Delhi Belly - Lesley Esteves

There is no place to eat like old Delhi, where the ustads of its kitchens practise their craft just as their forefathers have for eons. Where the meatwallas advertise how many hours they grind their meat. Where the pure veg hotels advertise which bhandar they get their paneer from. Where Gianiji can be as curt as he likes and there’ll still be a long line for his ambrosial rabri. This is the biggest bazaar of them all, home to some of the biggest wholesale trades in Asia. Lakhs throng its streets every day. This once grand Mughal capital remains studded with royal buildings and noble havelis, and thousands of tourists too come visiting every day. All of these people are fed very well. You cannot turn in Old Delhi without bumping into a thela of something tasty. It could hold anything from soft shami kababs to tart pineapple slices, bhujia to masala boiled eggs, chunks of shakarkandi or fatter chunks of petha. But there are those ustads who rise high above the crowded table that old Delhi offers. Every Dilliwalla has his or her own list of favourites. This one is mine. I swear by all of them. Only one of these was new to me. His name is Lotan. The chef Ritu Dalmia told me he makes the best kulche chhole in the old city. “Just go to Fatehpuri and ask anyone,” she said. It took me four days to find him. Now you can find him and all these jewels of Dilli’s galis. If you love your meat, head to the lanes around the Jama Masjid. If you are vegetarian, begin at the very head of Chandni Chowk and follow it down to Fatehpuri. And drop the defences. You’re in the politer side of Delhi, where hospitality is extended on the flimsiest of connections. [thanks VM]