The "Chaat" trail on the streets of Old Delhi

Past few weeks, my home looked as if i am running some papad-achaar business. Thanks to my Mother-in-law who had come for a short visit and left teaching me all the good-old days activities of women. The arrival of summers and women in those days would get ready to make all different kinds of pickles, chutneys, papads, wafers etc etc. Though some of it's process is tedious and lengthy and would invite boredom if making all alone, i would post pictures and recipes of each of them one by one. The pickles are surely worth making, as they were a specialty of the nani's and dadi's of my husband.

During their stay here, we went to visit Chandni Chowk - one of the oldest markets in New Delhi and the largest wholesale market in India. Chandni Chowk, though crowded has it's own charm, not only for the shopoholics but also for foodies like us. Chandni Chowk was a market visited once by merchants from China, Turkey and even Holland. You think of a type of fabric, or a book, or some household or lifestyle item, or a spice or cooking ingredient and you have it all here! During my 2 year stay in Delhi, this was my 4th visit to Chandni Chowk, and i feel there is still so much more to explore.

For food lovers, this place literally awakens your senses. The aroma of the food when you walk around is so inviting, that you can't miss eating some food that has retained their taste all over the years. Going beyond the regular Karim's and Moti Mahal or Al-jawahar, this time we ditched non-vegetarian food and decided to head on a chaat-walk. The first stop was :

Natraj DahiBhalle wale : Imagine the month of may, sweat rolling all over your body, tired legs from shopping, and crowds of people till your eyes can see. Suddenly a plate of some tangy tamarind chutney floating on some rich, creamy, smooth curd arrives in front of you! You take a dip in that curd with your spoon and you find a soft bhalla inside loaded with masala. You take a bite of that Dahi-bhalla and an ocean explodes in your mouth. Suddenly you no more feel the scorching heat or smell the sweat-marks. Priced at INR 50, this dahi-bhalla is a must-try if you visit Chandni-chowk. They serve bhalle since 1940, hence ask any person where the "bhallewala" is, and you will get the right address!

Our next stop was the Jung Bahadur Kachori wala : Located just near the parathe wali galli, this is a roadside stand serving some crispy kachoris with some hot and spicy aloo sabzi. Just thinking about the urad daal kachoris is making my mouth water right now. Served just at INR 20 for 1 kachori with sabzi, you can't afford to miss this place if you love some spicy stuff.

Just a small walk towards the metro station and we found a tiny looking shop of the famous Shri Balaji Chaat Bhandar : We tried the Kalmi bada as the name sounded interesting. Kalmi vadas are basically deep fried gram dal crispies. Here, they were topped with some awesome chaat. The guy serving us (Raju bhai) was one interesting guy who gave us water to wash our hands and insisted that we eat with our hands. He feels that a "chaat" tastes best when you literally lick your fingers clean. True to his opinion, we simply licked our fingers and plate clean. Their papdi chaat is must-try too. But we had Gol-gappe (again on Raju's insistence that the gol-gappe water is made from bisleri and that he serves it the best in town). Again, we will second his opinion that the green water was one of the best we have tasted in a long long time! It had the perfect flavours of sour, sweet and tangy. What more! It was cold - perfect for the season! 

On our way to Khari Baoli - the wholesale spice market, we came across Bishan Swaroop chaat bhandaar : who has been running the place since 1920. His aloo chaat is very famous, but we were too full to stuff ourselves with carbohydrates, so we tried the Fruit chaat. Reluctant to tell me what his secret spices were, he mentioned he adds chaat masala and chutney to the fruits. Priced at INR 40, this chaat adds a nice zing to your regular fruits and worth a try if you like a little spice to your fruits. I personally prefer my fruits plain, so i would avoid this the next time!

After stuffing so much of food in our stomachs in a span of 1 hour, we definitely needed some medicine for the stomach!!! What better way than to have a glass (rather kullad) of Lassi. This lassi was fresh, sweet and refreshed us, preparing us for our journey back home in all that hustle bustle. Running the shop since 1981, Pandit Gyan Prasad Madan Mohan 's Lassi priced at INR 45 is a hit amongst the travellers. Their Malai cake is delicious too, so grab a parcel of it back home!

