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In Conversation With Chef Saransh Goila

 

In Conversation With Chef Saransh Goila

By Bhuvaneshwari Sivakumar, Foodie Correspondent

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Known in the food circles as the ‘Sadak Chef’, SaranshGoila is a vibrant persona with a love for life. He is twenty-seven, he is fun to be around and most importantly, he can talk. A lot. Thanks to him, we don’t have to worry about filling the gaps. Yet, he is so lively that it is difficult to encapsulate in a few 100 words all that we witnessed.

Addressing a gathering of 20 odd people in the soothing ambience of Zo Café on a late Tuesday evening, Saransh talked about his first love – camera (surprise!), food, travel, cuisines, and recounted his first culinary experience.

He always had a love for theatre, and his passion for it began in school. Pursuing it even further, he went on to do a 6 month course with the famous theatre director Barry John. And after that came the struggle. Quipping about it, he says, “I struggled for 2 years, which apparently people believe cannot be called one, for struggling for 2 years is not really long.”

Adamant on doing food television, and absolutely averse to joining hotels and restaurants, in this pursuit, he met NDTV Good Times, FoodFood(when it was still in its stages of development),Fox and TLC. Although repeatedly told by allof them that it is a great combination – “you can act and you can cook too” nothing really materialized for Saransh. It was only after Food Foodhad called him to audition for a reality show “Food FoodMaha Challenge”that he got his first break. He recounts, “I still very pleasantly remember, when I had won the show, you know they burst crackers and everything, yeah, I didn’t react at all. So much so it was 3 in the night and I didn’t react because I didn’t know what to do. So I had won, fine, but what now? That was what was running in my head already! They had to do those fireworks again and only later they told me that the winner of the show gets to do his own show on TV. Then they got all the reactions out of me.”

According to him, cooking abilities alone won’t pave the way for you if you are on television. When you are on TV, a lot of things work for you. Your personality and character add a great deal to your overall appeal. It depends a lot on what you bring to the screen. Try observing Saransh, both onscreen and off-screen, and you’ll know what he is talking about!

Tidbits from the Q&A session:

Q. Being from a modern generation of chefs, what is your opinion about molecular and reconstructed food?

A. I have never used any molecular gastronomic techniques. I personally think that it does not work for Indian cuisines. No matter what lengths you are willing to go to, you can make a butter chicken foam, but it does not work for me. It works as a theme for a month or for a week. I don’t think it works as a restaurant which functions all across the industry.

Q. Do you plan to continue with television side by side even when you open your restaurant?

A. Like I said, my first love is television. I am very clear about it, never been pretentious about it. I am first and foremost a TV personality. Camera is my first love and food is like an affair!

Being a successful chef on television does not necessarily mean that I will be a successful restaurateur. They are not linked. It is a tricky place to be in. The only way you can pull it off, which I am struggling with as well is, to train 2 or 3 people who can understand you and then they follow the same vision. Find people with the same wavelength, get it together, and open a restaurant, only then can you market it. I can’t be making it and marketing it too. It is impossible.

Q. Food festivals are common now, but what do you make of Food Films?

A. Awesome question! The dream is to make a food film. If you notice, it has already begun. Lunchbox was a food film. Jodha Akbar had such a huge food sequence – they actually had real halwais who cooked real food. This whole sequence was shot in real time, and they cooked for masses. The food shots in Lunchbox were unbelievable. The time she was making that kofta, oh my god, my mouth started watering, it still is! Food shows are no longer the same. The vision has changed. It is more story-based now. If I am a 27 year old guy, who lives on his own in Bombay, my profile tells me that I should be doing a show on these same lines.

This country has 220 cuisines, I have actually counted. I believe in travelling, I believe in learning from people, I believe in learning any cuisine that comes my way, though I choose to be an Indian specialist, because I can relate to it the most.

People who don’t know, I used to weigh 95kgs, now I am 66! A friend from college once asked “Why don’t you become one of those chefs who are very fit?” Eight years back, I couldn’t think of a chef who was fit. And, he was right. He planted that idea in my head. I ran every day for 2 years, no gym, I hate them, no diets,and I believe that there is a ‘die’ in diet, no diet, never.

