India According to Gastronome by Choice

Happy Belated Diwali to all. Its been a great festive season out here in India and going by the crowds on the streets in Delhi and in the shops everyone was in the festive spirit. With work taking a backseat for a while and some time on my hands, I decided to make a culinary map of India and there were so many delights from each region to add that the space literally ran out. Now I could have taken the easy way out and just filled the map with one word, Curry, but that would not have been the India map according to me but to some one from outside India. Similarly, within India, being a North Indian ,I could have filled up loads of delicacies up north and then only added Idli and Dosa for whole of south, Dhokla and Vada Pav for West and Momos for East of India. And for someone down south of India, North would have meant only Butter Chicken and Whisky. But India is so much more. It is a pure gastronomical delight with varied cuisines across regions and some exciting culinary masterpieces, some of which in today's date have crossed over to a different region and assimilated so much in the day to day meals that it is impossible to figure out what the origin is. This attempt of mine is not only a very amateurish attempt at working on graphic software but documenting these culinary masterpieces and staples across regions. See it and enjoy it. I hope someday, I can look back at this and proudly declare as having not only eaten all of this but also cooked all of them up.

 Please click on the pic to see the enlarged map and culinary delights :)

Read more »

Old Delhi Food Trail - A Photo Essay (Part I)

Every once in a while I have this urge to try the real street food of Delhi and that is when I make my trip to Chandni Chowk. Over my last few trips, many of my friends have joined me to walk through the always crowded by lanes of Chandni Chowk, Chawri bazaar and nearby areas to savor some of the tastiest food available. The choices on display blow your mind and it is impossible to miss the food stalls and little shops as they cater to a thronging crowd of hungry visitors daily.

These are some of the images that I captured in between digging into tasty chaat and searching for some legendary food outlets.

Chandni Chowk - the mere mention brings up memories of some tasty chaat vendors and the best chaat in Delhi.

Bishan Swaroop

Sultan Kulle Wala

Ashok Chat Corner

Not just chaat, the area is brimming with snacks and food from everywhere.

Bombay Sandwich in Delhi

Panna standing at Nai Sarak has some tasty Moth Kachori..try it if you havent till now.

Incase regular kachoris are what you crave then make way to Jung Bahadurs Kachori shop

And how can you be in Delhi and not try Matra Kulcha. 

And talking of Matra, Rameshji in Kinari Bazaar serves the best Matra Kulcha in town.

A trip to Chandni Chowk will be incomplete without a mention of Parathewalli Galli. The atmosphere and the crowd eating there at any time is to be seen even if oily fried parathas are not your choice of food.

And it is impossible to roam the area and not catch the countless hawkers selling nankhatai.

Going to the old Delhi area and not making a trip to Karim's is totally unpardonable, unless you are a vegetarian. Famed for its mutton preparations, the lamb Nihari and tandoori roti for breakfast are a must do, though they even serve it in evenings for a few hours.

M in front of Karims entrance - should I order the Nihari, Paya, Qorma or all three ?

The Tandoori Roti and Nihari are a perfect couple :). Try it at Karims or Al-Jawahar. Which one is better? Well, the jury has been undecided for all these years.

This happens to be the breakfast crowd at Shyam Sweets. Try out their Bedmi Pooris.

 Enough of oily and calorie filled food...try the fresh fruit instead.

There is also a lot to satisfy your sweet tooth

Rabarhi

And how can one forget Daulat ki Chaat. Only available for a few months of winter, I cant wait for it this year. Another few weeks to go I guess.

And the Khurchan at Hazarilal Jain...yum!

And the best way to finish off everything you ate is by way of a thick lassi at Amritsari Lassiwaale near Fatehpuri gate.

