Fine Eating in Delhi's Connaught Place - United Coffee House

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United Coffee House turns 75 - The Hindu

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Flash back of 75 years...

“Archived dishes are a very big homework. We have an archival recipe record of nearly 400 – 500 dishes which we have served in our restaurant in the last 75 years. They are not original or authentic recipes but our adaptation of these to the taste of our customers and the time.” Says Akash K Kalra, Managing Director, The United Group, “of these around 150 – 200 dishes are on the menu all the time. We keep going back to these, bring it back to our customers, adapting it to suit their palette and trend of the day. I look at myself as a custodian of this heritage which I want to retain and take it forward,” finishes Kalra.

Despite this emphasis on food and cuisine from all over the world, it comes as a surprise to know that when United Coffee House started, food was not its focal point. It was more of a place to meet and chat – an adda of sorts – to enjoy a cup of coffee with snacks, to wrap up the day. As Kalra says, “this place was more of a hangout where people could meet. For many, this was a place to walk in on Sundays after listening to the Military band play and watching the fountains at Central Park to walk in here for a cup of coffee with snacks. It was a part of a Sunday ritual for many.”

The establishment of the first coffee house in Delhi in 1942 was the brain child of Lala Hans Raj Kalra (Akash Kalra’s grandfather), the son of a liquor baron who had a flourishing liquor business in Sialkot in Pakistan. The family moved to Delhi and were based in Chandni Chowk. They also owned a liquor bond and a liquor shop in Chandni Chowk. The first foray into hospitality came with the setting up of Esplanade Restaurant & Bar in 1938-39 to cater to the American GIs who had their barracks at the Red Fort. It proved to be very popular but since it was meant for the GIs it wound up with their moving out after the war in early 40s. Around that time, Hans Raj Kalra heard of an affluent shopping arcade in Lutyens Delhi called Connaught Place which had been built in the shape of a horse shoe to bring luck to the traders and its customers. Going there, he found little bakeries were the Memsahibs sold homemade goodies, equestrian shoe makers, drapers…However what it lacked was a Coffee House. Coffee Houses were “in” those days especially in England, and there was none here. He bought the place and opened United Coffee House. As Kalra says, “he called it United because it was a place where people could unite for coffee.” Thus Hans Raj Kalra also sealed the family business into hospitality moving out of the liquor trade they were in.

Initially in the 40s, the place was open from 11 am to 8 pm typically selling street snacks of Old Delhi. People would congregate for coffee. As Kalra says, “food then was commercial food and Bibiyana food or that which was made at home. No one would eat home food outside so it was only commercial food – omelette, chana bhatura, tikka...” Post independence in the 50s, the hours extended and by 60s it became a full fledged restaurant. The cuisine initially was a mix of the Old Delhi Kayasth food and Frontier Province Pakistani food.  The menu expanded and during their life time, the place has served everything from commercial food, Bibiyana food, Madras Club Food, Bombay Club Food, Calcutta Club food, Anglo Indian, Khansama cooked Memsahib cuisine, newer variants of continental food, Asian, Mexican, Lebanese and of course Indian including popular appams and dals. Having been conceived in the British Era, there is still a fondness for the Old Raj cuisine especially British Club food – Cheese balls, cutlets, samosas, chops, cutlets…English breakfast. The Menu in itself very interesting offering a host of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes (breakfast, tea snacks, main course, starters and more..)

Though there is such a range of dishes available, Kalra says, “We are known for our keema samosa, cheese balls, tomato fish, chicken a la kiev. These have not been invented by us. But our variation is a huge hit, it is amongst our signature dishes.” Apart from these there are plenty of staples – the Chaplee Kababs, Railway mutton curry, Dak Bunglow chicken curry, Chicken Maryland, Coq Au Vin, Chicken a la princess.. Kalra explains, “my grandfather had the acumen to get some of the finest cooks of those times to work for us. With their feedback and my grandfather’s insight a dish would be perfected after much trials. For example a chef from Lucknow might add raw mango and bay leaf to a Dak Bunglow chicken curry which made the taste entirely different from the usual one. It is such little variations which adds to our dishes and taste.”

To commemorate the 75th year, a new menu will be unveiled in May. Classic dishes which have not been on the Menu for 20 – 30 years are being revamped and brought back. Kalra enthusiastically says, “Fuyong, Chow chows from Asian, butter milk burgers…amongst others. Again these dishes are being adjusted to suit today’s palette. So if a baked salmon was served with boiled vegetables then, today we would be doing it with braised Bok Choi.”