Travel changes you as a person and also as a chef. I still remember, on the ninth day of “Roti, Rasta aur India” I had a huge fight with the crew that “You don’t have the right knife for me to chop the vegetables with; you are making me squeeze lemons with my hand.” I had to make some saag, and obviously I chopped as finely as I could with my knife, which was blunt. After 15 days of shooting, my first episode went on air, and among the first messages I ever got in my life, I received one which said “It was so good to see you squeezing lemons with your hand.” It was enlightening! I never thought someone would want to see me use my hands! I realized that at the end of the day we are dealing with common people, and they like things which are basic and are easier to do back in their houses.

We wish Saransh the best of luck for all his future endeavours, and also thank ThnkMkt for organizing this amazing interactive session!

 

 

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WHY INDIAN FOOD IS MORE THAN CURRY!

 

 

WHY INDIAN FOOD IS MORE THAN CURRY!

By Shreya Sofat

Indian cuisine is probably the most diverse cuisine in the world but sadly the perception is that Indian food is just “curry”. The antiquated heritage of Indian cuisine goes back thousands of years and boasts of an assorted menu of cuisines and not just one cuisine. This includes a whopping 300 ways of cooking a potato. While Indian food is synonymous with ‘curry, naan bread and pappadoms’, there is certainly more to it. Today’s era of cultural understanding requires a better awareness of authentic Indian food.

 The ‘curry-muncher’ tag for Indians is just too stereotypical.  It’s like saying the Japanese are sushi-munchers and Italians are pasta-munchers. It is unfortunate that the image of Indian food has got pigeon-holed into a masala dabba. This perception is so engrained that every time the Indian opens a lunch box, he/she gets asked ‘Is it curry?’

Ask an Indian in India where you can have curry and in all likelihood, he or she would give you a blank look as this strange word ‘curry’ is not found in Indian vocabulary. In fact only NRIs are familiar with this stereotyped word. The closest word is ‘kari’ in Tamil. The general perception of Indian food comes from the takeaway curry in Indian restaurants or food courts. But what is not known is that these popular takeaway foods are generally the ones reserved for special occasions.

Anyway, here is a diversity test on Indian food. How many of us know about the ‘Idiappam’ and ‘Puttu’ from South India or the Maharashtrian ‘Bhaakhar vadi’, ‘Ussal Vadaa’ and ‘Pitla’ or the Bengali ‘Macher Jol’ or ‘Bangla Kichudi’. Tried the Gujarati ‘Ponk’ or ‘Jowar Kichu’? How about a Kashmiri ‘Kahwa’ or the Garhwali ‘Fanna’? What about the Kumouni ‘Mandua ki Roti’, the Konkani ‘Garadudde Paayas’, the Odiya ‘Jahni Posta’ or the Himachali ‘Channa Madra’? Because India is such a diverse country, even we Indians might not know some of these recipes. “Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are” once said the renowned French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Not sure how Brillat-Savarin would have fared in this test.

Indian cuisine is plausibly the most varied food­ culture in the world that even within a state, there are different cuisines and food combinations.This is so complex that it’s difficult to define Indian cuisine. In fact, Indian cuisine is a misnomer as there is no such thing as one Indian cuisine.

While the popular Chicken tikka masalas and the Nana breads have traveled far and wide into the food courts around the world, the authentic Indian and regional cuisine is still unexplored by the masses. Just take the aloo (potato) recipes from India. Though it is well known that India has some 300 different ways to cook a potato, how many aloo recipes could one think of?

Given this depth and diversity, the menu cards in Indian restaurants hardly reflect the variety in India’s cuisine. Indian restaurant food for some reason gets restricted to North Western Indian food (the Punjabi/Mughlai type) and that too cooked to suit the local taste. Obviously there’s more to Indian cuisine than just Punjabi cooking.

What an overseas Indian family eats at home is rarely the same flavour and taste to what is available in Indian restaurants. The locals’ only exposure to Indian food is through Indian restaurants and most people don’t have enough interaction with Indian families to see what is eaten on a daily basis.

