Delhi Food Yearning - Old Famous Jalebi Wala

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Continuing or should I say taking forward the Foodie series of posts on my Blog about Delhi today I am here again to serve you something. It is mouth watering, hot, Crispy Jalebi's at Old Famous Jalebi Wala in Chandni Chowk.

They say it serves one of the best Jalebi's in the City, so one fine evening in December I along with my parents discovered this shop which is not so difficult to reach out. When you reach there what you see is a person preparing the Jalebi's other serving them and the owner busy in collecting Cash. 

What I like most about the open shops that serve anything to eat is to watch the dish being prepared in front of your eyes. Instead of being at the  place where they are served I rather stand at place where they are prepared, seeing the effort put in and how a dish transforms from the very stage of its raw materials to the final product that we got, I really like that journey.

The Jalebi's are prepared in Desi Ghee and instead of being moderate in size are little bulky. After deep frying them until they become reddish orange they are directly placed in Chashni[hot sugur syrup] and then served. When I went there last time they were sold at 300 Rs per Kg. My Father paid the price and now it was time to dig into them. They are amazingly very delicious Crunchy outside and gooee inside but then this is how Jalebi's are everywhere. What makes them apart from others is their taste which you can only understand once you have eaten them. 

 


What I advice you is eat little of them and you will have fond memories of it, its not the quantity that matters its their everlasting taste that will attract you. My family loved them but said it was highly priced but that can be expected regarding the place, material put in and its name.

They also serve Samosas which are big let down to me, at 12Rs per piece they do not stand apart to the normal Samosa's that are served at your nearest Mithaeewala[Sweet Shop]. I don't find anything different or special in them. So that is a big no no from my side.

How to Reach - Nearest #delhimetro station is Chandni Chowk

                     Old And Famous Jalebiwala

                                          Shop No.1795, Dariba Corner, Chandni Chowk,

                                          New Delhi, Delhi 110006, India +91 11 2325 6973

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Delhi Food Yearning - Parathe Wali Gali

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Its almost one year that I have been living in this beautiful city Delhi[we call it Dilli though] and every moment I have spent here has been delightful.

Hence now I would like to make a series of post here on my Blog about some specialty of Delhi. On most of the Fridays or on any other Holiday I with my Friend Amit goes to explore this city. Though during my five year stint in Delhi during mid 90s I have visited most of the places but this time I am trying to visit them again and try to extract more information about unearthed places.

Also being a Foodie I am on the go on net and read Books to get to know about hidden jewels about eatery places here. Today about the place which I am gonna  write is no hidden jewel everyone knows about it " Parathe Wali Gali ".

Recently twice in a span of a week I got opportunity to visit this place both time Amit accompanied me and once Manish.

To reach there just take the Yellow Line #delhimetro to Chandni Chowk which many people Call Heart of this very city. As you come out of Metro station you'll see people in hurry leaving the station and narrow street from station which is filled with small eating shacks selling burgars and Patties [don't go there] , you just continue traversing on it which will lead you to a Mandir[If I am not wrong Lord Kali Temple] take a right turn which will leave you into an Open arm sized dark street[you have to make your way] as you finish it voila you are in Chandni Chowk . It would be one of the most crowded and bustling street you would ever see everyone seems to be in a hurry here.

Parathe Wali Gali

Now pass this street and go to the Opposite side of it and just ask which is the Parathe wali Gali there[Our very own Akshay Kumar is native to this place] Once you get into this street after going some 20 odd meter it takes a right turn and as you move ahead you will see two shops in front[side by side] filled with people and some even waiting for their turns. One shop boast itself to have been  established in 1872 and other 1875, these two shops are the authentic shops of getting Parathas there.

The Actual Shop

Some dignitaries Pics seen there

Once you have got your seat if you will look around you'll see famous dignitaries who have eaten there[Indira Gandhi,Ranbir Kapoor,Imtiaz Ali and the list will go on]. The not so courteous waiter will bring a Plate for you consisting of Spicy Sabjis , soury Chutneys and Pickles. To the menu you can look towards wall which will have complete Menu written on them. My personal favourite there is mix veg Paratha although you get around 20 varieties of Parathas there right from Aloo and Gobhi Parathas to not so heard Lemon and Khurchan paratha[made from  Milk product].

