Underlying Assumption: I am not entirely sure about what "food items" mean in this particular topic. I will thus, for my benefit, assume that food items mean dishes and not items literally such as cheese, seasonings and the likes.
How sexist can the world be? Why would you say that the way to a MAN’s heart is through his stomach? I beg to differ. The way to my(a WOMAN’s) heart is through my stomach too. The saying should thus be changed. The way to human’s heart is through their stomach . Ahhem ok don’t raise your eyebrows. I was just trying to say that I love food.
The best thing about various cultures across the world and the world being a global village is that you get to taste what people across the world cook and the variety for one to choose from goes up. How delightful! There are some cuisines that I have tried like Italian, Greek, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, The American style of eating breakfast, Continental and Indian ofcourse, some cuisines that I want to try such as Mongolian and will be many more that I haven’t heard of.
Whenever I am asked to pick favorites I feel quite lost. Like a mother finds it difficult thinking of any kid as her favorite the same is the case with me.(What a simile. I deserve a pat on my back for this!) There are so many dishes that I love to eat that I can’t tag only 10 as my favorites. I’ll thus write about the ones that come to my mind first.
Dal Makhani: Being an Indian I just have to start with Indian first. And till about 22 years back not most cuisines had a presence here in India. The origins of Dal Makhani are debated upon and thus I can’t quite call it Indian but yes it came from the Indian subcontinent. Who cooked it when and how was it adopted is not clear but it’s a part of the Mughlai cuisine in most restaurants now. For all who don’t know, Dal Makhani is a stew prepared from pulses(lentils and beans) and has a generous serving of makhan(butter/cream).
I have been ordering in dal makhani since the time I was 4 and I still love it just as much! My Indian dinner is not complete without dal makhani and when I have dal makhani and naan I don’t need anything else on my plate. Creamy and just delicious.
Best in Delhi at: Bukhara at ITC Maurya Sheraton, Richi Rich( Shalimar Bagh)
Dosas: The joys of being an Indian. I don’t have just North Indian to choose from, I have South Indian, West Indian and East Indian to choose from as well! Dosas are pancakes made from a batter of rice and lentil soaked in water.
There are many varieties of a dosa and the kinds I love are without any masala and very crisp. Dip it in some sambar and some chutney and ummmm. Heaven!
Best in Delhi at: Sagar at The Ashok, Sagar Ratna(Defence Colony)
Gol Gappas: Gol gappas are a very popular street-side snack here in India. It’s round spherical deep fried things filled with spicy water and potatoes. There is a trendy variation to these where it’s filled with vodka, they’re quite yummylicious as well!
Again, I have grown up eating gol gappas. Be it from a chain of stores like Haldirams or a small time redi waala I just love to eat gol gappas. And I have it only with green water no saunth no aalu no nothing. Once in a fortnight I have to have gol gappas.
Best at: Nathus at Bengali Market and various other places across Delhi.
Aalu Chaat: My mouth is watering already. Aalu chaat are pieces of potatoes fried and topped with spices and lemon. Trust me it only sounds simple. This is yet another street side umm delicacy I want to say, that I simply adore. I have it super spicy, sit with a glass of water and a tissue to wipe my nose and enjoy it to the fullest.
Best in Delhi at: Chandani Chowk, oh and you can eat a lot of tasty aalu chaat at Delhi weddings.
Chola Bhaturas: A rather delicious and fattening dish chola bhaturas are a North Indian dish. Chola/Chana is a dry dish of chickpeas and bhaturas are the deep fried breads it is eaten with. Now bhaturas I feel can be cooked by all and sundry, it’s the chola that is tricky. You have to have just the right spices in it. A lot of spices for me makes it yum. And yes it should have pickle and onions. I have eaten Chola Bhaturas at small time restaurants and neither of them matched upto this one particular restaurant in Delhi.
Best in Delhi at: Bengali Sweets Corner( South Extension) and Chachas(Kamla Nagar, ask any Delhi University and he’ll swear by chachas).
Pizzas: These are round, baked breads of flour that have tomato sauce spread on them and some vegetables and cheese as toppings. Go 15 years back and there was this one restaurant in Delhi serving Pizzas. Nirulas. They used to, and still do I guess, have a rather thick base, Indianised tomato sauce, no Italian herbs, onions, capsicums and mushrooms and cheese as toppings. And boy did we all love that pizza!I still have the pizza from Nirulas sometimes and it brings back old memories. Finishing exams and going to Nirulas for a pizza. Time passed and Italian food was served as the cuisine in restaurants. Various restaurants then and now serve Pizzas in these restaurants. Give me a pizza with a lot of cheese and a lot of black olives and I will sit in peace for 15 minutes and enjoy it!
Best in Delhi at: Stone( Defene Colony), La Piazza( Grand Hyatt) and Domino’s.
Maggi: Yes, to me maggi is a dish. What else would you call a tasty something that cooks in 3 minutes flat and is eaten everyday when hunger strikes at the oddest of hours? It can be cooked in ways more than 1 with basic minimal effort. An impatient girl like me has been cooking and loving maggi since the age of 10. Speaks volumes about how delightful maggi is.
Best in everywhere at: Your own home.
Dimsums/Momos: Chinese or Tibetan am not entirely sure about the origin but the North-Eastern street side version tastes delicious. Steaming hot, just the right amount of filling and fiery hot chilli sauce. That’s my idea of momos. The dimsums in Chinese restaurants are good aswell but there’s this different charm of Indian Chinese.
Best in Del at: M-Block Market, Greater Kailash
Icecreams: Famous practically universally and between all age groups icecreams have been around for years. My favorite sunday some 15 years back and even now is Hot Chocolate Fudge at Nirulas. Butterscotch icecream, caramels and spoonsful of hot choco syrup. Used to and still finish every bit of that icecream. Another favorite is "colachoo"/cola ice bar. I used to savor that for some 10 mins everyday after school in the school bus. I need a colachoo rightttt now:(
Pickles: What fun is it when you don’t get your morning breakfast/dinner with some pickle? Aam ka achaar, gobhi ka achaar, gaajar ka achaar, karonde ka achaar, hing ka achaar, mixed achaar and there are a lot many more varieties to pickles. Me loves karonda, mirchi and aam ka achaar.Infact I even love pickled cucumbers. I make sure theres a lot of them in my salad at Subway. Yum yum.