Bombay Sandwich - Delhi Style

3 Years of my college life were the best years of my life till date. The fact that they were spent in Bombay (I still refuse to call it Mumbai), makes me in love with the city. I still cannot figure out as to whether those years were a blast because of Bombay or did I fall in love with Bombay because of my college life. Since then, everything Bombay and I feel an instant connection. Take the Bombay sandwich for example. I never had the Bombay Sandwich while I was in the city. It was mostly about Vada Pav those days, or sitting in the Irani Restaurant behind college every evening and having Bun Maska and cutting chai. Bombay Sandwich came much later...3 years after Bombay to be precise, when I was posted in Vadodara. There was this vendor just outside the Hotel where I used to work who prepared this and it was the ideal snack, especially since I was bored out of my skull having restaurant food daily. Since then, I have been in love with Bombay Sandwich and during my trips back to Bombay have tried it out on a few occasions. So, last week during my Old Delhi trip to eat some yum food, I chanced upon this vendor selling Bombay Sandwich and I had to try it out. After all, this was my way of still maintaining my connect with the maximum city.
Now the Bombay Sandwich made in Old Delhi was totally different from the ones available in Bombay. The beetroot slices did not find their way into the sandwich and grated cheese was replaced by good old paneer (Cottage cheese). In the end, he did not toast the sandwich (which I pointed out to him) and my favorite was missing, which being the accompaniment - like sprinkled sev on top or some potato wafers or best even more grated cheese on top.
So have a look at this variation available in the bylanes of Old Delhi and till I post about the Real McCoy in Bombay, this will have to do till then.

Take 2 slices of bread and smear butter on one end of each slice. Then apply some mint chutney.

Layer one bread with sliced boiled potatoes.

Now add a layer of sliced cucumber

Sprinkle some sandwich masala. Most call this their secret to a great sandwich. I just think this is chaat masala and  black pepper.

Add in some onion rings. 

Followed by slices of tomatoes. Now this is when Beetroot slices should follow also, but this is Delhi style..need to be hatke.

And it totally deviates from here and starts looking like a Delhi Sandwich. Add in a slice of paneer (I still love my grated cheese on top). Sprinkle some more secret masala.

Cover with the second slice. The sandwich is almost done.

Purists...dont cringe. I know he should toast it to get the real Bombay style sandwich, but like I said earlier, this is a distant copy. He just cuts it in 4 triangles to make them bite sized.

A sachet of ketchup (now I love the toppings I got in Bombay) and you are ready to bite into it.

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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.

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Street Foods of India - Kulle Ki Chaat (Delhi)

The charm of being a true blue Delhi resident is the exposure one has to chaat ...different kinds of chaat. Chaat derives its name from the hindi word 'Chaatna', literally meaning licking ones fingers. Since most of the chaat items ensure you will end up licking your fingers, the name is very apt. Chaat has now spread its tentacles to various parts othe country and it is not uncommon to find chaat stalls in South India, where they hawk something called a Delhi Chaat. The key differentiators of all chaats boils down to the use of ingredients and their freshness. The freshness of yogurt used, the freshness of the spices, the crispness of the papdi, the freshness of the fruit ...the freshness.

I was in Old Delhi last to last Saturday to sample the chaat fare on offer and try out the kulle ki chaat which sadly is not commonly available, atleast, not in the area I'm in. I love my chaats and my better half more than me, but we had both never had a kulle ki chaat ever. So it was a pleasant experience and the glee on both our faces while we were sampling this was a moment to freeze.

Post my return back home, I knew this was one chaat I had to do for this blog. More than that, this was one for keeps as a great appetizer for parties. It's simple, fresh and so different. The first challenge was to source the variety of bengal gram used in the chaat. Since, it is not used in the chaats in my area, I had to request someone to get it from me from Khari Baoli. Next was the conceptualization. For kulle ki chaat, you need to make a kulla out of Potatoes, cucumber, chunk of watermelon, bananas,tomatoes and then fill them and spice them. Kulla is a scooped out vegetable or fruit. I used only three, Watermelon, Potato and Cucumber, despite protests from my better half to use bananas as she loved the banana ka kulla. The result was the same expression on both our face as we had our plate of watermelon, potato and cucumber ka kulla and enjoyed a wonderful Noida sunset from our rooftop.