What works for the UCH is that it still retains the old world charm of the 1950s. The food has been adapted to suit today’s nuances but yet the ambience is one of relaxed uncluttered luxury. One actually feels one is back in time when one steps into the restaurant - the laid back era of fine dining, huge chandeliers, unhurried knowledgeable waiters, the attention and care to the patrons with a sense of discreet familiarity.

Delhi's Adda - Triveni Terrace Café – where the who’s who rubbed shoulders with nobody – sans any attitude.

This article was published in the Hindu 

A brush with kadhi-chawal: the history behind Delhi's Triveni Terrace ...

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Usually design defines a space, at times a persona or personality shapes the space, in a rare combination the design, persona and space come together to create a beautiful confluence. Triveni Kala Sangam can be called one such space. The brainchild of Sundari K Shridharani, her struggle as an artist made her dream of a space where artists could display their work, perform for an audience and teach their craft. The feisty lady embarked on her journey to fulfil this dream. So charmed was Joseph Allen Stein with her panache and perseverance that he designed the place free. He gave the brick and mortar shape to her idea. The place still runs on the same ethos. The Auditorium and Gallery is rented out to artists at very modest prices, the classrooms where 12 disciplines of performing arts are taught is given free to the Gurus. This translates into moderate prices for the students. The open space, the calm environment is soothing. All of this was planned consciously and executed intentionally. What was unplanned but happened naturally and became a very popular hub was the Triveni Terrace Café. So popular did it become that Mrs. Shridharani, much to her consternation, would discover that after giving a tour of the place to visiting journalists explaining her objectives, they would feature the Café prominently. This would infuriate her more than anything else. Despite this popularity, it is to Triveni’s credit that they have not milked it or promoted it to their advantage. It was and still is a place where people can eat good food at very reasonable prices, simply soak in the environment and enjoy themselves. True to its culture, no customer is nudged to leave or disturbed if he wishes to stay. This still holds. The Café with its competitive pricing also made art more accessible. Anyone walking into the Café would also wander and see the artist’s work on display. Art, music and dance was not elitist but plebeian for everyone.

The Café started because the Institution when it began in 1963, needed some form of refreshment. A little cart vendor offered tea / coffee initially. Then Mrs. Puran Acharya, who was also close to the art fraternity offered to run the canteen. She started the famous snack concept of pakoras, cutlet, chai and coffee. A couple of years down the line, by mid 60s she started offering lunch as well. Lunch was the traditional Punjabi fare of hearty paranthas, kababs, palak paneer, kadhi chawal… The alu paranthas and kababs soon developed cult status and today are a part of the “heritage menu”. The Terrace Café simply grew in popularity, it was the place to hang out like a adda for all artists. It was frequented by Hussain, Kishen Khanna, Vivan Sundaram, Pandit Ravi Shankar, ambassadors and Stein himself. With no other option to hang out excepting The Indian coffee house, all of who’s who descended there. A symbol of discretion, the Terrace Café has never displayed any photo of any celebrity eating there. For them everyone was and is equal. This system continued and then in the 80s it was taken over by Mrs  Kamala Ranjit Rai. Of which in the later years Mrs. Minna worked on the menu introducing her carrot cakes which were very popular. The menu was the same with some twists. The afternoon lunch and a range of snacks in the afternoon and in true canteen style closed in the evening with no dinner. In 2012, Mrs Shridharani passed away, later Mrs. Rai’s family also wanted to move on with their business and not concentrate on the canteen. The hunt began to give out the space to some similar thinking group to run the Canteen. Finally The Melting Pot Food Company who run the Lota Café at the Crafts Museum and Roots Café in Gurgaon were approached. “The Lota People” as they are referred to started operating the same. The Terrace Café is housed at the far end of the Institution. It is an unpretentious, non-air conditioned, with few seating indoors and an open patio providing for more seating in a Terrace like environment overlooking the open air theatre..

