Commonwealth Games 2010: Good News For Delhi’s Food-Lovers?

As part of the chaotic process of getting our city in a fit shape to host the Commonwealth Games in October 2010, and in a bid to reduce the incidence of Delhi belly for the anticipated influx of sport-lovers, the  authorities have turned their attention to the city’s eateries.

Early indications are not good: newspapers reported today that the Confederation of Indian Industry recently surveyed 1000 restaurants close to the Games Village (conceptual at this stage, obviously), Connaught Place, Dilli Haat, Greater Kailash, South Extension and found none of them reached acceptable levels of hygiene.

It’s unclear what grounds there are for optimism but the CII is chipper,  “While most of the eateries that we checked have not been maintaining prescribed hygienic conditions, it is not difficult to achieve the required standards,” said a spokesman.  Really?  Apparently it’s all just a matter of training and the incidents like the one a friend told me about today – a rat landing in the lap of his dining companion during a recent meal at a restaurant in New Friends’ Colony – will be a thing of the past.  We live in hope!

First thousand eateries get thumbs down in quality survey (Indian Express 19th October)

Floating Vegetable Market on Dal Lake

No-one seemed to know why the floating market on Srinagar’s Dal Lake starts before dawn, the proverbial darkest hour, a time of  uneasy minds and bleak thoughts. My own first thought when the boatman came hammering at the door of our houseboat the other morning was “this is madness, leave me alone, no way! and wondered how many other potential customers regularly decided to give it a miss.

American Embassy Breakfast Muffins

I’m in a state of panic: over breakfast at the American Embassy sports club this morning, our son announced today that this will be his last baseball season.  I almost choked on my ‘Thick and Hearty’ A1 Steak Sauce! Apparently, there’s nothing we can do to talk him out of this momentous decision but it’s one which is going to leave a big food-shaped hole in our lives.

A Diamond Bakery and a Bucketful of Brains in Old Delhi

Mostly I go to Old Delhi in the evening when the city’s hardworking day is done, the kebabs are smoking and the Biryani  pots are beckoning.  But recently a sudden craving for pukka Aloo Puri opened up a whole new daytime world of foodie avenues to explore.

Eid Mubarak!

Ramadan came to an end yesterday and I didn’t have to move an inch to be swept up in the celebrations.  At about 9 last night, one of our landlord’s emissaries arrived bearing gifts from Old Delhi:  namkeen and sweets from the wonderful Chaina Ram. Mr Zahoor is definitely my kind of landlord:  whenever there’s a Muslim festival,  we pay the rent, or have guests to stay, he sends over an enormous tiffin tin full of Biryiani, Korma and Shahi Tukda, enough to keep  us going for about 3 days.

Iftar and Qawwalis with the Sufi Saints of Nizamuddin

No apologies for the fact that this post contains no recipes, no slurping or drooling, in fact not a bite passed my lips to bring you this post; sometimes, very occasionally, something other than the food distracts me and I forget to eat.  Obviously, it has to be a pretty big distraction…..this is about one of those times.

Pumpkin, Melon, Cucumber? Mystery Solved and a New Salad Recipe

If you’re paying close attention you’ll know that at the moment thousands broke their fast at the Jama Masjid in Old Delhi the other night, a group of us were having a lively debate about what exactly these are. I had already conceded that I had been way off in thinking they were pumpkins; some thought they were Kharbooza melons, which they certainly resemble in size and colour and they definitely have a musky melony whiff about them.  But the Kharbooza camp was shouted down by a few who insisted they were ‘Kachri’, a type of gourd.  That appeared to be the end of the matter – even the man we’d bought them from called them kachri.

Back home, though,  a bit of quality time with Google threw up some startling findings. 

Jama Masjid, Fast-Breaking and a Strange Fruit

This is the Jama Masjid in all its Ramadan glory, lit up and dominating the Old Delhi skyline, thronged with devotees waiting to break their fast.  A group of us, including Hemanshu of Eating out in Delhi and Sangeeta of Banaras ka Khana went to soak up the atmosphere on Sunday night . The walk from   Chawri Bazaar Metro was more hazardous than usual as we dodged rickshaws racing to spirit their famished passengers to the mosque or home in time for Iftar, the moment the sun goes down and the faithful can eat again.

A Glut of Pumpkins in Old Delhi

Old Delhi Pumpkins

Don’t you just love a glut, when a fruit or vegetable  is at it’s bursting-with-flavour best, begging to be bought in absurdly large quantities, chaining you to the kitchen until you’ve captured its essence in a hundred different ways? Reading that back it strikes me I may be in a minority with this!

Slurping ‘Ishtoo’ in Al-Jawahar

Matia Mahal Bazaar

India’s largest mosque, the beautiful Jama Masjid, is at it’s most charismatic right now during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. For food-lovers the time to go is early evening, just  before ‘Iftaar’  when thousands of  Muslims wait patiently for the day’s fast to end.  Soak up the atmosphere of spiritual devotion and unbearable  anticipation – minds focussed on Allah, stomachs on the tiffin boxes in front of them.