Panacea!!

Of late I've been trying to follow the trails of my favorite food/travel shows, whenever I decide to travel to a new place. It's a different kick when you've seen the restaurant on TV with Bourdain/Zimmern/Wright having memorable, delightful or even epiphanous experiences and then go and check the place out for yourself.
So when I decided to spend this year's vacation in Morocco, I had to check out the relevant episodes in my favorite travel and food-related shows. I had already seen the two Morocco episodes in Season 1 of A Cook's Tour, but Bourdain being a finicky eater and a stickler for authenticity, had recognized that the best Moroccan food is to be found in homes and restricted himself to family-owned Riads apart from the whole roasted goat with Berber nomads in the desert. Both these experiences were beyond reach for me, so I turned to other shows and downloaded the Globe Trekker episode where Ian Wright travels to Morocco. And then later, I found an episode of Bizarre foods where Andrew Zimmern goes to Morocco in search of exotic eats. In both these shows, there was one and only one common venue. And this one made it look like Bourdain had a bad day in the office as far as the Morocco episode was concerned. How could he have missed this one? It was so obvious!
So, when I finally landed in Casablanca, I coudn't wait to get to Marrakech, where I knew something special was waiting for me. After two days full of trip planning and mint tea, we reached Marrakech on a Monday evening. After checking into a Riad, I wasted no time in getting directions from our host and walked straight to it. Delight, temptation and intimidation were just some of the feelings I experienced at first sight. This would definitely be a memorable evening.
Place Dejmaa-El-Fna is a large open square in the heart of Marrakech, just inside the walls of its ancient medina. It's about one square kilometre in area and has been described as the largest banquet in the world. During the day it is mostly occupied by Orange Juice stalls, hawkers selling trinkets, snake-charmers and street-performers. During the evening, most of these make way for several hundred food stalls and locals and tourists alike flock to it every night.
Having seen the place on TV, I knew a bit about what was on offer here. Not that it would help me in any way. As soon as I entered the maze of food-stalls, I felt completely lost. And the persistent touts at every stall didn't help either. The guy in the red coat at stall no. 15 proved the most difficult. I really didnt want to make a choice this soon with so much on offer. Moreover, this was a regular restaurant stall and I wanted to try the specialities first. So we got out of eating there by promising that we'd come back after checking the other stuff out.
We started with the Orange Juice stalls, of which there were about ten at one end of the square. I had never given orange juice much thought until I had a glass of it at Djemaa El-Fna. The oranges were some of the biggest I'd ever seen and they were bright orange, even on the inside. And the juice was so good, it made us come back for more. Lonely Planet calls the Orange Juice at Djemaa El-Fna the best in the world and I have to say I agree.


The orange juice stalls have the snail soup stalls for neighbours, so thats where I trained my guns next. Five dirhams for a bowl was a good bargain, but getting those little bastards out of their shells was tough. In the end, I chucked the toothpick and used my hands instead...:) The snails were good but the best part was the broth remaining at the end of it. Now, I had a nice little video of me devouring those snails but it got lost on its way here. So much for the first ever video on http://hungrykya.blogspot.com. Such is life...:(
The Orange Juice stalls and the Snail Soup stalls form a T with the Goat Head stalls!! I had seen this one in the Bizarre Foods episode and 15 Dirhams for a quarter of a head was an absolute bargain. The heads are kept in a stew inside a gigantic pot and after taking your order, the guy at the stall pulls one out, chops it into four, shaves the meat and cartilage off a quarter and serves it to you with a piece of bread soaked in the stew. There's also a plate of slat-pepper-spice mix at the stall, which you can use for seasoning. This was definitely the piece-de-resistance at the Djemaa. Have a look!!


After the goat's head, we kept our promise and ate at stall no. 15 which was one of the regular restaurant stalls. More than the food, it was the entertainment provided by the guy in the red coat, which was the highlight here. Not a single tourist could pass the vicinity of the stall without being accosted by our man and he did manage to lure quite a few. But the place did make good Brochettes and a mean Couscous.