The new team not only energised and invigorated the place but made it more contemporary, attracting the younger generation as well. Udit Maheshwari, Chef- Manager at Terrace Café says, “we modernised the kitchen, which was more of a home kitchen. The Café is open for breakfast and lunch. We introduced dinner – from 6 to 9 and now are open on Sundays.” The food is delicious, portions substantial and affordable that patrons eat 4 – 5 times a week.  Udit elaborates, “we have kept the heritage menu and have added some new ones. We fine tuned the original menu of paranthas and kababs.There is mint flavoured nimbu paani, parval kababs, pumpkin kababs, thate idli topped with ghee roasted chicken which is a huge hit. The Kashmiri Tarami - mini Wazwan vegetarian served only for dinner as thali includes dum aloo, yellow paneer, khatte meethe baigan, mooli and akhrot chutney, lotus stem crisps with rice . Ragi bread sandwich is a new addition and very popular.” All my cajoling for the recipe for the vegetarian kabab only elicits the princely gem from Udit that, “the pumpkin kababs are made with ripe pumpkins and chilka moong while it is mattar and parval in parval kababs”.  The dessert section includes a cake topped with aam papad and served with raw mango chutney, the beetroot halwa and gur kheer are popular. Traditional Indian ingredients and recipes have been recreated with a modern twist.  It has managed to hold its quintessential aura which still spreads by word of mouth publicity. One that sees the old and the young enjoy in comfortable silence.  

Murthal ke Paranthe

The original Food Safari: In search of Murthal ke paranthe - The Hindu

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Murthal Ke paranthe

Paranthas or paronthe (in Punjabi) are what ideal mid morning brunches are made of during the cold winter days. Thus paranthas are made everywhere with all kinds of winter vegetables and eaten with gusto. So can such an ubiquitous parantha actually give a little non-descript town its prominence or better still make people drive all the the way 70 kms (I drove 82 kms one way to be precise with a friend in tow), just to taste the paranthas. The answer is an Unbelievable YES, when it comes to Murthal Dhabbas and its typical die hard favourite - the paranthas with the excellent kali dal. Murthal is actually one big village which falls on NH 1 linking Delhi to Punjab. It is beyond Sonepat and on the way to Panipat.

The Dhabas appear on the left side as you travel from Delhi towards Punjab. To reach the dhabas, avoid the newly built flyover which makes you shoot the profusion of dhabas, instead take the little road next to the flyover. And there stands clusters of dhabas - 50 or so some on the other side as well.

These are not your usual dhabas where you sit under the sky in the typical Manji (charpoys) with prompt service by Chotu the server boy. Instead, most of the dhabas have tin sheet cover fitted with fans, with uniformed servers (prompter than Chotu), eating is on very clean laminated tables and chairs, tissues on hand, ac restaurant is available, there are wash basins with electrical hand dryers, clean granite loos and like shops in a petrol pump there are several selling churans (digestive aids), pickles and even stuffed toys.

The Dhabas started around 1948 or so, to offer food for truck drivers passing by. Since there were limited options for the truck drivers, this stop proved to be popular. At that time, there were only 3 – 4 dhabas. Ahuja Dhaba around 64 years old is the oldest one around, followed by Gulshan which was started in 1950. No one knows how paranthas came to be associated with this place. The usual say is that crisp fried Paranthas a typical Punjabi staple breakfast item had with lassi and dahi was served throughout the day caught the fancy of the drivers and of course the passing traveler. Since paranthas are not so readily available the ones here caught on. Most people say, the dhabas were around from the time the road was a huge single road.

The first stop was at the much touted Gulshan ka dhaba and it did live up to its name. A cursory nod to an alu pyaaz parantha and my chit chat about the paranthas was rudely interrupted with “aap ke paranthe tande ho rahe hain! (your paranthas are getting cold). We were amazed, in a matter of a few minutes there was piping hot paranthas with dollops of home made white butter (it is milk country where largest sizes of washing machines have been known to churn out butter!), with kali dal (whole urad dal fried almost home made). This is accompanied by pachranga pickle, sirce wali pyaaz (baby onions pickled in vinegar) and fresh green chillies to bite into. The paranthas are not the typical ghee fried but made on Tandoor. I enquire on the typical ghee paranthas, to be told “who has ghee paranthas anymore.” Hearing this Manoj Gulshan, one of the owners of the Dhaba thinking me to a co-enthusiastic fan of ghee paranthas asked, “Do you want to try the ghee paranthas? It will just take 10 minutes.” Given his enthusiasm, I was much persuaded, only to see my friend glaring at me with an expression, “how can you think of ghee after so much of butter.” I mumble a quick, “no thanks.” Manoj explained, “originally the paranthas were shallow fried in pure ghee. It is this new health consciousness where people do not take pure ghee paranthas that 15 or so years ago we switched over to the tandoor ones. Those are real paranthas, I still have one made that way everyday. I do not enjoy the tandoor ones and feel they are slightly under cooked.”

