sarojini nagar – Delhi Food Walks

Kulcha King

By Anubhav Sapra

Sarojini Nagar is synonymous with Khandani Pakode Wala for me. Come winters, and people will queue up in front of the shop to relish hot and crispy pakodas with green chutney. Opposite to Pakode Wala, there is another food joint – Kulcha King, famous for its Amritsari kulcha and chhole. The address is Shop no. 144, Ring Road Market, Sarojini Nagar.

The eatery has been set up by Avtar Singh Bagga, who originally hails from Pind Bagga, Tehsil Ajnala in Amritsar. Avtar Singh started his career with a small transport business. Due to the risky nature of the work and few accidents, he closed it down and started dealing in foreign currency. This work too did not continue for long and finally, Kulcha King yielded profitable dividends by satiating the taste buds of Delhiites.

His son, Harjeet Pal Singh(contact no.: 8882335222), is a fine arts graduate from Punjab University and currently, runs this food joint. After 5 p.m., Harjeet works on his own sketching and painting. In fact, he has also designed the new website of his food joint: www.kulchakingfood.com .

The man with a charming personality, who serves the kulchas at the table and refills the hollow containers of the plates with chutney and chhole is Ravinder Bun, famously known as Kukku (contact no.: 9643676146). He has a huge fan following, and students from nearby colleges just come at Kulcha King to interact with him.

There are three varieties of kulcha at Kulcha King – mix kulcha (Rs. 70 for a plate), stuffed with aloo, gobhi, methi, pyaaz, adrak and dhania; mix kulcha (Rs. 80 for a plate), stuffed with gobhi, methi, pyaaz, adrak, dhania, with topping of ajwain and kali mirch; and paneer kulcha (Rs. 100 for a plate), stuffed with paneer, dhania, hari mirch and masalas. Each and every plate of kulcha is served with tamarind chutney, a mixture of spring onions, black salt, red onions, and cumin powder, and pindi chhole. The chhole has a subtle flavor of spices, not too spicy and oily. The chhole is cooked with masalas, and without adding any onions.

I had the crispy mix kulcha smeared with Amul yellow butter. The fillings were good and very less maida was used in making the kulcha. I dipped a small bite of kulcha in chhole and chutney and relished the taste like a king.

In the evenings, between 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., they serve some delectable dishes as snacks– Afghani soya, achari chaap, malai chaap and hariyali chaap and gravy- chaap tikka, paneer bhurji, soya keema, and soya kaleji. With this visit, I got another reason to visit Sarojini Nagar in the evenings.

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.

http://www.delhifoodwalks.com

June 24, 2014

Café Deli Belly

By Somya Kukreti

Café Deli Belly, 196 S.N Market, is a relatively new addition to Sarojini Nagar market and is located on the first floor, fascinatingly above a vendor selling purses! It marks the entrance of a young wave of restaurants in the market that go beyond selling the usual golgappas and chaat.

Café Deli Belly seems like an oasis in the middle of a desert, especially in Delhi’s sweltering heat. It is located in the middle of the whole market and stands out with its luminous signboard and gives the shoppers a respite from the weather outside. The café’s interiors have tried to incorporate a youthful vibe with a touch of sophistication and this attempt does not go unnoticed. The ceiling lamps leave a nice tinge of light that illuminate the brick walls, and the effect is much more pronounced if you go in the evening.

During my visit, I ordered the Crispy Honey Chilli potatoes and a Chicken Franky Roll. The fries were a disappointment and were too sweet for our taste buds. The Chicken Franky Roll, on the other hand, was surprisingly light. It had loads of pieces of roasted chicken and the roll consisted of not just the usual bread roll, which was not at all oily, but also an omelette. The Franky Roll was served with green chutney and was enough to fill my ever-hungry tummy. The size of the roll really put me in an awkward position though. The roll, even after dividing into two halves, was too big to eat with my bare hands and I ended up using the fork and knife, which no one expects to use when thinking of rolls. For Rs.105, the roll is a meal worth your money and leaves you with clean hands!

Over all, the café is a reasonable place to eat where you don’t have to worry about hygiene or the price. The only thing I didn’t like about it was its use of melamine plates, which really took away from the vibe that its décor was trying to establish.

P.S. The menu has a wide variety of North-Indian and Chinese dishes to choose from. I am 50% sure that it serves amazing omelettes, though I have no proof or reason to justify this thought. Just call it a ‘gut’ feeling.

Anubhav Sapra

http://www.delhifoodwalks.com