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!