Moreover, when one goes to these Indian food joints, one gets asked a surprising question ‘How would you like it – Mild, Medium or Hot?’ Some even give a fourth option i.e. the ‘Extreme!  Bring it on.’ option. Go to a regular dhaaba in Punjab or a restaurant in Chennai and ask for “mild” food, the guy will respond with a ‘whaaat?’ and a strange look reserved specially for a desi NRI.

The art of cookery has been so perfected in the 10,000 year old continuous Indian civilisation that besides the flavour they also have excellent health value. Many recipes that are based on Ayurvedic principles not only satisfy the taste buds but also take care of the physical well-being. The goodness in the masalas used widely in Indian cooking is well-documented and the subject of regular research.

So, Indian food is not just one type of food. Served authentically in the right portion size, it can be the right food for the right climate and for the right body type.

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Crazy Bruno

Happiness is.. good food at your doorstep

By Shreya Chowdhury

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Hungry at night and too busy and lazy to venture out at that hour, a cute ‘crazy’ pup named Bruno has the answer. Crazy Bruno is a food manufacturing unit with an elaborate home delivery network which prepares exotic food and arranges home delivery from 7pm to 4am anywhere in South Delhi. Currently based near New Friends Colony, they are the new DONs of home delivery in town, with zomato rating them 3.5 in just one and a half months of their inception. Owners Abhishek, Hemant, Ashish, Akhil and Omaid have achieved a miniscule part of their dream of developing an elaborate food preparation station and providing an efficient, fast and effective  delivery mechanism, mixing their love for food with business.

The most popular items looks to be their mouth-watering chicken manchurian combo and  tandoori momos. Their noodles have a very  homely taste which is a very pleasant and welcome change from the types one would see in restaurants and food joints. The manchurian, though a little tangy, tastes pretty good. The chilli paneer is definitely a winner! The paneer is soft and tender, with a slightly spicy gravy which is delicious. Imagine getting hot steamy chicken  momos with  spicy chutney delivered right at your doorsteps! What more could a momo fan ask for? The tandoori momos are indeed, a treat to savour and a delight to the taste buds, with the Tibetan momos given a interesting Punjabi twist. Their Indian menu is quite a killer too. The paneer tikka salad has good flavour, but the butter chicken is simply a bomb! Succulent chicken with thick creamy tomato gravy is, in one word, heaven! However, their star is definitely their burgers! Soft buns with a tasty proportion of patty and a generous helping of cheese and mayonnaise are a fabulous combination. These burgers are prepared with an exciting  new recipe.

Crazy Bruno has also started a little experiment called Deal of the Night (DON), where they give special offers, discounts, a variety of items, and a whole lot of other exciting features. They also cater to Birthdays and House Parties. For good quality food without having to burn a hole in the pocket, Crazy Bruno is just a call away. In this tech-savvy world, they even take orders on WhatsApp. With Crazy Bruno in town, happiness is good, exciting, exotic and mouth-watering food delivered at your doorstep!

website:-www.crazybruno.in

phone number:- +91- 9899011399

 

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Spring Food Festival

 

 

USHERING SPRING WITH FOOD

By Shreya Chowdhury

1909302_601697826580769_1601033166_oSpring, the season of joy, colour, fun and frolic, greenery all around, of sweet fragrance of fresh flowers and chirping of birds, was experienced in its full splendor at Lajpat Bhavan on 9th February, 2014 on the occasion of the Spring Food Festival, the annual fund-raiser organized by the Sisters of the People’s Society for underprivileged children. It was a colourful affair, full of life, with kids playing in the trampoline and riding the giant wheel, vibrant stalls selling beautiful knick-knacks and a whole lot of exquisite wares. The main attraction, however, was undoubtedly the food which ranged from Thai curry and rice, Lebanese food to Rajasthani thali, South Indian dosas to pakoras, phirni and ice cream. It was, as one would aptly call it, a foodie’s paradise, a gourmet’s delight.