I was completely stuffed when I walked out of the square after eating so much but I knew I had barely scratched the surface here. So it was no surprise when we went back the next night. This time, I went to the Goat Head stall and ordered the brain. This is done a little differently. The brains are lying on the mise-en-place at the stall and the chef takes one and drops it in the stew. After a couple of minutes, he takes it out, chops it into four pieces, and serves it with a bit of the goat's head and the stew-soaked bread. Sinful!!

Harira is the staple soup of Morocco and there are about 10-15 stalls that serve it along with dates at one end of the square. The soup is made from chickpeas and vermicelli, seasoned with spices and thickened with flour. Only 3 Dirhams for a large bowl of piping hot soup with bread and 3 Dirhams for the dates. In retrospect, I had Harira many times after the Djemaa, which was my first, and it was by far the best.

Two visits to Place Djemaa El-Fna and I knew I would still miss out on something or the other. The tripe I saw on the menu at some stalls, the offal. But the time I spent there was the best in the entire trip. It is unlike anything you've ever seen before. It has become my new favorite place in the world and I have appointed myself as it's unofficial brand ambassador...:) I also strongly believe that a place like this is the solution to all problems in life. Hard day at work? Break-up? Feeling down? Let's go to Djemaa El-Fna! Stuff yourself and forget about it for a while! We need a Djemaa El-Fna in every city in the world!!

The Real McCoy

I love it when I walk into a restaurant expecting nothing and it surprises me with some stellar food. But I love it even more when I go expecting a lot and the restaurant still manages to knock me out with killer food. And what happens when I walk into this restaurant only by chance, because I coudnt go someplace else? Magic...that's what.
And magic definitely happened when I walked into an empty Moti Mahal. It was my last meal in Delhi and I actually wanted to go to Kareem's. But it was Ramzan and Kareem's would only be open at night. I was disappointed, but very soon my thoughts turned to Moti Mahal, which I'd seen a couple of times when I passed by it on my way to the Paranthe Waali Galli and to Red Fort. And since I had heard of it as the place that invented Tandoori Chicken, it became an obvious choice.
The restaurant is quite close to Kareem's so getting there was no problem. But upon arrival, we found the place almost empty. The courtyard and the entrace looked shabby and even the interiors were in need of a makeover, paint peeling off the walls and all. For a moment, I was in doubt. Was this really the original Moti Mahal? The one I read about, the one I saw on Vir Sanghvi's 'A Matter of Taste'? We decided to give it a try anyway.



But before I start singing the paeans, there's time to digress for a short history lesson. Tandoori Chicken, as we know it today was invented by one Kundan Lal Gujral in his restaurant called - no prizes for guessing - Moti Mahal in Peshawar during the late British Raj. The Tandoor was originally used to make rotis and naans only. But Mr. Gujral, in an attempt to attract customers with something innovative, started roasting marinated chickens in the coal-fired oven. And thus, our beloved Tandoori chicken was born. At the time of partition, Gujral moved to Delhi and so did Moti Mahal. It was here that it gained fame and even became a favorite of Prime Minister Nehru. And as if this wasn't enough, a cook in the Moti Mahal kitchen later invented another Indian classic, Butter Chicken!
Back to the main story now...we obviously began with the Tandoori Chicken and needless to say, it was the best I've ever had. First of all, it looked different from all the others I'd had till then. That's because unlike all the other places, they dont use artificial colouring to make their chicken look bright red. This one's the normal brown. And it's piping hot...coz it's cooked in an actual Tandoor with burning charcoal and not on some gas stove or electric grill. Go back to all the 'Tandooris' you've had so far and try to recollect...have any of them been cooked in an actual Tandoor or have any of them looked like they have been cooked in an actual Tandoor? Chances are, your answer is no. So those are the three things that make Moti Mahal's Tandoori the best - It's the original, it uses no colour and its cooked in an actual fuckin Tandoor with burning charcoal.



