~ Food.Fabulous Food in Delhi ~

Okay, you thought I forgot?? To write about the food in Delhi??

NO!!

But I save the best for last!!

My friend Charu made a list of all the street foods that I had to taste in Delhi, instead of Mumbai, because of different regions, you want the food from the local region. So some of the dishes I didn't eat yet in Mumbai, not because they don't serve it there, but because you want to eat the food from where it comes from.

Street food or Chaat, which means in Hindi “to taste,” and most chaats are small dishes. People can combine multiple dishes to create a chaat meal, or simply eat one as a snack. Chaats take advantage of the rich library of spices in the Indian kitchen, ranging from delicately spiced puffed crisp breads known as puris to extremely spicy parathas, stuffed breads which may be filled with anything from potatoes to ground lamb. They also feature various pulses, meats, and vegetables from both India and abroad.



So here is what we ate in Delhi ~ on 1 DAY ~ in ONE SINGLE sitting, so NOT spread out during the day, for lunch, breakfast and dinner. NO this is what Charu told her son Vidur on the phone to order for us during LUNCH!!

Everything that I hadn't tasted yet or was typical for Delhi, we had NOW!! We were sitting in a food court in the Sahara mall complex on M.G. Road in Gurgaon and this is what we ordered. I just had bites from everything and Vidur explained to me what it all was.... It was YUMMY don't get me wrong, but I felt totally embarrassed to have THAT MUCH food in front of me (and the girls) and wasting so much, while there are so many poor kids starving to death on the streets just outside of this mall. But we figured since I it was my last day here in India and one of the reasons was to try different foods from different regions, we went for it!!

While I was photographing all my food dishes, our neighbors on the next table were looking at me, laughing, talking and probably thinking... there you have another foolish tourist taking pictures of street food... haha!!

But I guess, I will never see these people again, so I enjoyed all the dishes and I am glad that I had the opportunity to taste so many different dishes in Mumbai AND Delhi!!

Raj Kachori. This is a flat disc-shaped kachori which is filled with a delicious moong dal mixture, then deep fried, and later stufed with potatoes, sev, onions and chutneys. Sev are long, crispy thin strands of gram flour, deep-fried and spiced.


PaniPuri also called Golgappas. This is a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of water, tamarind, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is small enough to fit completely in one's mouth. JJ & Jezz loved this one!


Badam milk = Almond shake (left), Chaach = spiced up buttermilk (top right), sweet Lassie = yogurt drink (right).
The girls liked the sweet Lassie the best, I really liked the Badam milk, although more for a dessert drink = very sweet!


JJ & Jezz got a bit giddy of all that food stalled on our table. LOL


Thali (from L to R: mixed veggies, dal makhni, shahi paneer, dahl bhalla and roti of course). We had this in Mumbai as well.


Idli Sambar is a savory cake made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments.


Aaloo Tikki is a Pakistani, North Indian snack made of boiled potatoes and various spices. "Aloo" means potato, and the word "tikki" means a small cutlet or croquette.


Look at all that food, and you don't even see half of it!!


Chole Bhatura s a combination of chole (spicy chick peas) and fried bread called bhatoora (made of maida flour).


Pav Bhaji is a spicy blend of all kind of vegetables in tomato gravy served with pav (roll) that is cooked with ghee = clarified butter. A hurried meal for the man in the street! We had this as well in Mumbai!


Matar Kulcha is a spicy yellow pea salsa/chaat with a thin Kulcha which is a type of an Indian flatbread made from Maida flour.


This is a fusion dish of Indian and Chinese influence: Hakka noodles with veg manchurian.


Indian food is just amazing!! Isn't it?
It is hard to re-create street food, but I am going to try to cook more Indian food at home for sure!! I bought 3 new cookbooks, one from Anjum Anand, I love her fresh and healthy recipes on the TV shows from BBC. Then there is the famous Madhur Jaffrey, she is like an institution in India and a newcomer Miss Masala by Malika Basu, a sassy take on cooking for the time deprived... So I have all the tools I need! NOW start cooking!!



I will keep you updated on my progress :-)

Do you cook Indian food at home, or do you rather go to an Indian restaurant? Much easier, but they use so much oil or ghee, that if you cook it at home it is so much healthier!!

Namaste!
Mireille xx