With the festival of Eid round the corner, we recently undertook a food tour across Daryaganj to explore the gastronomic scene of old locality. There is no dearth of eateries over here and it's relatively less crowded compared to the food hub near Jama Masjid. Furthermore, we were surprised to come across some uncommon food items.
The first stop was RK Caterers in Kucha chelan. Locals are huge fan of their fried snacks and kheer, the two major components of Iftari. We bought peas samosa, chicken samosa, chow mein samosa and malai paneer samosa and headed to Mohd. Rafi's Shan E Dilli Shop for Iftar.
After breaking the fast with four different types of samosa we went on to taste Shan E Dilli's famous Sajji chicken. Alsonthete were chicken tangdi, butter chicken and chicken tikka. Their signature dish was essentially a special spice mix coated perfectly grilled chicken. The first bote is dominated by the taste of spices and lemon. But eventually you get a flavourful meaty taste.
From there we once again went back to R. K Caterers to meet owner Khurshid Ji who was super busy a while ago. The conversation reflected his earnest passion In his profession. Here we came across their tooth some kheer abr a special chutney
From there we reached Munna BHAI'S fruits and tasty treat shop. Munna bhai has been bringing smiles to the locals with fruit chaat made of just two ingredients - bhura and a special chaat masala. He was super genial and totally enthusiastic about his things. One by one he tasted all the items ranging from mulberry to tamarind. The special spice mix was phenomenal. No wonder it is one of the hidden gems of Daryaganj.
After this we stopped by Nagori Tea stall for some strongly brewed tea. This is a famous brand from Mumbai and their tea was really good.
Next we reached Changezi Chicken Restaurant to savour the dish by the same name. It consists of grilled chicken tossed in a tangy spice laden graby. The name might bring in warrior like connotation but it's background has no such association. It was quite tasty.
Soon after we checked into the adjacent Zaika shop for their korma and seekh kabab. On their recommended, instead of the plain korma we opted for shahi korma but it turned out to be a disappointed. The overuse of cream and butter had overpowered the tatse of the masala. Kebab was absolutely Amazing because of the tatse and the texture.
Our penultimate stop for the day was Jahangeer foods which is one of the handful of eateries serving chicken nihari.
The stew was really flavourful and the chicken pieces soft and juicy.
Finally we wrapped up the tour with some fried chicken from Fry shop and paan.
Overall we can say that if you want to experience old delhi food at a calmer setting then this is the locality to explore.