The ninth edition of the Dilli 6 food festival at Edesia offered delicacies from the reigns of Tomars, Mughals and Britishers to Punjabi, Baniya and Kayastha. By Ayushi Sharma
Delhi’s obsession for chaats belies description. For the city’s denizens have loyalties towards their favourite joints and eateries firmly in place which they can discuss with an intensity akin only to their obsession with politics. If you think that Dilli 6 is all about thick and juicy jalebis glistening with ghee or crisp fried aalo chaat in a melange of chutneys, then be prepared to be pleasantly surprised as Edesia at Crowne Plaza, Okhla, can take you through the culinary tour of old Delhi spanning through time, dynasties and generations without you having to traverse through its congested bylanes.
The place seems to have taken a step back in time and the music has set the tone. As I entered the place, they were playing a Bollywood retro song Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh and I started humming along... Kaha Shuru Kaha Khatam... Hitting the nostalgia rush just right, they had a red letter box with postal code 110006 as well as a decades old scooter with a DIL-006 number plate. To make time travel complete, there was also a real astrologer with a green parakeet trained to pick up the tarot-like fortune cards and also a paanwala.
The decor too has kept Chandni Chowk as its main theme. The silver lights with a tint of blue spread across the ceiling gave it a feel of eating right under the starry sky. A series of posters of films that have been shot in the walled city (or sets that looked like it) like Dilli-6, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Kurbaan, was displayed, depicting a slice of life. There were thelas serving Pani puris, Tikkis and Raj bhog while the lavish buffet with almost 80 plus dishes was served with signboards that reminded one of metro stations.
According to executive chef Swaminandan, Crowne Plaza, the old city shares an intimate relationship with food across the dynasties such as Pandavas, Tomars, Mughals and the Britishers which ruled here. The food at Purani Dilli is sumptuously garnished with culinary secrets that have been passed down through generations. Also, Delhi being the food capital of the country has the influence of several cuisines such as Kayastha, Baniya and Punjabi. He said, “The food festival attempts to unravel the culinary legacy of Purani Dilli travelled through ages.”
I have a notion that you are not a true Delhiite if your taste buds don’t salivate when you smell the whiff of hot oil from the kadhai and tawas when your favourite street food such as Aloo Tikki, Golguppa, Dahi Bhalle, Aloo Puri and Chole Bhature is being prepared. Mine certainly did.
It was Civil Lines metro station that served Golguppas — the name is enough to make you run down the road to get your fill of the snack. They told me if I really want to enjoy them, I have to go to the thela and then eat it and I couldn't agree more so I held those paper bowls in my hand and gulped down an uncountable number of them. They were a delightful offering of pale green masala water, saunth, chutneys and soft-boiled potatoes. Apart from mitha paani and khata paani, they also served with spicy hing water. This tangy, spicy treat with the cherry on the cake of hygienic environment only tempted me further.
After munching on to the starters at the chaat thelas, I hopped on to the Parathe Wali Gali metro station, to experience those deep fried, golden Parathas stuffed with fillings as varied as Mirchi, Nimbu, Gobhi, Methi to Mooli and Khoya. Imagine lemon pickle stuffed inside a paratha and one starts to drool. Well, the Nimbu Paratha tasted like that in every respect. I tried the Mirchi one too and if you are anything like me, always craving for a spicy breakfast while at the same time not wanting to give up on parathas, this one will satisfy your cravings for sure. The taste of the green chillies encased in a crunchy fried paratha, is sheer joy for your taste buds.
Remember Kajol in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham always answering the phone with “Bharat Halwai, Koi bhi occasion voccasion ho, shaadi ya sagai.” Well, they recreated the same sweet shop with plethora of desserts to choose right from Feroze ka Habshi Halwa, Shafiq Kheer wale, Kuremal Ki Matka Kulfi, Daulat ki Chaat, Fatehpuri Lachcha Rabri, More Lala Ka Kada Doodh.
