Delhi Belly

Lajpat Nagar in Delhi used to be familiar, for its sights, sounds, smells and taste. Staying in a hotel in the vicinity tempted me to visit some old eating joints. My food memory cells, which I am sure line my belly walls rather than my brains, were delighted to be woken up by familiar delicacies. 

Dolma aunty's momos in Central market are as famous and familiar as they used to be. 

The Tibet Kitchen in Amar Colony is shifted to a more seedy location, but the Tingmo and Shapte, carries the unmistakable old taste, a mix of fresh Tibetan air with the dusty, smoggy and spicy by-lanes of Delhi. A painting of a young Tibetan girl is perhaps the only pleasant part in the restaurant's ambience, as she looks a bit forlorn and and a bit sorry, but still carries the survival spirit of a Tibetan-in-exile! 



The final visit was the Parathewale and the Chur-chur naan wale in Moolchand. Crispy, oily, crunchy! A dip of the naan in the thick black lentil curry and a splash of the curd raita, is a taste any Delhi-wala would die for. I could see families with grandmas, grand-children, mummies and papas frequenting the place, happy to miss the evening cooking at home, for the flavor of spices with dollops of butter and hot kullar-chai to top it, on a winter's night!





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