There are many other places we have missed, but were too full to try more! So until next time!!!

Happy travelling :)

 

Chole Tikki

And here i write my 50th post : Blogging has surely given me lots of learning and knowledge and with all the love and support i am getting from friends,viewers and followers, i hope to continue this a long way! "Miles to go before i sleep" :)

I wanted to cook something special for my 50th post, but i couldn't help posting this one as Election ( and especially Narendra Modi) fever is ON everywhere in India! The newspaper is filled with all ( and only !!) articles about Lok Sabha Elections! Though am glad that people ( especially common man, and youth are voting to see a change in the Government ), i couldn't help but salute the PR agency of Narendra Modi who have left no stone unturned but to make us eat, sleep, dream Narendra Modi. I especially loved the hilarious "Modi Sarkaar" quotes that has been doing the rounds on social media, especially Facebook and whats-app. To quote a few favourite ones,

So, just when i picked up my Thursday morning newspaper ( which was the Voting Day in Delhi ), i saw Narendra Modi on the front page of the newspaper, and couldn't help make a quote myself for the breakfast i had cooked -
"Chole ke bina tikki hai bekaar, ab ki baar Modi Sarkaar" and i laughed out so loud myself, that i thought i had to share it with you all ! So here's bringing Chole Tikki for you...

Chole tikki, Aloo tikki, aloo chaat are the terms i learnt when i shifted to Delhi. In Mumbai, we get Ragda pattice which is made with yellow peas ( white Chana/Vatana) whereas Chole is made with chickpeas.
Now this one is again one of my Leftover Recipes, where i had Chole in the refrigerator from the earlier night ( and for some reason, me and hubby like some dishes like chole, rajma or some gravy dishes more from the earlier nights than when cooked fresh!! ). And yes, i had Boiled potatoes too! I normally boil potatoes and store in fridge. Comes in handy when you want to make a quick snack!
This is normally served with the green chutney ( corriander-mint ) and the brown chutney ( tamarind-dates) , but since i am always in a hurry in the mornings to make the tiffins, i skipped this bit. Despite that, it tasted delicious!

So Chole-tikki adorned Hubby's breakfast tiffin and no doubt, he relished it :))

Ingredients :

Potatoes : 3 medium

Corriander powder - 1 tsp

Cumin powder - 1 tsp ( you can also use cumin seeds or even ajwain to add a different taste)

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Amchur powder - 1 tsp (This made up for the tamarind-date chutney that i didn't make)

Besan/Cornflour - 1 n half tbsp ( I used besan )

Rock salt ( sendha namak ) - to taste

Oil - for frying

Other :

Cooked Chole - 1 cup

Chopped onions - 1/4 cup

Chopped tomatoes - 1/4 cup

Sev - As required

Lemon juice/ Chaat masala / Red chilli powder ( Optional ) - As required for garnishing

Corriander leaves - For garnish.

Recipe :

Boil, Peel and mash the potatoes well.

Mix in all the spice powders.

Add Salt.

Now add the Besan.

Mix everything well and make medium sized ( or as desirable ) patties of the potato mixture.

Heat oil in a pan. 

Shallow fry the Patties till crisp and golden brown.

Now add the Chole on top.

Add chopped onions and tomatoes.

Add the chutneys if you have or add sev (Baarik sev as we call it , tastes great with this )

Add Chaat masala, red chilli power and/or lemon juice if you want.

Garnish with Corriander leaves.

Relish it for breakfast with green tea, and yes, Don't forget to say , "Ab Saas-bahu khaayenge Chole-tikki aur achaar, Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkaar ) !!! ( From one of my friend Aniket Badame ).

Alternatively, you can also make these tikkis as a snack, and serve it along with chutney. Or sandwich them between breads with a layer of ketchup. Be as creative as you can ! 

Happy Cooking :)