My first full day in India was a sensory extravaganza! Sights, sounds, tastes and smells! I successfully navigated the metro (actually quite straightforward) to Old Delhi and the meeting place for my ‘A Chef’s Tour’ food tour. I was an hour early so spent some time wandering by myself and stopped at Haldiram’s for raj kachori (recommended by my homestay host, Pankaj) so I could sit down for a few minutes. It was delicious – sweet and savoury all at once with so many flavours and colours!

***Disclaimer – this post might not be that thrilling, but it’s mostly my way of getting all these dishes straight in my head and remembering what we ate!

I met up with my guide, Kuldeep and a couple from France and South Africa who had quit their jobs in Lyon and were travelling the world for 2 years in search of their next stopping point. Loved hearing their perspectives on the countries we had all been to. After a quick orientation to Old Delhi, the Red Fort, the Chandni Chowk market and its temples, we headed to our first stop for jalebi – sweet, syrupy and sticky! I somehow missed getting my own photo so here’s a stock photo from the internet 😬

Next was the paratha – stuffed flatbread. I have this aversion to taking food photos (a story for another day) and so it took me a while to get my stride. I have a photo of the ‘accoutrements’ but not one of the actual paratha 😳 – so I’ll include another stock photo

This was followed by visit to a Sikh temple – Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib – where we toured the kitchen where the holy food is prepared and served.

On to Dahi Bhalla corner for our next dish – Dahi Bhalla – deep fried lentil fritters dunked in creamy yogurt, topped with different kinds of sweet spicy chutneys and then garnished with spice powders

We navigated the streets past the Swami Shraddhanand statue and all it’s pigeons and pigeon offerings:

Had some lemon soda (a lime spiced, sweet and salty drink reminiscent of Gatorade – there’s a difference in nomenclature between lemons and limes here….):

And headed into the spice market for a full on assault on the senses!

Loved the super sweet and perfectly spiced masala chai on the way out prepared by this gentleman in his most unconventional locale:

After that we sampled rabri – a sweet, condensed-milk-based dish, made by boiling milk on low heat for a long time until it becomes dense and changes its colour to off-white or pale yellow. Jaggery, spices, and nuts are added to it to give it flavor. It is chilled and served as dessert

We headed into an actual restaurant for paneer butter masala and tandoori roti followed by fennel seeds and and the prettiest little sugar cubes as a digestive aid:

The next dish was my favourite – Daulat Ki Chaat – a light ‘whipped cream like’ dessert with a touch of saffron. Made with milk, cream and cream of tartar.

The second last dish was kachori and my least favourite – the spice was good, but the kachori itself was tough and oily. I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to try it again – maybe it was just an off day for the chef…

We also had creamy, cold lassi (essentially a yogurt drink) and fresh fruit (watermelon, papaya and banana) from a street food vendor seasoned with cumin, salt and black pepper powder. Both were simple, refreshing and delicious after the other complex, spicy dishes!

We finished with the most unusual dish – paan – a betel leaf stuffed with rose petals in syrup and spices. I had a love/hate relationship with this dish – meant to cleanse the palate and help with digestion and gut health. It was so overpowering – sweet, salty, spicy and so floral – yet strangely pleasing at the same time! One bite would have been enough. I especially loved the crunch of the betel leaf itself. And I’ll secretly attribute the fact that it’s 15 hours later and absolutely no sign of ‘Delhi Belly’ after eating all that street food to the purported antibacterial effects of this unusual treat!