The Menu

Parathas you get here are deep fried, more so they look like Puri filled with different delicacies and one more thing I must add here is that you have to take atleast two Paratha in one plate. Hence what we do is order only one plate and me and my friend share it and yes you get complimentary Sabji as much you want.

The Paratha and Sabji

Parathas are crisp and filling is soft which makes you eat more and more. You have Spiced Potato Sabji, Seetaphal Sabji[Kaddu], Aloo Cholle, Kela Saunt and some ordinary Pickles. For people who do not  like spicy food I must warn you the food served here can burn your tongue on the contrary I can handle such hotness :) Also you can order Sweet or Namkeen Lassi which goes along with the food well.The Parathas are priced between 30 to 50 Rs.

During the high peak hours you have to wait for your turn so it is advisable to plan accordingly. Last time when I went both of these shops were packed to full so we decided to give chance to other shops there[everyone sells Parathas there] but we were very disappointed with the food and the service, hence it is better to avoid them.

Do write in your reviews if you have been there before.

 

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Weekly Food Diary

Tweet I have been looking to do something new with my blog so as to make it more interesting. Then on one day a thought came to me to share what i eat on daily Basis, by this visitors will get to know what i eat. My Mother is always worried of me that i didn't eat much, but i like to eat different things and always do experiments by tasting various stuff i get around me. There is one thing with me which i do not understand that i could not eat anything before 10 or 11 in the morning, if i try to eat also my Stomach also refrain me from doing so, that means most of the time i don't have Breakfast.

So today i am displaying in front of you my Last Week Food Diary(Aug 5 - Aug 11), Sorry for this Post i don't have any Pictures of the Food that i had but will try to post some Pictures from the meal that i have next time onwards.

5th August 2010


* A Glass Of Milk in Morning.
* Rajma Chawal in Lunch.
* Ate Namkeen in Small bowl( 2 times )
* Nashpati Fruit.
* Sliced Bananas with Lemon,Salt,red chilly powder just  
   before Dinner.
* 3 Chapatis with Arbi(Colocasia roots) Sabji in Dinner.

6th August 2010


* Had a Glass of Milk in Morning.
* A Coffee with Prashanth in Office.
* Tea at Dhaba with Driver Mangoo in Meerapur at T Point
   enroute to Nazibabad.
* Tea and Biscuits at same place while returning from the site.
* Bhutta(Maize) at same place.
* 3 Chapatis little Rajma(Beans) Aloo Tamatar Sabji(Curry
   made of Potato and Tomato) and Curd.(No lunch today )
* A Glass of Milkshake. 

7th August 2010


* A Glass of Milk .
* Poha(Flattened Rice i guess)  in Breakfast.
* Arhar Dal and Rice with Curd in Lunch.
* Poha again.
* An Apple.
* A Motichoor Laddoo.
* Rice Arhar dal, Aloo Tamatar Sabji in Dinner.
* Another Motichoor Laddoo.

8th August 2010


* A Glass of Milk with 3 Bread Slices.
* Maggi one Pack cooked by me additional ingredients were
   Capsicum and Tomatoes.
* Little Namkeen.
* Aloo Patty with Papa at Krishna Plaza.
* 1 Puri and little Aloo Sabji at a Bhandara at Abu Lane.
* A Glass of Pepsi.
* 2 1/2 plates of Aloo Pakori in Dinner.