1459980_601698636580688_868046316_nPeople of all ages and from various walks of life, streamed around the food stalls in their efforts towards tickling their taste buds. Not to be left behind, we also made most of our time there sampling the delicacies and gorging on the lavish display. Our first stop was the stall where two elderly women were selling aloo and gobi pakoras. These were absolutely mouth-watering and appeared straight out of grandma’s kitchen and, indeed, North Indian delicacies at their best! Our next stop was the stall selling exquisite momos. We were lucky to get there in time as they were completely sold out and we were, in fact, the last ones to savour the steamy hot momos, which were simply brilliant. The chicken momos were soft and well-seasoned and completely out of the world! The Shephard’s pie was rather hot but, nevertheless, delicious even though a bit too cheesy. The meat was tender, well-cooked and abounding with the aroma of exquisite spices! The raj kachoris were, on the other hand, a little disappointing. They were damp and the stuffing inside was a wee bit bland.

1836799_601699686580583_1428800478_oThe dish of the day was, no doubt, the ‘luchi mangsho’ (puri and mutton). The long queue and even longer wait was absolutely worth the penny. Fluffy luchis with tenderly home-made mutton along with chana daal and tomato chutney was absolutely delicious. They appeared to be straight out of the streets of Kolkata. There was also an assortment of desserts. The Zuchini cake was quite a pleasant surprise, but the chocolate truffle cake was definitely the winner and, in one word, awesome!

The afternoon was, indeed, very memorable and a delightful experience for all who attended the festival since there was a brilliant display of exquisite India food at its best, from North to South, East to West, as well as a good sprinkling of Western food in the form of cakes, pastries and ice creams. It was a wonderful afternoon spent well, and the very look of the happy and contented faces of visitors leaving the venue of the Spring Food Festival after a hearty meal gave the impression that spring was, indeed, in the air and had been ushered in a gorgeous manner in the Spring Food Festival with excellent food.

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THE DELHI STREET FOOD FEST

THE DELHI STREET FOOD FEST

(Not just another fest)

-Navani Satija

So, the winter chill is on and along with it is ‘the random-thought-gush’. And during this time came the most awaited Saturday. Be it, while brushing in the morning to the talks at the breakfast table or from spending the not-so-fun travelling time in the metro to the boring afternoon coaching session, I spent my entire day thinking about the delicacies across the states in India. Finally came the moment when I was about to have the experience of my lifetime. Yes! It was the much talked about Delhi Street Food Festival held at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium. The most amazing part of it was to witness different cuisines spread all over India unite together in one arena just to serve the foodie-delhites whole heartedly.

IMG_0280This food fest saw not just the delhites but even a lot of tourists throng into the arena to relish the various tastes across India. Another best part of this whole festival was the pricing of the stuff offered by the 50+ stalls set up there.

I decided to take two rounds of the whole fest- first being the photo-walk to capture this unique experience, while checking out what was best to try and the second being the eating part which was totally worth it. So, I started off with the MAWA KI KACHORI available at the initial stalls, which was a cold sweet version of any regular kachori you would have had till date, only difference being that it was dipped in sugar syrup. It was the very first time I had a sweet kachori and it half lived up to all the excitement.

Next, to prove all the false allegations wrong that I don’t opt for spicy food ever, I went in for the spicy VEGETARIAN PANEER KATHI ROLL. It was this plate loaded with hot, strikingly orange, big chunks of soya and paneer balls served with rumaali roti. Extremely hot, just to accompany the cold chill around, it was extremely spicy and full of countless masalas (trust me!).

Moving on ahead, I spotted the word ‘Punjab’ which rekindled my inherent Punjabi soul craving for SARSON KA SAAG AUR MAKKI KI ROTI. (And no prizes for guessing!) It had to be there. But, honestly I’d never thought that I’d be having the best sarson ka saag till date. Along with this they even offered a big chunk of pure white butter and gur (jaggery) which was customary. The team handling the stall were these people who’d come from Patiala and owned a well known dhaba there and since they were Punjabis, they seemed to be up for a chat anytime.

Similarly, there were various other stalls representing other states. For example, there was the Rajasthani stall that I went to and tried their MIRCHI BADA and PYAAZ KACHORI. Now, this was surely one place that you couldn’t afford to miss. The mirchi bada was like a huge chunk of hot fiery green chilly fried with around dozen masalas. It was totally worth trying if you could bear spicy. Nonetheless, the pyaaz kachori was stuffed with lots of onion and other condiments freshly dripped in oil.