Read more »

United Coffee House

Address:
E-15, Inner Circle,
Connaught Place, New Delhi
Tel - 011-2341 6075 /2341 1697 / 98106 66044

Credit Cards - Yes
Average Price - 2500/- for 2 people
Alcohol - Yes


View Larger Map

Connaught Place used to be the ultimate shopping mecca, before the mall craze took over New Delhi and most of India. A weekend well spent meant going to Connaught  Place and roaming around from one block to another, eating some good food and then making your way towards India Gate for a lazy late evening by the garden enjoying Limchoo (Lime Ice Lolly). Every visit to Connaught Place made me pass the United Coffee House, but I never made it pass its entry doors (I never even gave it a second glance). I was always looking for one fast food joint or another when I was a kid, and then in my college days and younger days at work, I always made it to the most happening watering hole or sports bar. 

It was the same idea a couple of months back, as my good ol' college friend and I met up at Connaught Place. It was the mid-point for both of us, as he was coming from Dwarka and I from Noida. Post our customary Hi-Hellos, we set about to walk down to the nearest urban watering hole, it was then that we crossed the United Coffee House and decided to walk in. This Sunday, I did the same thing by taking my better half and kids to this Culinary Landmark in New Delhi. 

As you make it through the doors, it feels as if you have just gone through a time warp and been transported many decades back. This 2 storeyed, 138 cover restaurant, high Ceilings with gilded work and Viennese Chandeliers preserve the old world charm and the Staff, in colonial club steward uniform complete the experience. 

The Menu is a story in itself - a story of how this establishment, opened in 1942, as an outlet, selling tea and coffee in the evenings with some snacks has changed over the years (just as Delhi has). They offer an Indian section, an Oriental Section (with Chinese, some Thai and Japanese delicacies thrown in) and a European, Continental and Mediterranean section. They also have a section for Tea and Coffee snacks complete with a pakoda platter, chicken cutlets, Keema/Regular  Samosa and South Indian tifiin items (Idli/Vada/Dosa) and a section devoted to Omelettes and one for sandwiches. All the sections have traditional favorites and it made me extremely happy to go through the continental section and find old 1950's & 1960's classics such as Mushroom Stroganoff(445/-), Chicken A'La Kiev(545/-), Poulet Alexander(545/-) and hold your breath Lobster Thermidor (1595/-). 

Today we ordered the Cheese Balls (175/-)which is listed as their signature favorite and their claim to have sold over a million and counting and Baluchi Aloo (295/-) for starters. The Baluchi Aloo were one of the best stuffed tandoori aloo in the Capital stuffed with a host of different nuts, raisins and the occasional pomegranate seeds, which my son excitedly pointed out. The Cheese balls elicited exclamations of surprise from all of us, given the huge size of the balls, but they left us a little disappointed. We were all expecting them to be gooey and stringy from inside but these were dry doughy balls and strangely had an after taste of egg. 

Next for the main course was Chicken A'La Kiev (545/-) and Hampstead Fish n' Chips (545/-). The chicken looked great when it arrived, on a bed of mashed potatoes with an assortment blanched fresh vegetables and french fries neatly arranged around it. We loved the cheesy buttery taste of the chicken and the vegetables tasted wonderful. But the real winner of the day was the fish n' chips. Served with Tartar Sauce,  a bread basket and herb butter, the fish was firm and flavorful. It tasted so fresh that one would think that this restaurant was on the banks of a water body. 

The portion sizes are huge and by the time we finished the fish n'chips, we had no place for a dessert, even though the apple pie with cinnamon ice cream on the next table looked extremely inviting. Our bill with taxes came to a little over 2400/- (colas and mineral water thrown in ...no alcohol ) of which 400/- were only taxes and we felt that it was worth the experience. 

During my last visit, we enjoyed the chicken cutlets (which were more of an escalope) and Chicken Salt n'pepper (425/-). We could have done without the bbq chicken wings (345/-) which had a funny sauce coating and a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds. Interestingly during both my visits the place was crowded, and things moved in slow motion (service is a little slow)- just so you can savor each and every moment. Even the lighting, especially on the 1st floor, makes you feel as you if you are seeing things in Eastman Color. I will personally recommend sitting on the ground level - more spacious and good natural sunlight.

This was my second visit in as many months and I look forward to many more visits, just to go back in time and enjoy the classic culinary gems and an era gone by.

Note: This restaurant is a culinary landmark and I have restrained myself from rating the place.

Read more »