Another advantage is that in the absence of non-vegetarian food and eggs, Tandoori paranthas go very well with liquor which is served in plenty.  All the dhabas in the area are Vaishno or pure vegetarian. The tale behind their being vegetarian is equally charming. It is said that in that about 60 years ago, a Naga Sadhu appeared here, some say he blessed the people, others say, he cursed the place. The dictat he issued was any commercial establishment selling non-vegetarian food including eggs 10 kms either side from the spot he sat would be ruined. All those adhering to this norm would be very successful and flourish. The words came true. To my query as to whether it was just a myth or was there some substantive truth was met with. “We have seen countless establishment who opened dhabas in scant disregard with a too hoots attitude, suffer loses and close down in the next 3 – 6 months.”

The paranthas offered include – aloo pyaz, mixed vegetables, gobi, paneer, mooli.. and cost Rs. 35 onwards each. The next stop is at Sukhdev. It is more on the lines of a restaurant than the humble dhaba with sweet corns and other branded on sale. Started in 1956, it is very popular given the hoards of cars parked around it. Then there is Phelwan dhaba, Ahuja, Jhilmil…The various kinds of paranthas offered is the same everywhere. On a scale of 20, the quality of paranthas everywhere is between 17-19, Sukhdev did not have hari mirch in it, but the dough was slightly more, at Gulshan, the green chillies are a problem, though they make it without it, at Jhilmil the paranthas cracked. We lost our heart to the first alu pyaaz parantha, probably we were hungry after travelling a good two hours or the piping hot paranthas served with so much care and friendliness took our hearts away.

Process: Approximately each parantha takes 80 – 90 gms of flour. The flour used is a mix of the chakki ka atta and that of the flour mill. The dough made is slightly loose unlike the tight way of kneading it for rotis. In the filling apart from the vegetable which is finely chopped, a fair amount of green chillies, salt, coriander leaves are added. The potato is boiled and mashed to which raw onions are added. This roasts deliciously in the hot coal tandoors to impart its own particular flavor. Around 20 gms of white butter is placed on it and voila it is ready to be served.

Shyam Lata Sihare - pickles, papads and more the ole fashioned way

The Original article in Hindu Mistress of spices CHITRA BALASUBRAMANIAM

(The unedited version is .....)

A catchy line, “Old Fashioned Gourmet” on a host of pickles, squashes etc piqued my interest. Further probing revealed a passionate lady; Mrs. Shyam Lata Sihare fondly called Amma, who was behind the products. And therein revealed a passion for food and all the ingredients that went into it. The welcome ring in the voice when I called up to speak to Shyam Lata, saying, “aap aayiye, hamare products chakiye aur phir achha lage to likiye - you come taste our products and if you like it, go ahead and write about it.”   Amidst the aromatic waft of spices permeating from the kitchen, an extremely courteous staff takes me to meet Amma. I am greeted with a warm beaming smile with affection, despite a foot in cast.  

And before long, I am drawn into an Aladdin cave of sorts with a treasure of information on spices, dals, food, jams, squashes and of course pickles. It soon becomes apparent, that the entire operation is more of a passion and hobby than a livelihood venture. Shyam Lata is a Marwari hailing from the J K Industrial Group family. She elaborates, “The reason we started was to make available quality products in which there is no adulteration. In a bid to make a product affordable, there is a compromise in the quality of the ingredients. If one does not eat right then how can one survive?” It is in this quest for making products which are 100% pure that her venture started way back in 1993 and her products are in demand by those who appreciate quality including the who’s who of Delhi.

So what is so special about her pickles and other products? Pickles are available all the time everywhere. Here lies the difference; the pickles made by her sold under Aravali Foods are made the old fashioned way using the age old recipes with nay a change. Everything is still hand made with little or no use of machines. Spices are bought whole, washed, sun dried naturally, cleaned by hand and then yes, hand pounded in a huge mortar and pestle. Salt is bought in rock form, washed, dried and then again hand pounded to the fine powder. So is the chilly, spice powders and garam masala. The mangoes, lemons, chillies are also washed, dried and cut by hand quantities not withstanding. The mixing of the pickles is done in huge vessels by hand using ladles just like it was once done at home. There is no compromise no adulteration. As she says, “I will not compromise on quality just to sell.”