Finally, as I walked further I had arrived at the stalls that offered hot fresh jalebis and gulab jaamuns. Needless to say, these were the Punjabi-dominated stalls. Here you’d find people across all ages completely entranced in all the sweetness.

And after all that I’ve tried to express about this matchless experience, there still remains some part which is inexplicable. So, I’d let it be unexplained for this would hold its true essence.

Wishing that everyone gets such opportunities to eat their heart out!

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Monkey Bar

Monkey Bar

By Poorva Shourie

You know that the food of a restaurant is mind numbingly awesome when you crave for it on a Sundaymorning. True story! And this, according to me, is the best way to introduce the much talked about Monkey Bar.

Monkey Bar is a Gastropub from Bangalore that has everything you need for a good time; mouth watering food, great music, brilliant ambience and superb service!

The minute you enter this ”Gastropub”, the first thing that hits you is the atmosphere. There is this contagious vibe that I have never experienced in any other restaurant before. Everyone working in the restaurant exudes this vibe and it’s very difficult not to catch it and be a part of it. From the moment you enter Monkey Bar its hard not to feel happy.

The place has been done up nicely – it’s located at the glass pyramid building where Ministry of Sound stood previously. They have used the glass building to its advantage – the sunlight gives the restaurant a very warm and fuzzy feeling. The interiors are very raw and rustic. The walls bare a look of bricks and exposed water pipes and are adorned with quirky posters that entertain you as you wait for your food. There is also a pool table and a foosball table that can be used free of charge (they really know how to earn those brownie points).

While the ambience is great and the music is fabulous, the service is impeccable and the entertainment is plenty, what really stands out is their food!

They have the best, and I mean THE best burgers in the City! Almost all burgers come with caramelized onions (a major win), mayonnaise, lettuce and mouth-melting meat fillings. The bread of the burger is soft but what is softer is the patty- chicken, lamb or beef. One bite and you are guaranteed a free trip to foodie heaven. Since I am a chicken lover, I root for the Rooster Booster however if you have no qualms about beef or lamb, go for the MoBar Burger, the Cheese Burger and/or the Lamb Burger.

You could also sink your teeth in the Sea Food Sliders – three mini burgers with fish and prawn fillings topped with onions, mayo and mustard. For any Sea Food lover, this is their stairway to heaven. These patties are so soft that they almost melt in your mouth. In fact they had to make three small patties in order to prevent it from breaking.

If burgers don’t float your boat then you can always have the Bacon Wrapped Tandoori Sausage Dog. When a hot dog is wrapped in bacon, its can hardly ever go wrong, however what makes this Hot Dog really good is its pork sausage. The Keema Bao is also a great dish to try – it’s like a big dumpling stuffed with Keema and served with mutton Broth. The Keema filling is flavorful but the mutton broth adds that extra punch to the dish.

The best way to top all this delicious food is with a dessert! A must try is the Mobar Sundae – layers of chocolate ice cream, cake, Nutella (yes Nutella) chocolate spread, cookie and tutti-frutti. It’s a wholesome meal in itself, however the only thing that I didn’t like on it was the tutti-frutti and the cold,rather soggy cookie. If the cookie was crunchy and the dessert was sans the tutti-frutti, it would’ve been nothing short of perfection. Also another great chocolaty dessert is the Flourless Chocolate XS Cake – my tip, order it with ice cream.

I can go on and on about the food at Monkey Bar but personally I believe that no matter how much one raves about the food here, it’s something everyone needs to experience for themselves. So this weekend, head to Monkey Bar and excuse me while I go wipe the puddle of drool off the floor.

Price for Two: Rs. 2000 approx.

Address: Plot 11, Upper Ground Floor, LSC, Pocket c 6 & 7, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

Phone Number: 011-30146033 ext.855

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wonder wraps

Wonder Wraps

By Surabhi Bakshi

Satya Niketan, the heart of South Delhi is a foodie’s paradise. You get everything from Chinese to Punjabi, Italian to south Indian, it has something to please everyone’s taste buds. Off late a lot of food joints have opened up but the one that has caught everyone’s eye is 36 Chowringhee Lane.Located just opposite to the famous Venkateshwara college’s main gate, this place has been serving awesome rolls since long. It won’t be wrong to say that Chowringhee started the roll culture in Delhi. Their menu boasts of a variety of succulent,mouth-watering and delicious rolls. For the hard core non-vegetarians the double egg and the double chicken garlic roll is a must have. What stole my heart was the double chicken tikka roll served with hot and spicy BBQ sauce, it actually leaves you craving for more.