So after the Tandoori Chicken, it was time for some Butter Chicken with rotis. And surprise surprise, this turned out to be the piece de resistance! Once again, I'm gonna make you go back and think of all the Butter Chicken you've had in the past. What makes Butter Chicken? The cream/butter, the tomato and the spice. Now think back and you'll realise that every time you've had Butter Chicken, it was either too creamy or had too much tomato or too much spice. Have you ever had Butter Chicken with all three in perfect proportion? That's the kind of Butter Chicken Moti Mahal makes. Coz its the ORIGINAL.
But it's not only the food that makes Moti Mahal such a great place. Its also the hospitality. After the meal, our waiter came to us and asked how we liked the food. When we said we loved it, he quickly responded, "Mera dil behlane ke liye toh nahi keh rahe hai?". When we asked to see the Tandoor, his eyes lit up and he gave us a tour of the entire restaurant and kitchen. Not only did he show us the Tandoor, he also introduced us to the people who cooked our food that afternoon.



I left the restaurant in a state of trance. Needless to say I'd recommend Moti Mahal to anybody who's going to Delhi anytime soon. But what disturbed me was the emptiness of the place on a Sunday afternoon. By the time we left, a lot of Westerners had actually come in but the place was still half empty. For the kind of food this place serves, Delhiites and tourists alike should be flocking to it. Moti Mahal deserves to be packed to the gills for lunch and dinner, on weekdays and weekends. It deserves no less.

