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Hira Lal Chaat Corner

From past 100 years, this little joint is serving variety of delicacies.  This place claims to invent a chaat. Surprisingly its neither deep fried nor oily. It is rather refreshing and healthy, as it’s all fruit. Don’t confuse this with any normal fruit chaat, Kulliya Chaat is no ordinary chaat.

Asking about the idea of kulliya chaat, the owner said, One day I was experimenting by hollowing out the potato and filling it with spices and lemon juice, it tasted nice and I started selling it along with our other items.

The word Kulliya is suppose to have been named after the “Kullhad”. Kuliya or Kulle is fruit and vegetable cups that are scooped out of its flesh and then filled with flavored stuffing. The Kulliya Chaat is a quintessential street food sold in Old Delhi.

This wonderful edition of Fruit Chaat is great in taste and has an impeccable flavor. The fruits induces freshness, while tangy Chaat Masala gives it a marvelous flavor.

Not to forget, the lemon juice balances the overall sweetness and makes it more delicious. They add boiled Chickepeas and fresh Pomegranate seeds. The crunchiness of Pomegranate contrasts with the softness of fruit cups and gives it a zesty tang.  As more and more customers appreciated this Kulliya Chaat, they experimented it further and added a whole new range of fruits and other ingredients to make the Chaat more flavorful.

Today, boiled potato can be substituted with sweet-potato, watermelon, apple, orange, banana or cucumber. The Chaat can be customized further and can be made extra spicy, tangy or a bit sour.

They serve various items which include pav bhaji, aloo chaat which is yet another popular item in their menu. Cube shaped potatos are fried twice for the crunchy texture and wonderful taste. Also they serve, burger but there’s a catch the tikki’s are made with sabudana which increases the health element as well as the taste.

So when are you going to chawri bazar, for the lip smacking and healthy kulliya chaat?

 

Location : 3636, Gali Lohe Wali, Chawri Bazar, New Delhi

Cost for two – Rs 100 (Approx)

 

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Desi Roots

Desi Roots

By Anubhav Sapra

There are very few restaurants in Delhi which have a “pull” factor. Desi Roots seems to be one of them. It is delightful how the dishes are experimented with and yet have their “desipan” intact. Its ambience which has already been talked about a lot is worth mentioning here for its creativity and how it instills a re-learning of the childhood days. It does make you observe how things have changed since then.

Here, you will be greeted with the relaxing sound of a bell. The ambience reminds you of your past especially if you were born in the late ’70s or the ’80s. The wall is painted beautifully with children’s games – which today seem to have been lost somewhere – like lattu, kancha, stapu and many others. I can associate with this very well; I remember how I used to play lattu the whole day under the scorching sun outside my house. Another corner of this place has a trunk that consists of comics like Champak and Chacha Choudhary. Reminding me of my early days again, it gives me immense pleasure to share it here that I had a large number of comics which I used to lend to my friends. I acted like a little librarian, keeping records in a notebook. On the other side of the café, are big milk cans, a sewing table, a coal iron, a headlight of “Humara Bajaj” scooter- all bound to make one nostalgic.

IMG_20150506_131519Coming to food, Desi Roots has an interesting desi menu with a modern twist. The guests are treated to a complimentary medu-vada, which is a dal pakoda served with coconut and mint chutney. It is important to mention here that the staff was very welcoming. Personally, what matters to me more than the food is the warmth with which it is served. On the recommendation of the chef, I started with lamb galauti paate with ulte tawe ka parantha. The galauti kebabs are grounded in to a spreadable paste. Galauti which means ‘melt-in-mouth’ comes with a twist where you relish a ‘bite-sized ulte tawe ka parantha’ with its pate and mint chutney, topping it with some spiced onions for an extra edge.

IMG_20150506_143435After this I had chipotle chicken tikka with avocado raita. The dish was served over a smoldering bed of iron. This was simply delicious; succulent pieces of chicken were perfectly marinated. This was served with thick avocado raita. I was amazed to see ‘kulle ki chaat’ on their menu. This chaat is an Old Delhi specialty and you get it only at a couple of places in Chawri Bazaar, the most famous ones being Hira Lal Chaat Corner and Jugal Kishore Ram ji Chaat Corner. I had the kulles of cucumber and watermelon which were no less than the ones you get in Old Delhi. The kullas were filled with masaledaar chickpeas; the tinge of lemon juice to it was just perfect. I also had deconstructed samosa with aam papad chutney, served with a golgappa. It had four layers of papdi filled with cooked potatoes, dry mango sauce, sev, yoghurt and pomegranate seeds. However, I did not like this dish much.

IMG_20150506_141841In the main course, came a mini toy truck loaded with Ambala Cantt. mutton curry accompanied with tikona parantha, mukka pyaaz with lemon and kumquat achar. I was disappointed with the quality of the mutton since it was a bit chewy for me. However, the curry was flavorful and the paranthas were amazing with their apparent soft and triangular layers. In the vegetarian section, the chef served four different varieties of khichdi – classic, juvar, quinoa, and bajra, in small clay pots and mini pressure cookers. All of them were mild in flavor and tasted more like ghar ka khaana. It was delicious!

IMG_20150506_150915In the desserts, I was served “Jamaulddin ki kheer” famously known as “Bade Miya ki kheer”. Every morning, kheer is sourced from Jamulddin’s shop in Lal Kuan to Saket and served cold. Another dessert which had a nice twist to it was badam halwa– baklava with shrikhand. Shrikhand was sweet and sour in taste and went well with the badam halwa.

Overall, it is a great place to be at where eating is such a visual treat. Treat yourselves with Ambala Cantt. mutton curry, chicken tikka, and the varieties of dishes along with the ambience which is ought to take you down the memory lane.

Address: G-16, Ras Villas Mall, Saket.

Meal for two: ₹ 1200.

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.