Back in the motherland for another 3 1/2 weeks means a few more blogs on the the food and experiences from some of the places I'll be visiting. And as usual, the first stop is my favourite city, Dilli.
I wanted to give my friend from NZ a taste of the true Delhi that I have grown to love over the years so I took her to Old Delhi (Purani Dilli).
Purani Dilli is (in)famous for many reasons, but from a culinary point of view you go there for 2 types of food: the authentic Mughalai curries/tandoor and the other is the street food.
After a quick Google search we found Natraj Dahi Balle. It's a tiny 3x1m corner shop near the Chandni Chowk metro station. They sell only two things - Dahi Balle and Aaloo tikki.
Dahi Balle is basically a pakora that has been soaked in cold yogurt with a range of chutneys and spices. It's not supposed to be spicy but instead it blends sweet with sour with tangy tastes. Natraj's dahi balle had the perfect mix of the three sensations. Highly recommended for people who like yogurt or sweet & sour meals.
My pick of the day though was the Aaloo Tikki. This is a potato patty that has been freshly fried and served with a range of sweet/sour and spicy chutneys. A differentiating factor of Natraj's Tikki was the fact that it was stuffed with dried masala that you normally find in kachoris. I was blown away by the amount of flavour in this dish. Such a simple concept with so much taste. The "chatpatta" ("zingy") spice will definitely leave you wanting more!
And finally, to cool down our taste buds we walked over to the "Old Famous Jalebi Wala". Jalebi is a flour based paste that has been deep fried in oil and then soaked in sugar syrup to absorb the sweetness. This one was particularly fat and very juicy but I found that it wasn't as sweet as it probably should be. Standing around the Jalebi Wala while he swirls his hand in the spiral motion is quite an experience so if you aren't keen to eat it, at least go over and see what the crowd is looking at.
Chandni Chowk may not be the cleanest or glamorous place to visit in Delhi, but it really is a special place and the places I listed above are safe must-haves (with no tummy aches afterwards).
Looking forward to what else this trip has to offer me....