Of State Bhavans and Tandoori Chicken

I had been thinking of this for a while. The idea came to me during my travels in Europe and also from TV shows like Anthony Bourdain : No Reservations and Thirsty Traveler. The plan was to travel to different Indian cities and sample the best local food at cult restaurants in each of them. Just like Anthony Bourdain does in No Reservations and Andrew Zimmern does in Bizarre Foods. Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bangalore were the cities on my list. I was really excited about this idea till I started working and it was all but forgotten. But more than a year later, when a friend who had come down from the States suggested that we take a weekend trip together with another friend who had moved back for good, the idea popped up from the back of my head and I said "Bring it on!!''.
We decided to go to Delhi for 3 days and I was already making a list of all the places I wanted to eat at. My friend suggested a 1 day journey to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and I could only see it as a needless waste of one awesome meal..:) So I talked her out of the plan and made sure there was time for six awesome meals during our time in the capital!
So we landed in Delhi on a hot Friday morning and headed to our hotel first. After checking in, it was time for our first meal and I had just the right place in mind. The awesome Delhi metro took us to Connaught Place and after a bit of searching, we were at Nirula's, Delhi's very own fast food chain. A lot was on offer, from Rajma Chawal and Chhole Bhature to Burgers, Pizzas and Ice Creams. I ordered the Mutton Burger with fries and a Strawberry milk shake. The grub was decent, but I have to admit, I still prefer McDonalds. However, spending a lazy weekend afternoon munching on Burgers and sipping milkshake at Nirula’s looked like a typical Delhi thing to me and I am glad I did it. No regrets. Friday evening was spent catching up with a colleague at TGIF over drinks and office gossip. Not much to write about in terms of food eaten.
Saturday began with breakfast at another Delhi landmark, the Parathe Waali Galli. Much has been said, written and shown on television about the Parathas served by many small eateries in this maze of narrow lanes in Old Delhi. I had to find out what the fuss was about. The place took some finding but we eventually got there and saw several hole-in-the-wall Paratha-serving places that all looked the same. We finally stopped at one shop and were greeted by pictures of Sonia-ji and Sheila-ji devouring Parathas at the aparently century-old eatery. Over the next hour or so, we ordered a variety of Parathas between the three of us. From the standard Aloo, Gobi, Mooli to Paneer and Tamatar. The best thing about this meal was the amazing variety of accompaniments served with the Parathas. Sweet and spicy chutneys, fried chillies and two Sabzis. On the flipside though, they seem to have become stingy with the filling..:( All in all a decent breakfast.
Not everybody knows this, but Delhi has a representative house for each state and union territory of India and most of these Bhavans/Sadans have very good canteens that serve cuisine from the state. Of these, the Maharashtra Bhavan and Andhra Pradesh Bhavan are particularly recommended. So, after visiting the Red Fort, India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan, we decided to have lunch at Andhra Bhavan. On reaching the place, we found a long line. A sure sign that the place was worth it's reputation. We wanted to try the Biryani but were told that it's served only on Sundays. So it was the standard Thaali and a plate of Chicken Fry. I love idiosyncracies of people working in restaurants and found one such character at Andhra Bhavan. This guy takes care of the queue and shouts token numbers before escorting you to a table. And he does it in his own peculiar style. "65...66..67 tokayn first sir please tokayn first...68...69...70" he makes the place that little bit more special. After getting our seat, we were treated to an extremely filling, extremely tasty and extremely spicy Andhra meal consisting of chapatis, papads, several spicy vegetable dishes, pickles...the works. And the Chicken Fry was spicy as hell and yet to die for. Best meal in Delhi thus far.
In the evening, we paid a visit to one of my favorite places in Delhi...Dilli Haat.
This is a large compound like place with handicraft stalls from all over the country and food stalls from almost every state..my favorites are the ones from the North East which serve awesome Pork Momos. However, we were so full from the meal at Andhra Bhavan , that we had to give the Momos a miss.
For dinner that night, we went to what is probably the most recognisable Indian retsaurant on the globe...Bukhara at the ITC Maurya Sheraton. It's very highly rated, very exclusive and a place to be seen at. My friend had an Amerian acquantance living at the hotel so she joined us for dinner. The menu at this place is limited to say the least. Its rotis, kebabs, the famed Dal Bukhara and desserts, thats it. We had the Seekh Kebab and Murgh Malai Kebab with some rotis and the dal. The food was decent, but worth a place in the Restaurant Magazine's top 100?? No way.
Moreover, the bill burnt a hole in our pockets. So when it was time to fill the feedback form, our American friend decided to get back at the management and wrote "Over-priced" and "Food not up to the mark". This prompted the manager to rush to our table and ask for a detailed feedback. I have to admit, I was left pretty red-faced by the whole incident but it was fun and made for an interesting story in the end.
Sunday was our last day in the capital and for lunch, I wanted to go to another celebrated but much more humble eatery that's considered a carnivore's paradise...Kareem's. This joint is in the heart of Old Delhi near Jama Masjid. But to our disappointment, we found upon reaching the place that it was closed for lunch during Ramzan. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise coz I then thought of going to a place which we would otherwise have missed. It was in Old Delhi itself and is famous for being the restaurant that invented the Tandoori Chicken...Moti Mahal. When we got there, we found the place almost empty and had our doubts as to whether this was in fact the original Moti Mahal. But one bite of that Tandoori Chicken and all doubts were laid to rest. Its was simply the best I had ever had. Even the Butter Chicken we ordered later, the Kebabs, the Rotis, couldnt be better. Add to it, the hospitality of the staff. This place should be packed 24/7. After the meal, we were shown the Tandoor and even met some of the cooks. This place beats the shit out of Bukhara. I am so impressed, I'm gonna write a separate post about Moti Mahal very soon.
That was our last proper meal in Delhi and probably the best one. There's a lot of great food to be had in Delhi. Perhaps the best thing is food from all over the country, thanks to Dilli Haat and the State Bhavans that are located here. It also has some legendary retaurants for Punjabi and Muslim food. Do try some of the places I've mentioned the next time you're in the capital. And keep watching this space coz Hyderabad is next!