Delhi Belly

Dave here. So, I was in India for a couple of weeks. My first time. And I did get Delhi Belly. But not in Delhi, on the way back home to KL, I'm pretty sure, from the vegetarian meal I ate on the plane.

Go figure.

Delhi. It's your classic visual assault. There's stuff flying everywhere - it's a crowded, busy place. People are coming and going, they're selling stuff, they're riding rickshaws and bicycles, they're honking non-stop. Cows are lumbering, you see the occasional goat.

It's a big-ass crush of humanity.

Pomegranates were in season. I hadn't seen any my entire trip, and then suddenly they were everywhere I looked.

I didn't come across that many huge food markets like you find in SE Asia. I probably wasn't wandering in the right place.

But, there are little markets everywhere - like this one, an afternoon market in an alley.

I saw this turquoise wall, and the religious pictures, and the light, and the vendor, and just thought, 'Yeah.'

So I stopped and squatted about 7 feet away from him and just stayed there a while, taking photos. He was friendly, and we chatted a bit. The other vendors were hooting at him the whole time.

Of course I ate.

I ate this dish --  raj kachori -- at Bangla Sweets, on Baird Road, something like a sweets superstore. It's kind of a treat within a treat. You've got a crispy puffed shell, and then inside a soft chickpea ball sitting on a bed of boiled potatoes. On top is cilantro, thin crispy 'noodles' called semia (?), strips of preserved, sweetened beets and ginger, pomegranate seeds, and then a drizzle of what is probably melted jaggery. It's all in a pool of sweet yogurt.

It was pretty wild, with all kinds of stuff going on in my mouth - crispy stuff, soft stuff, liquidy things. As you bite into the pomegranate seeds they burst between your teeth, and the cilantro gives off its flavor.

And it's cool -- I was eating standing up, and it felt like it was about 105 degrees out. It felt good on my tongue, and in my throat.

The next day I went back to Bangla, and ordered four more sweets: millet sweet (behind - yep, that's really what it's called), and (plate, clockwise from top) milk sweet, kalakand (a slightly grainy floury thing topped with pistachios and cardamom), and malai roll (a sort of sweet, spongy cheese).

I really like Indian milk-based desserts but my favorite among these was the millet sweet (front, below) because,

like the raj thing, it had alot of stuff happening at once: the sourness of the yogurt, sweet and chewy dried fruits, crunchy nuts, some of that spongy cheese, and those pomegranate seeds again. And it was cool.

Those sweets were shop food, but there's lots of street food in Delhi too. Alot of vendors work from cool old two-wheeled carts like this one, above. Some cook over charcoal, some over gas. Seems like most of Delhi's street foods are variations on fried breads, fried sweets, dals, juices (didn't go there - fear of water and ice).

I joined a group of guys standing around a cart (you mostly eat standing up, on the street) and had this for breakfast -- crisp-fried puri (a type of hollow bread) accompanied by yellow lentil and tiny chickpea dal, topped with yogurt and mint-cilantro chutney. The puri were surprisingly un-greasy. (I ate alot of fried breads on this trip and there never was that taste of funky, too-old oil.)

 

Breakfast Number Two - soft-fried puri (they're puffy like a hollow ball, then deflate, and they're chewy) with a chickpea dal topped with a slice of paneer, pickled chili with fresh red onions, and cilantro-cumin-limey chutney. This I really enjoyed, both for the flavor of the chickpeas (they seem more bean-y than Western chickpeas) and for the way, when you assemble a bite -- piece of bread, grab chickpeas, onion, chutney -- it makes the perfect little Bean-Bread Popper. 

I didn't try this, and now I don't know why (too full, maybe). This guy's making and selling mashed potatoes formed into a ball and deep-fried. I'm a potato lover from way back. (Note - he's not sitting at a table but at a gigantic oiled griddle.)

Here you've got crispy deep-fried chickpea 'crackers' (invisible, buried) underneath turmeric-colored rice and, on top of that, yellow lentil dal and then a bit more rice. I call this Indian Nachos, because you've got that whole crispy cracker-bean thing going.

It was dished up from the bicycle cart below, dal from the pot on the back and bread-crackers from the tin up front. This was very tasty, though I might have added a bit of yogurt or even a squeeze of lime if I'd been given a choice. Sometimes I like a little sourness.

I was in Delhi for only about 36 hours, not nearly enough time to do it justice. In my mind I thought it was going to be One Big Hassle. It's certainly dusty, dirty, poor. All the stereotypes are there if that's what you want to see.

But I found people to be quite cool- very honest, helpful to the extent that language allowed, extremely welcoming. A couple of folks even invited me into their homes.

