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Palate Mini: Satiating the taste buds of Delhiites

Palate Mini: Satiating the taste buds of Delhiites

By Priyali Prakash

11064344_950772831599975_1047692751_oThe Palate Food Festival organised in November 2014 by Aditi Kapoor and Ruchi Sibal, in association with NDMC, was a hugely successful event. The organisers followed it up with the ongoing ‘Palate Mini’, a miniature version of the original fest, as the name suggests.

Palate Mini has been running for two days and will end on March 15. The festival is being held in Nehru Park in Chanakyapuri, Delhi. The indecisive weather, fluctuating between sunny and cloudy and cool of winter winds and the warmth of summer, is the perfect time for an outdoor celebration of food. With the picturesque setting amidst vivid flowers that mark the season of spring, this festival is rightly being called the ‘Spring Fest’.

Palate Mini gives Delhiites a chance to taste some of the best desserts in town, ranging from cupcakes and fresh nitro ice creams to waffles and apple pies. The best thing about this fest is that not only it gives established restaurants a chance to showcase their products, market zone vendors are also given the opportunity to reach out to the general public and promote their delicacies.

We have the famous Elma’s pronouncing its superiority in the realm of desserts ‘like a boss’, but we also have the Sinful Bites selling very pretty looking mini cupcakes and brownies, which also taste as amazing as they look. Meanwhile, the Leela Palace is using this platform to launch their new bakery. The usual customer will definitely find himself spoilt for choice.

Apart from desserts, other parts of the meal in varying cuisines have also been taken care of.  Sakae Sushi is offering authentic sushi experience while Hyderabad House promises to take you on a journey of exquisite Hyderabadi experience through their delectable food. Fat Lulu’s is here with their pizzas and so is Royal China, aiming to give us a taste of authentic Chinese food.

Apart from a wide variety of options to choose from, this place also has organic fruits and vegetables, fresh juices, homemade dips and pickles and even crockery for sale. There is also an activity corner for little kids.

As the organisers call it, this festival aims to provide a ‘complete community experience’ and looking at the ever increasing crowd in this park, we can surely say that they are quite successful in their endeavour.

 

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.
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Spaghetti Kitchen – “Make Your Own Pasta” Festival

Spaghetti Kitchen – “Make Your Own Pasta” Festival

By Nikita Saxena

A few days ago I had the opportunity of paying a visit to Spaghetti Kitchen and trying out their latest offering to all Italian foodies alike, “Make Your Own Pasta” Festival. Situated in a plush corner of the Pacific Mall in the Tagore Garden locale, the restaurant and its other branches in the National Capital Territory region (such as Noida, Gurgaon Sector 29, and others) and the country are offering its clientele a chance to mix and match their pastas, right from the pasta type to the sauce and the choice of vegetables and meats to be added. Upon reaching my destination, Mr. Govind, the area manager for the North India zone, guided me graciously through the range of various culinary choices as provided in the new menu specially crafted for their festival, which aims to cater to all kinds of choices, and to avoid the miscommunication and consequent confusion between chefs and their customers. Thus, it also provides a much welcome break from the monotony presented by the standard pasta menu, and helps bring about new food innovations as well. The festival started on the 15th of December last year and is continuing well into the new year, till the 31st of January.

Spaghetti Kitchen has an open-air kitchen and bar, which is certainly an added bonus for the curious mind and the hygienic consumer. The restaurant certainly scores well on the ambience, with the semi-rustic Italian interiors, comfortable wooden decor, and the soft relaxed lighting all complementing each other. The music was neither too overwhelmingly loud nor exceedingly soft, and comprised mainly of upbeat Italian folk music and other lively global tunes. After much consideration, Mr. Govind suggested that I go about the festival by sampling random combinations, much in the fashion of a blind taste test, and then decide whether the experience was worth it. My pasta journey started off on a sumptuous note, with a complimentary basket of different types of breads fresh from the oven. They were deliciously moist, crisp, and whole wheat in their composition. In no time the meticulously put assortment of breadsticks, flavoured round breads, and soft miniature buns was over, along with some strawberry and kiwi flavoured margaritas, which were sweet, light, refreshing to the palate, and ample in their natural taste, with an ingenious sprinkling of sugar on the rim.