Kulle Ki Chaat
(For 4 People)


Ingredients
Potatoes,big - 2
Watermelon, seedless (I didn't get one) - 1
Cucumber - 2
Cumin - 3 Tblsp
Black Salt - 2 Tblsp
Salt - To Taste
Lemon - 2
Bengal Gram, the zero size variety (soaked overnight and boiled) - 1/2 Cup
Pomegranate seeds - 1 Cup

For the Masala (alternately, use 3 Tblsp chaat masala)
Black Pepper Corns - 2 Tsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon Stick - 1
Mango Powder - 3 Tsp
Ginger Powder - 1 Tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 Tsp
Dry Mint Leaves - 1/2 Tsp

Method:
1. Parboil the potatoes and peel and cut them into half (breadthwise). Scoop out the middle to make a empty barrel.
2. Peel the cucumber and cut into 4 inch pieces. Hollow them out too.
3. Take a small chunk of watermelon and hollow it out.
4. Arrange them on a plate.
5. Dry roast the ingredients for the masala and powder them.
6. Dry roast the cumin seeds and powder them with a mortar and pestle.
7. Sprinkle half the salt, black salt, cumin powder, chaat masala on the hollowed cups.
8. Add the pomegranate and bengal grams and fill the cups till they are half full.
9. Sprinkle the rest of the salt, black salt, cumin powder, chaat masala.
10. Squeeze lemon juice on the cups.
11. The chaat is ready to go.

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Street Foods of India - Ram Ladoo (Delhi)

Come winters in Delhi and a very different foodie tends to emerge. One that longs for a nice mid morning drive to pick up some Chhole Bhature, get it packed and rush home so that all can have a heavy brunch. Or, some hot aloo tikki in the evenings at the roadside chaat shop. Parties tend to get lively around the grill, with hot tikkas and kababs coming straight off it onto the waiting plates. I long for getting my share of ram ladoos during winters, and my perfect haunt for getting them - Lajpat Nagar market. Garnished with some freshly grated radish and generous helpings of coriander-mint-green chili chutney, they make for the perfect roadside snack for me.
I don't know why they are called Ram Ladoo. Some even call them Gulgullas, but these moong dal dumplings somehow take you back to the old world Delhi, when little money could buy you a good lavish evening, weekends were spent with people and not TV sets, life was far less complicated and snacks like these were the McBurgers for us.

Ram Ladoo

Ingredients:

Moong Dal, washed - 200 gm

Chana Dal - 100 gm

Soda BiCarb - 1 Tsp

Salt - To Taste

Green Chillies, finely chopped - 1

Oil - For Deep frying

Radish, peeled & grated

Cilantro, finely chopped

Mint Chutney

Method:

1. Wash the dals and soak the dals in water separately for 6 hours alongwith soda bicarb.

2. Drain the water and coarsely grind the dals without any addition of extra water. Note : Do not grind the dal to a smooth paste else the batter will not form into ladoos.

3. Add in salt and finely chopped green chillies. Beat the mixture till it gets a light and frothy.

Note: To check doneness of consistency required, drop a small ball of batter into a bowl of water. If it rises to the surface it is done, else, get back to beating it more.

4. Heat oil in a wok till it gets hot.

5. Using wet finger Lift a small amount of batter and drop into the hot oil. Fry till golden.

6. Remove from wok onto paper napkins to drain excess oil. Repeat till al batter is used or you have fried the ram ladoos required.

7. To Assemble : Put 2 ladoos in a bowl and top with grated radish, mint chutney and some chopped cilantro. (P.S. : I have added less of the chutney. Usually it is flooded with the chutney :) )

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