The veggies shouldn’t feel disappointed because this joint has a lot to offer to satiate their palate as well, the double paneer roll, soya chap roll, mushroom roll taste heavenly.

If you are one of those who are cleanliness freaks then you are likely to get a bit disappointed because all the rolls are made on the same pan and the spoon used for the egg and the other veg items is also the same and the rolls are a bit oily(definitely not for the diet conscious and the aspiring models ).

The prices are competitive so you can always trade them off for a healthier sub or steamed momos that are served next door. Also they have opened up their branch in Kamla Nagar market(North Campus) where they also serve delicious shawarmas all for a sum of 40. Here you also get an extra helping of mayonnaise,BBQ sauce,Tikka sauce only for Rs.10.

Go to this place to enjoy a quick,no frills bite.The rolls are fresh,hot and amazing and once you start eating them you will surely crave for more.

Piece of advice: If you want to avoid something then avoid the Aloo rolls (until, you’re an absolute potato person, that is.)

 

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LEVEL 2, RADISSON BLU

LEVEL 2, RADISSON BLU

By Samridhi Jain

A decade back there was dearth of good hotels in west Delhi, to have a proper dining experience, one had to think and ponder where to go and so, having a good buffet was like a distant dream. But then came in Radisson Blu and brought us two restaurants- Indyaki and Level 2 for Indian and continental cuisine respectively.  I went for the ‘Level 2’ restaurant and it proved to be a ‘foodie’s paradise’, the best thing about it is that through all these years Radisson Blu has been able to maintain its standard in every new branch it has opened. It is known for its high standards and international style and this restaurant is not an exception, the whole place spells of sophistication. It is calm and quiet, just perfect to spend a lovely evening, I enjoyed the amazing buffet, starting from salads to appetizers and then you’ve got soup, main course and desserts.

Trust me when I say that, every single dish was impeccable. Level 2 provides continental food and the salad, one can also make pick and choose the ingredients to be put in his salad dish or go for a pre-prepared and finely presented salad dish, there is good variety to choose from in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. If you’re not in the mood for salads, don’t worry, they’ve got lots of starters to get you hooked up and tempted, the variety in the starters is huge- for  vegetarians, they provide Paneer Tikka , Kebab, crispy babycorn in schezwan sauce, Pizza and Pastas.

The starters and soups are prepared and served though live kitchen which looked really nice and the pizza was hand tossed and freshly baked, although the starters are enough to fill your stomach but only the look of the main course will make you want to overeat. The list in the menu is huge, so much so that you cannot recollect all of the names.

The food went well with the ambience of the place, it was combination of western and Indian decor to make everyone feel welcomed, with its dim lights, it is the perfect dine-out for a couple, family or formal meetings. The light jazz music in the background spices things up as you just want to relax and savour everything that you eat. Also, the service doesn’t let you stop soon- they serve you with sweet smiles and answer all your queries which reflects the knowledge and coherence in the staff, everyone well aware of what are they serving. Everything was up to the mark. In fact, even the cutlery was according to the dishes being served. Last but not the least, the ending part of a great meal is a great dessert, which was truly amazing. They served mud cake, Strawberry Cheese Cake, Orange Pannacotta (sugar free), Blueberry crumble, Kiwi Mousse(eggless), Walnut pudding, Pineapple Halwa and Malai Tikki.

The desserts were for every kind of person- you’ve got eggless for pure vegetarians, sugar free for dieticians who can enjoy dessert without taking in a lot of sugar and whatever you choose to have, feels like a piece of heaven, you can just feast upon all the desserts all night long and you won’t get tired. It’s definitely one time stopover and then you can decide for yourself.

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Dilli ke Pakwan Festival

Dilli ke Pakwan Festival

By Prerna Sinha

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This street food festival organized by the Delhi Tourism from 23 – 29 Dec’13 was an experience, back to back stalls for kilometers, and free entry, what else does a foodie need?