IMG-20150115-WA0009The servers were well-spoken and served me small but adequate portions of each combination to sample so as to minimize wastage, after describing to me the ingredients and the cooking methods used in making each dish. I first tried the penne pomodoro piquante, a classic red sauce pasta preparation cooked in balsamic, and topped with burnt dried chillies and capers. It was earthy and tangy in its aroma and taste, and was neither too hot nor too spicy. Next I had the blackened chicken alfredo fettucine, a white sauce pasta which was super cheesy, soft and easy. This dish came with a very liberal but proportionate serving of braised chicken, which was tender, juicy, and crispy, and was cooked and spiced to perfection, and is simply a delight for the non-vegetarian fine diner. I was served a marinara next, a red sauce pasta dish comprising of the whole wheat spaghetti, which was a much needed healthy twist in my Italian indulgence, and wholesome in flavour and pleasant in texture as well. The marinara, as the name suggests, comprises of calamari (a fried squid preparation) and other mixed seafood, and contains pickled onions, olives, and capers in addition to its non-vegetarian components. It was certainly a different kind of Italian delicacy, and added zest to my culinary experience in the city of Delhi where you mainly get vegetable or chicken variants of pasta. The seafood was wonderfully incorporated into the dish, and while none of the pungent smells that one associates with fish was present anywhere, its unique taste and aroma were intact.

IMG-20150115-WA0005I had the pesto feta next, a vegetarian pasta dish cooked in the classic Italian green basil and garlic infusion as the name indicates. It was rich and creamy, delightfully refreshing to the taste buds, and topped with chopped cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and melting chunks of feta cheese. The pasta type used in making the pesto feta was the farfalle, which literally means “butterflies” in Italian and is distinguished by its bow-tie shape. The classic carbonara followed after this, made with spirelli pasta cooked along with farm fresh ham and bacon in a thick egg and white cream sauce. In the meantime, I had a steaming hot cup of cafe mocha, which was light and frothy throughout, and abundant in its aroma and flavour. Since I am partial to extra milky and substantially sweetened caffeinated beverages, the cafe mocha was a light and nice accompaniment in the middle of my meal. I concluded my journey of pastas by thoroughly relishing the smoked vegetable white sauce pasta cooked with bell peppers, zucchini, and other vegetables along with penne pasta in alfredo sauce. I had another round of beverages, and enjoyed a virgin mojito and a cold coffee mocha with equal gusto. The mojito was served in a tall glass with a straw and diced lemon, and was minty, cool, and revitalizing after all the heavy eating. It was garnished with fresh mint leaves and crushed ice on the top which gave it a vibrant slushy zest. The cold coffee was much similar in its presentation, and was an easy-to-sip slush of milk chocolate and coffee blended together in perfection.

IMG-20150116-WA0028On Mr. Govind’s suggestion, I tried some other specialties off Spaghetti Kitchen’s standard menu. The all vegetable pizza proved to be something that I came back for second helpings. Staying true to the original Italian thin crust pizza, the slices were toasted to a nice light brown with plenty of mushrooms, herbs, corn, olives, sundried tomatoes, and bell peppers as topping and melted cheese. While it certainly differed from most deep dish and thick crust pizzas as made by commercial food chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino’s, it was a much better gastronomic experience with its crunchiness and earthy flavours. I was introduced to the brilliant head chef, Mr. Ajay Verma, and thanked him for his wonderful food creations. Much to any foodie’s delight, I made a grand finish with a sumptuous dessert course. The sizzling brownie satiated my sweet tooth with its marvellous presentation, rich flavours, and warm, gooey texture. It consisted of a soft chocolate brownie, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and dried fruits and nuts on a hot iron pan. My server brought it on the table along with a small pot of chocolate sauce, and poured it all over the dish, and one can only eat the end result to believe it. I also had a small croissant, which was oven fresh crisp on the outside and buttery on the inside. Finally I tasted the tiramisu, which had a soft creamy consistency and a slightly milky and sweet taste all through. Staying true to the classic version, this tiramisu was also coffee flavoured, and was served in a huge glass with coffee powder sprinkled on the top.

Spaghetti Kitchen was a whole new eating out experience, and I highly recommend everyone to go and try out their pasta festival. It is a novel concept with a lot of potential, and an opportunity that should not be missed by any Italian food lover currently in the city. It is a fine culinary experience, one that will leave you and your taste buds comfortably warm and fully satisfied by the end of your visit. So go and visit your nearest Spaghetti Kitchen outlet now, and indulge yourself in some heavenly pasta goodness.

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.
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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.

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-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!

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.
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Dilli ke Pakwan Festival

Dilli ke Pakwan Festival

By Prerna Sinha

1545739_577600722323813_1661898511_n

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.

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.
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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!

Anubhav Sapra
Anubhav Sapra is an avid foodie! He is a Founder but proudly calls himself a Foodie-in-chief at Delhi Food Walks. He is also a street-food and Indian regional cuisine connoisseur and loves to write about street-food.