I'd go back.

Update from Robyn, Aug 6 - Dave's posted photos from a project he did on Old Manali over at his photo blog. I'm biased of course, but I quite like them.

Comments

[q]

love the photos, and imagining all the food makes mouth water :)

[da-messiah]

Oh man! That raj kachori looks like a riot! It looks like there will be an explosion of tastes when you put it in the mouth. Dang! Delhi is a tad too far to go but thank God there is a vegetarian restaurant here in Singapore called Raj that sells it (confirmed through their website). I will definitely be going there this weekend. Thanks Dave! Great shots as usual.

[Robyn]

Can I go along next time?

[Lucie J.]

Oooooh. Aaaah. Delhi. Food. Memories.

Great photos, love your blog, I read it regularly. Keep up the good work.

[Christelle]

I am so hungry now, terrible. I won't be abl;e to find food like that in the streets of manchester that's for sure..

[plumpernickel]

Soft fried puri + Chickpea dal = Bhature + Chole/ Cholay.
Mashed Potato thing on griddle = Aloo Tikki (Its the best potato dish ever).
Basically all what you seem to have eaten or covered in this post is what we call "chaat" - fastfoodish.

[paul]

What a stunning post David, both in terms of the pictures and the imagery of your words.

Fantastic!

[Gastronomer]

Wow wow wow! Photos are stunning, words are perfect. I want to be in Delhi!

[vanessa zinke]

i have been reading your blog for months now. I absolutely loved this post!

A)Photos are stunning
B) The food looks incredible good and I wish I had recipes for such delicacies!
C)Man sitting near Vespa is totally awesome. As a vespa owner myself, this warmed my heart!

Well done!

[rabbittrick]

this is an amazing post.... you not only fired up my interest in indian cuisine (no matter how fried), you fired up my interest in photography all over again. The streets, the colours, the shots, the people, the composition... it's *shiver* exhilarating. Thank you!

[Andrew]

Delhi is such a cool place - so colourful. It is one of those places that I guess you either love or hate pretty much instantly... some get put off by the business or the smell.

Great photo's - really reminded me of when I was there briefly last year.

Thanks
Andrew - http://onceuponathyme.wordpress.com/

[Dave]

Thanks everyone! 36 hours is really not enough time to do the city justice. I'm looking forward to returning with a real writer in tow to do it right.

For those that are interested I have posted some different images from Old Manali, Himachal Predesh, on my weblog
( http://davidhagerman.typepad.com/ ).

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Dave

[Jessica]

I love street food culture. I'm from Korea, and whenever I head home, I'm excited about two types of food: my mom's cooking and street food! While I'm acclimated to Korean street food, how do you enjoy other regional street food without an unpleasant encounter with Delhi Belly afterwards? Thoughts?

[Rasa Malaysia]

I have never been to Delhi but I can totally imagine that place is a visual assault from your pictures. I think India is definitely one of the best places in Asia to capture people and street photography. I love all the pictures above. And I did get food poisoning on my flight back to Malaysia, too, but not from the inflight meal nor the street food, but from a tandoori meal from a very expensive hotel! As you said, go figure!

[Deb Olson]

Dave, no photos of you dripping all that goodness down your front? Make sure you let me know when you two go to India again...I wanna go!

[J2Kfm]

of all the food you mentioned, only the puri/poori and the pomegranate seeds seem familiar.

i like poori, served either with potato dhall curry, or dipped into the tangy, spicy fish curry.

i never knew those red, jelly like seeds are from a pomegranate's. they're called 'sek lau chi' in Chinese, and we commonly include them in desserts.

[Diane]

The ONLY time I have ever gotten sick in India was from the bad food at the "Business Class" airline lounge in Calcutta right before I got on the plane. I got mildly sick. My friend I was traveling with got very sick. So watch out for those planes! Those look like some good chaat though - mmmmmmmm.....

[Marie]

I love the photo of the man in front of the turquoise wall. The atmosphere you describe (ie. all the hooting) is just what prevents me from taking more people shots when I travel! But the chaat photos are making me want to jump on a plane. I love your blog, which I've been reading for quite a while. I hope you don't mind that I've put a link to it on my blog.

[Dave]

Deb - I saved a few shotts just for you!

Diane - This was my second 'plane incident'. If it had not been a late night flight I probably could have skipped the food and avoided the whole 'problem'..luck of the draw. I faired better from the vendors on the public bus!

Marie- I agree - I couldn't have designed a better backdrop if I tried.

[Wild]

The next time you go to Delhi: check out some places from this blog.
http://eoid.org/