Makke ki roti, sarson ka saag. Red guavas from Allahabad and oranges. Gaajar and daal halwa. Til-gud khasta gazak and laddoo. Daulat ki chaat. Kadahi ka doodh. Magahi paanWinters used to be a treat for the senses, thanks to these seasonal delights during my childhood in pristine Delhi.
The aroma of tikki slowly roasting on flat pans in Bengali Market, the sound of halwais striking kalchi on the tava while plating perfectly golden fried and crispy cutlets topped with curd and chutneys.
An extra helping of makke ki roti and sarson ka saag, bedvi/kachori aloo, chhole bhature and hot samosas.
Afternoon walks in CP's inner circle after this pampering of the taste buds would leave one longing for more on whiffing "healthy" peanuts under small earthen pots with hot coal.Gaajar and daal halwa, hot jalebi, gazak and til-gud laddoo were dessert staples. Heavy meals used to be washed down with a post-dinner kadahi ka doodh. There was no sense of guilt as we were told that the body needed "extra calories" to keep warm in chilly winters. The annual feasting, though, would start right from Diwali melas. That was then. For the past few years, winters in Delhi-NCR and north India mean deadly pollution and toxic smog.
An all-pervasive burning smell in the air at least till mid-December leaves no room for the appetite-inducing whiff of the seasonal delicacies. With almost everyone wheezing and coughing now, the constant irritation and pain in their throats means gargles, inhalers and steamers have become the new winter musts.
Fried delights have to be avoided under medical advice. Many eateries have shifted from firewood and coal tandoor to gas tandoor to avoid flouting the constantly changing norms under GRAP.
That has robbed the taste and texture of smoky tandoori items and breads like tikke and kulcha and naan. Now Delhi Pollution Control Committee (yes, such an agency exists) has banned the use of coal and firewood as fuel in tandoor. Only electric and gas tandoor are allowed. Just like Bruce Willis walks into trouble in his ‘Die Hard' series despite the lurking dangers, die-hard Dilli foodies today take a puff of their inhalers, mask up and relive the golden old days in a contemporary way. They take the metro to Chandni Chowk for daulat ki chaat — a frothy (try not to think of the Yamuna) sweet. To Gole Market for bedvi aloo, jalebi and halwa. To Shahjahan Road and Bengali Market for chaat. To CP for a walk along the Inner Circle and gorging on street food delights like masala mooli and for eating in the dhabas on the Outer Circle. To Kamla Market, Tilak Nagar, Pahar Ganj and Lajpat Nagar for chhole bhature. If and when the throat gets hoarse after the oily treats, foodies express surprise why their medicines are not working! The reason: They fear getting scolded or frowned at by their loved ones if told of their indulgence.They still line up for the famous paan outside a central Delhi five-star hotel and gather round a bonfire as they await their saada or meetha, Banarasi, desi patta or the Magahi version. Stuffing your mouth with an extra-large sweet paan around midnight and speaking like Amitabh Bachchan of ‘Don' while exhaling vapour from the breath like cigarette smoke is still a quintessential Dilli thing to do for the old-timers.While the paan hasn't changed, the conversation around it has. Instead of the usual discussions about politics around the bonfire, almost everyone now talks about pollution. Panditji then helpfully dishes out a scoop of mulethi (liquorice) powder to relieve the sore throats. After that, friends head home with the promise of their next gastronomic outing. "Get well soon, we have to go to Pahar Ganj for chhole bhature," my bestie told me during one such recent parting.(Disclosure: No animals harmed in writing this piece as the writer is vegetarian)
