Eating Out in Delhi...watch for more updates

Food glorious Food….thus the song from Oliver captures our relationship with food. Recently food has been subjected to more than its fair share of publicity and coverage. Yes social media is chock a block full of food articles, write ups, cookery shows, recipes, what is coming as a revelation is that Delhites seem to be favouring eating out more than anyother activity. I am serious…really… at the recent Dastkar exhibition at Kisan Haat, I was told by a participant that most visitors come straight and visit shops which are opposite the food court and then go straight for the food. Stomach satiated, it is back to their homes. Even a cursory shopping activity is not undertaken.

Similarly at the Swiss Embassy Christmas Market, the food section was crowded to the hilt in comparison the shopping at the various stalls was slightly lower. I will not say business was bad but the food stalls did thriving business.

What further adds to the Delhi palette is its easy adaptability. Be it Chinese, Italian, Thai, Lebanese, Middle East, French…it is simply absorbed in. And I am not making any remark on the adapting the food for the Indian palette be it the ginger garlic tadka with pasta.. So dining joints, restaurant, take away and what not thrives…

Delhi is a huge melting pot of influences which is amply reflected in its cuisine. Today, the melting pot assimilates national, international cuisine, some cuisine “adapted” to Indian taste well – Chinese a huge example in this direction. Delhi offers innumerable places to eat, each having its own traditional offering. The food palette includes almost all kinds of food from India and a delectable spread of International Cuisines. Traditional Indian food is classified apart from geographical bearings as per caste, religion. The nuances are plenty as also the range of spices, condiments and vegetables, fruits, cereals, meat, rice …that is added.

The Capital’s foodaddiction includes the classy Chandni Chowk fare – the Delhi Bania style of cooking in pure ghee without the use of onions, garlic, the Mughal style of kababs, biryani, the Punjabi touch of Pindi chole, Rajma chawal…Regional cuisine can be tasted from spicy Andhra Fare, Namma Tamil sapadu (Karol Bagh, Lodhi Road..), Malayali fare of puttu…Gujarati, Rajasthani snacks and thalis, Parsi, Iranian, Anglo-Indian fare…..Yes, it is food lover’s paradise. No pun intended, a friend’s husband on a visit to Delhi from Kerala, asked in all innocence “don’t people cook at homes, the food stalls are always so very crowded”!!!

This section tries and captures some of the best to be indulged in Delhi. No, this is neither a “eating out of the street” kind of a vengeance section neither “oh how can they eat street food – with emphasis only on chic upmarket cuisine” atitude. But in turn it is a slave to the taste buds, yes anything that tastes good, is different, has you ruminating about its glory during the day and pursuing it salivating in your dreams. Being a vegetarian, an eggetarian to be precise, the non-veg food section might not be justifiable but I shall make amends with recommendations from die hard “only non-veg” friends!

Happy Eating (Munching, Lunching, Snacking……..) Hopefully, we will also do individual stories or a little round up of the eating joints we love and frequent, post New Year…(Fingers crossed that this Resolution will be kept!!!)