Be it rain or storm, nothing can dampen a DIlli-wala’s spirit, especially when it comes to food. As scheduled, Delhi Walks went out for an Iftar Walk on 6th Aug 2013 in spite of heavy downpour around the city. The roads were crowded with buyers, sellers, rickshaw-wallas, tourists beggars, like any other evening in Old Delhi. But still, there was something special about this evening. This was the time for Iftaar- the evening meal when fasting Muslims break their daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
We started our gastronomical journey at Chawri Bazar, where one can find some wonderful street food joints. Our first stop was Ashok Chaat Bhandar, which is located just outside the gate no.3 of Chawri Bazaar Metro Station. Here one can find variety of chaats, golgappas, bhalla and tikkis. We had some golgappas and dahi bhallas before moving onto our next stop.
After this, we decided to try some real nonveg cuisines and thus we moved ahead to Jama Masjid Mosque area. The mood at Jama Masjid was very high on energy and festive, in spite of the unfavorable weather. The whole atmosphere was breathtaking. Inside the Jama Masjid, families laid out their mats, arranged their Iftaar food, waiting for the azaan to break their fast.
While the atmosphere inside Jama Masjid was sort of soothing, the markets outside were buzzing with people. The Matia Mahal street has many street shops which were selling dried nuts (dates, cashewnuts, kishmish, etc) and dried Sewai (semolina noodles), which usually are consumed during iftaar and Eid.
In Matia Mahal Street, we decided to have our evening meal at the Al-Jawahar restaurant, which serves some really delicious non-veg mughlai cuisine. For starters, we ordered shami kebab and chicken seekh kebab. Later on, we ordered Mutton Barra, Fried Chicken, Chicken Biryani along with tandoori roti.
After eating till our souls were satisfied, we moved on to have some dessert. We had a small portion of Shahi Tukda, a dish rich in ghee and sugar. By this time, we were completely full up to our necks. We decided to head towards our final stop-Jama Masjid, as it was almost time for the Maghrib ki Namaz. Holding our sandals in one hand and making our way through the crowd, we found a spot for ourselves to sit. Don’t be shocked if you get invited to share the iftaar with some families around you. We ended our journey with delicious Halwa puri and Sharbat in Meena Bazaar.
While on our way back to Chawri Bazaar Metro, we all had one thing in our mind- THIS PLACE IS A HEAVEN FOR GLUTTONS!!
