list or may not be well known but serve equally delectable stuff. From golgappas to aloo tikkis, kalmi vadas, aloo-kachoris,dahi bhalle, papri chaat to seasonal delicacies like fruit kulfis - here you get all the Purani Dilli (Old Delhi) specialities and much more to feast on.

                                                                                                                                                         

Kalmi vada is a crisp and spicy lentil based patty which is double fried. It can be served either as a chaat wherein it is topped with curd and saunth (sweet tamarind chutney) and masala is sprinkled on top. It also makes for a good finger food which can be prepared in advance and is a perfect accompaniment to drinks.

This recipe for Kalmi vada is from Geetaji who is my neighbor. Her family is originally from Old Delhi and like any old illustrious baniya family takes a lot of pride in their vegetarian cuisine.Their food infuses me with a sense of nostalgia as it brings back memories of a bygone era when the masalas were hand grounded and there was a lot of emphasis on freshly prepared meals, and there used to be a maharaj in every household for cooking. Geetaji herself is a very good cook and rustles up traditional baniya food with all the desi flavors intact, in a jiffy. Kalmi vada is an age old snack of our forefather's times -  it is now not so easily available and is becoming elusive even in the streets of Old Delhi.

Kalmi vada

2 cups chana dal (Split Bengal Gram)

2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped

2 tablespoon green chillies, finely chopped

2 tablespoon saboot dhania (whole coriander seeds)

3-4 whole dried red chillies

2 tablespoon kasturi methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

1 tablespoon black pepper, coarsely ground

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Soak the chana dal overnight.Next day strain the dal ( lentil ) so that the water gets drained out completely. Then grind it without adding any water to it or at the most a couple of spoons of water. The paste should be grainy in texture /coarsely ground but without any solid dal pieces showing up. Now add the chopped ginger, green chillies, saboot dhania, kastoori methi, black pepper, break each of the red chillies into 3-4 pieces and add to the mixture and finally add salt. Mix everything well so that the spices get blended in the paste. Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

 

The dal paste with all the spices

Heat up oil in the kadai (wok). Shape the dal mixture into evenly sized and flattened round patties and slide into the hot oil.

Mixture in a patty shape

Deep fry the patty from both sides till it firms up and turns golden brown then remove from the wok and keep aside. 

Kalmi vada after first frying

Leave the patties to cool down. Then slice into finger sized 1/2 inch thick pieces and fry them in hot oil till they turn crisp. Sprinkle some chaat masala on top and serve hot with coriander chutney or ketchup.

The patties can even be made a couple of days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. When required cut them into pieces, deep fry and serve