The fest, organized at Baba Khadak Singh marg appeared so colourful and happy, visited by thousands of people from all walks of life- children, students, professionals and elders, everyone turned up to satiate their taste buds. Stalls serving street food had decked up the whole area- Rajasthani, Punjabi, Bihari, Mughlai, South Indian, you name it and you could savor on it.

1510924_577606015656617_1758581090_nSweet, Spicy or sour every delicacy was yummy, carrying the traditional touch from its area of origin, be it Changezi Chicken, Daulati Chaat or Moong dal kepakore. Menu from different stalls covered wide range of food from the states. Stalls from Rajasthan tempted people into trying Daal bhaati choorma, moong dal ke pakode, pyaazkikachori, kesariyajalebi. The stalls serving fish and Changezi chicken were some of the most popular ones since the non vegetarian food stalls were lesser in number than vegetarian food.
Typical street food from Delhi included scrumptious chhole bhature, mashhooor cheele, tikki chaat, soya chaap and bread pakore. The variety of food presented from different parts of the country was incredible.

1512740_577601462323739_1995800184_nA very successful fest, gave Delhiites the reason to come out of home and taste the traditional food from across the country at one place. People also looked at this as an opportunity to spend time with family, friends, away from the monotony of life and thoroughly enjoyed it, with bright sun!

We look forward to more fests of the kind in future.

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Street Food Festival

Street Food Festival-2013

A joke that has been doing the rounds recently is that, the 3rd National Street Food Festival organised by The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) in Delhi was a bigger hit than Dhoom 3! Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was declared HOUSEFUL.

The three day event which began on 20th December and lasted till the 22nd of December, witnessed a footfall of almost 18,000 people. The catchphrase of the gastronomic affair was ‘Swad hai, Romanch hai, Street Foods ki Baat hi kuch aur hai’.

Street food vendors from all across India had come to participate and flaunt their regional speciality. The event was organised by NASVI in order to promote, professionalise and brand street foods. It was also aimed at influencing the policy makers in order to transform the usually ignored genre into a secure zone.

The entry fee was merely Rs.30 and totally, worth it all. Stalls from Chandigarh, U.P., Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Assam and host state Delhi were seen. The fest had something for everybody. The ones having a sweet tooth indulged themselves in desserts like jalebi- rabri and kulfi, while the hard core vegetarians found sarsoon ka saag with makke ki roti to their delight. There were ample options even for the non-vegetarians; there were seekh kababs, chicken tikka, mutton and chicken korma, biryani, fish tikka and so much more. The list can go on.

The first stall that caught my eye was of Bihar. Their speciality ‘littli chokha’ was a popular demand. Litti, a small naan- like thing is made with flour and a ‘sattu’ stuffing and is served with potato curry or a non-veg curry.

Chicken tikka rolls from the Mughlai Cuisine stall were next on my plate. Amazingly soft and perfectly barbecued tikkas tasted heavenly with the green chutney and lemon. The roll was worth Rs. 80/-

The Tamil Nadu stall had Tamarind Rice, Pyaaz pakodas and puddu to offer. I tried the puddus which were cute rice balls. Made of rice, peas, chopped onions and green coriander, they were served with green chutney and sadly, were not so tasty as they looked.

The famous Mysore Pak from Mysore was also a hit with the people.

I then jumped to the Punjab Stall which offered amazing chicken and sarsoon ka saag. It was served traditionally with makke ki roti.

The aloo bada at the Chandigarh Stall was also popular among the visitors. It was a different kind of bread roll, one can say, without the bread of course. The stuffing was similar, that of mashed potatoes and tasted similar too.

The jalebi rabri was the best one I have ever had. The jalebis were crispy, aptly sweetened and tasted very delicious with the creamy rabri.

The Lucknow stall also had interesting dishes on its menu. It had Mughlai Biryani and Boti Kabab for all. The Biryani was amazing. The rice was soft, pleasant and nicely coloured.
Street food is a carrier of culture and heritage and festivals like these help us revive this truth.

My experience at the fest was wonderful. There was so much to explore, so many foodies to meet, so much love to share!