Old Delhi Brunch- First of the many more walks to come

I was bored. Bored of sitting home all day with absolutely nothing to do but laze around. The thing about students is that if you give them two months of extreme studies, they start wanting a holiday. But, if you actually give them a week off, day 2 the signs of boredom start showing. So, to have a slight change in routine, my mother and I decided to go for a food walk.

Tickets were booked through BookMyShow and costed around 800 for two. A fairly decent price. The meeting point was Chawri Bazar metro station at 0830 hrs. By 0845 hrs everyone had assembled and we had to pool in 500 per person for the food. Honestly, I thought that was inclusive of the 400 but I guess not. And so the journey began.

Walking through the narrow winding streets of old Delhi and being hit by fragrances ranging from flowers to freshly cut dhaniya, stews and other items on the stove, bubbling away, we reached our first destination.

Shyam sweets (estd. 1910) offered us two of the most cherished local dishes, Nagori halwa and bedmi puri. My personal favourite was the halwa not just because of the taste but the fun way of eating it. A small puri is given along and just like how one has gol gappe, you fill the puri with the halwa and take a bite into it. With 8 more stops to go, we consciously had to stop eating and move on with the expedition.

A few feet away, we were lucky to find Daulat ki chaat waiting for us. A winter delicacy made of milk and cream, garnished with sugar and khoya, this dish truly represents all that is antique in this old city. 

Ahead on the walk, through winding streets and getting plastered on the walls trying to give way to cars and bikes, we went for chole kulche at Loten ji Chole Wale. Established in 1918, the shop is set up at 0730 hrs and closes by 1030 hrs. Along with chole kulche, they prepare a special beverage made of the water in which the chole was boiled. May not sound as appealing, but taste wise, it clears all the checklists.

Coming to Old Delhi and not having nahari and paaya, I would consider it a cardinal sin, So, our next stop was at Karim's, the famous restaurant that offers the best of Mughlai. Established in 1913 and being run by the fifth generation, we had nahari and paaya with khameer roti. Nahari was my personal favourite, though my mother enjoyed paaya more. The khameer roti was one that caught my attention. Unlike the other breads made here, this involves the addition of yeast which gives it the layered texture and softness. 

Another few minutes of walk along the main Chawri Bazaar, our next stop was at Rehmaan Foods where we had Sheer maal which, to me, felt like an Indian version of a waffle. The subtle sweetness combined with a creamy layer covered by a glazed, crunchy surface, it proved to me, yet again, that sweets do not have to be overpoweringly sugary to appreciate. 

A few shops ahead, our next stop was at Chaina Ram at Fatehpuri Chowk. They claim to be the pioneers of Karachi halwa in Old Delhi. Established in 1901 and still following the same age old recipes, the owners of this sweet shop do not believe in expanding their name or trying new recipes. Their idea is to give all that they can through one shop and one recipe, going from one generation to the next. Me not being a very big fan of Karachi halwa found Sindhi ghevar as the next best dish they have to offer. A bigger and thinner version of jalebi, this ghevar was so good that we decided to take some back home. 

After a two hour walk, we needed a place that could give us something warm and toasty to gulp down and a place to rest our legs. Inderji Chai ki Dukan gave us just that. Hot, steaming chai with buttered toast and a small coven to sit and relax, it was a much needed break from all the hub-bub on the streets. 

Three more stops to make, many people were closing in on their saturation points. But as soon as we reached Hemchand Ladli Prasad sweet shop and got a whiff of the milk cake and rabri, our palettes started screaming for a taste. Run my the fourth generation, this place offers the best rabri and milk cake of Delhi. Another box to take back home, of course.  

On to the main market road, chole bhature at Shiv Mishtan Bhandar was our last eatery joint. Why would this be different from other chole bhature? Well, because being a Jain based restaurant, there is not a speck of onions or garlic. But still, it managed to taste amazing. My mother was completely full and could just have half a bhatura, but somehow my appetite wasn't half as satisfied which came as a shock because whenever I'm at school, I barely eat anything. 

As the walk came to an end, our final destination was Amritsari lassi shop where we finally capped our desire to eat more by gulping down creamy lassi. I had the namkeen lassi made of jeera and other spices. As the lassi washed my palette and gave a soothing, cool after effect I was almost ready for another food walk.




By 1245 hrs, our eating escapade came to an end and as we walked back to the metro station, with heavy eyes and a satisfied stomach, we went over all the dishes. The next thing on our minds was a nice long nap at home.

Credits:
Information- My dear mother
Pictures- Myself