With this perfectionist bend, she started making a few kilos of pickles, which given the good quality of ingredients, sold well. And then began the journey. Speaking of the recipes, she says, “it is recipes made by my mother and grandmother. First we made pickles, then squashes, then people started demanding that we also sell them the hand pounded spices which we used in our pickles, then came pappads, vadiyas, magode….. ” And more products are being added as the journey progresses.  

Given this obsession for quality, she realized what mattered was to establish the right sourcing for the ingredients straight from the farmers where there will be little scope for adulteration. As she adds, “even the wholesale mandi does not offer fresh good quality spices.” There were failures; an entire consignment of Ajwain had to be thrown away because it was old stock. When hand washed it revealed insects. A consignment of Badi elaichi went bad. So she got down to researching, finding out, getting samples from across places, testing-tasting them and finally discovering the niche source. So it was finally Unjha, Mehsana District of Gujarat from where the best of ajwain straight from the fields is procured. So fresh that she adds, “one can just use a pinch and feel the aroma.” The hing or asafoetida is sourced from Kabul. The liquid tapped from trees is imported into the country and is processed here. It costs as much as Rs. 9000 - Rs. 10000 a kilo, the aroma is unimaginable. The little packet that I have bought still manages to induce its smell in the entire home. I query, “do I use a pinch”? All her staff cries in unison - no a pinch is a lot. Shyam Lata adds, “Take a toothpick and prick it and put it in the dish.” Whole turmeric is bought from Erode, cardamom fresh from the gardens of Kerala, other spices from Bangalore. From Unjha come the dhania or coriander seeds. She explains, “we buy the smallest size of coriander which are tender and bursting with taste. The bigger sized ones are filled with husk and do not have taste and aroma. While jeera it is the medium sized ones.” The garam masala has a whopping 16 - 20 ingredients, including nag kesar, jaiphal, javitri, karan phool, pipli small and big, tej patta, black pepper and of course no coriander seeds. Rock salt called Sendha Namak comes from Sindh in Pakistan as also the Kala Namak. The huge rock in white and black salt is shown to me. Kasoori methi comes from Nagaur and she vouches is not bitter. The mangoes for the pickles are the Rajapuri mangoes from Maharashtra and Resham Patti chillies from Gujarat. This is just the tip of what is used.

Speaking of red chilies, her assistant Tannu adds, “we clean out the seeds and the top and nearly 40% of the weight is lost.”  The discussion of spices is so fascinating that I seem to have lost track of the products made. Matter of factly, she adds, “pickles can be made with mangoes, chillies, lemons. It is the combination and the spices which make it different. None of my pickles use acetic acid or common salt. It is made using hand pounded Sendha namak. There are oil free pickles as well.”

Unable to accompany me to the dining table where her staff has spread out some of the products, she goads me to ask them any question. The staff about 4 of them vies with one another to give me information with a tremendous sense of pride in what they are doing. So there is mango garlic, chilli garlic in a fine mash, which goes delightfully with Paranthas I am told. Garlicy it is nice and flavoured, Mirchoni uses mango with hing and is hot, there is chuara (dry dates) with lemon and other ingredients, ginger with chuara, mango lachha, meeti mirch, red chilli in orange juice, green chilli, red chilli with raisins, lal mirch banarsi, hari mirch jaipuri….  Then during winters it is gobhi shalgam and vegetable based ones. They make 40 or more types of pickles, (no, I think they have never counted them). Then there are squashes and concentrates, the kairi pudina (aam panna) is wonderfully refreshing. Each pickle has its own ingredient carefully sourced, sorted and then made. What is foremost is quality, as she adds, “even if a few pieces drop on the floor, we do not put it back. We keep it aside for someone to take it but we do not sell it to our clients.” Preserves do not use pectin. I am astounded by her attention to detail and running the enterprise single handedly. In true style she says, “any new pickle I keep it on my bed side table and carefully study its ageing.” For me, what stood out was the distinct home made taste, not once, did I feel it was a product made for the market. Lovingly made, delicious to taste and natural spicy aroma, it is another world of slow food and good homely ole fashioned charm.