The roots of chaat culture in Delhi are 350 years that started from Shahjahanabad in 1638. My countless trips to Delhi 6 in search of good food had made me a pro in navigating through the labyrinth of haphazard maze of narrow streets crammed with cars, hawkers, motorcycles, rickshaws and porters. However, this time I was here in search of decoding the secret behind the century-old recipes served from Mughal Darbar to Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter wedding.
At sharp 10:45 am I meet Shikha Goyal of Food Tour in Delhi at the Chawri Bazar Metro Station to explore the spice trail of Chawri Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Spice Market, Kucha Pati Ram, Kinari Bazar and Khari Baoli. She has already warned me a day in advance to come empty stomach as within the 4 Hours of food tour, we will be tasting at least 14-17 dishes from 7-9 food joints. After walking for a few minutes, we reach Shyam Sweets, a 118 years old Indian snack shop that claims to have served since Mughal Darbar times. Standing at an open-air eatery around a small round table, Shikha orders Bedmi & Kachori (lentils & peas) with potato curry, Nagori halwa (a small, crispy, crumbly puri made with semolina and ghee, paired with semolina halwa), Samosa with tamarind and coriander sauce and Sweet Lassi for us.
But before we could dig in the lip-smacking Indian snacks lined on our table, she explains how our ancestors worked their magic on Delhi street food. The recipes were designed keeping in mind how our tongue reacts to three canonical tastes – salty, sour and chilli. She says, “Never judge any dish without taking three bites. In the first bite, only salty senses are activated, in the second bite, you enjoy the tangy part more and in the last one the chilly hits you. Our ancestors knew this very well and that’s why they came up with combos like Bedmi & Kachori, samosa and chuttni to make the flavours work better together.”
During the rest of the tour, I religiously follow the rule of ‘Three Bites’ and enjoy my food a lot more. We listen to the back stories of flavours and food from each hole-in-a-wall outlet we visit. The tales sound better when we gobble down lip-smacking delicious street foods like Fruit Sandwich, Bread Pakora, Kulhe (watermelon) ki Chaat and Alloo Chaat, Rocket Chickpea curry with kachori, Pomegranate & saffron pistachio Kulfi, Chickpea curry with bhatura & kulcha cooked in old and new styles, Rasmalai, Rajma Chawal and flavoured Rose Almond Lassi.
In between enjoying the scrumptious Old Delhi chaat, Shikha talks about the debated ‘origin of chaat’ story, “While there are many stories revolving around this question, it is believed Chaat was created in the royal kitchen of Mughal emperor Shahjahan’s palace. In those days, the water of the Yamuna was not palatable and safe for drinking; the royal Hakim (emperor’s doctor) instructed to build immunity and kill the effects of unsafe water by consuming food which was very spicy and oily but really light on the stomach. This marked the advent of Chatpata food culture in Delhi!
One of the other highlights of the trip was visiting Khari Baoli, Asia’s largest wholesale spice market, which besides offering a wide variety of spices, nuts, herbs, teas and other items has a dedicated chilli market. It is here I discover red chilli is not indigenous to India. Portuguese introduced it. Yellow chilli is what we can truly call ours. The streets of Khari Baoli is an experience in itself – streets are so congested that the whole process of loading, carrying or unloading of huge packs of items can only be done either by manual trolleys or labourers hauling sacks of spices.
After four hours of immersion in the frenzy of Shahajahanbad’s colours, vivacity and irresistible charm my trip has come to an end but not before I gulped down a Patiala glass of Almond Rose Lassi at Amratsari Lassiwale in Chandi Chowk.