9th August 2010


* A Glass Of Milk.
* A Cup of Coffee at Office.
* 3 Aloo Paranthas with Mango Pickle in Lunch.
* A Cup of Coffee at Office.
* One Biscuit,some Peanuts and Tea with my Sis In Laws family.
* 1 Chapati,Rice,chole(Gram),Matar Paneer Sabji(Curry made of Green
   Peas and Cottage Cheese),Raita in dinner.
* Little Ghaver (A Kind Of Sweet )

10th August 2010


* A Glass of Milk and a Banana.
* Stuffed Kulcha and 300ml Maaza soft drink at New Ways
   Pastry shop in Lunch.
* Half a cup Tea and Half Bread Pakora with Divesh Sir and
   Deepak Sir Outside Office.
* Some Peanut Namkeen.
* A sip of Pepsi.
* 3 Chapatis and Matar Paneer Sabji in Dinner.
* A sip of Fanta.

11th August 2010


* A Glass of Milk and 2 Bananas.
* Lunch shared with Rawelcom Guys Chapatis and Shimla Mirch(Capsicum)
   Sabji.
* 2 Samosas and a Cup of Tea.
* A Coffee at Office.
* A Gunjiya.
* A sip of Fanta and some Peanuts.
* Chole Chawal in Dinner.
* A Sip Of Fanta and Some Peanuts again.

So this was my First Food diary, hope i will be regular with it. 

If any of you need any explanation about any of the Food items

or what they mean please post it in comment section and i will be happy to acknowledge.

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What I did for two days last Week

Tweet Meerut is considered as a Sports City by many as different types of Sport goods are made here. In Fact many Indian and Foreign Cricketers play with Bats that are Made in Meerut . You must have seen Stickers on Bats with SS,SG and BDM written on them , all these Bats are Made in Meerut. Also there are various Sports stadium here and one of them is very close to our Office. So one fine day after Office me and two internship trainees Prashanth and Sheeraz went there to have a look at it.

                                                                     Sheeraz and Me Outside Stadium

The Stadium name is Kailash Prakash Sports Stadium. I have once more gone there and they say that even once Gavaskar played here a Cricket match, my Uncle has seen Mohd. Kaif playing here for U.P. in the Ranji Trophy match at this Stadium. As you enter the Stadium premises the first thing that greets you is many young Guys and Girls who come here to learn various sports, but the Stadium looks old and is not very well maintained.I could see  Athletes preparing here some for Long Jump some for Running and some  trying to Kick at a Cushioned pad thats been worne by a Guy who happens to be their trainer also. On one end Some Kids were playing Hockey on Grass field while Modern playing standard for Hockey require Astro Turf, but you could see enthusiasm in everyone no matter what kind of facility they are provided with.

                                                                             Inner Look Of Stadium

There is one more Stadium here in Meerut which i found well maintained as now a days Ranji Trophy matches are played there, i had seen few matches also there and some players which i had got chance to see are Suresh Raina,Mohd. Kaif,Praveen Kumar, Piyush Chawla, Sudeep Tyagi and some more which are not much relevant now, last year Rahul Dravid also came here who played for Karnataka. 

                                                                  Boxers Practicing

We just stayed there for few minutes and came out of the ground , in the outer complex of Stadium there is one Olympic Size Swimming Pool where when i once went saw Fatty Children of some Rich family enjoying their time being in Water , swimming was not in their minds. In one dark big hall there is a Boxing Ring where many Boxers were practicing, that hall was so dark and so humid even for us to stand their for some time was difficult God nows how they practice there and if still we won an Olympic Medal in Boxing that is highly Commendable. Outside you have one Basketball Court and an Indoor Badminton Stadium.

 

                                     This Scoreboard amazed me see the Spelling of Target


After that we came out of the Stadium and we were feeling hungry and we got to see a Thela on which Chow Mien were being prepared. As it was an Egg Chow Mien Thela i was reluctant to eat there as i don't eat Eggs but the Chef(can i call him ?) there said he has separate utensil for making Egg less Chow Mien so i was ready to eat. For me to eat something is delite but the thing that fascinates me more is to see it being prepared in front of me. I was served first and Prashanth and sheeraz later as they opted for Egg Chow Mien.Take my words it was one of the Best Chow Mien i have eaten, my mouth is full of water at present. When we finished eating one person came to take Half Plate Chow Mien with five Eggs in it, thats lots of Eggs as Compared to Prashanths and Sheerazs Half Plate which was made with only One Egg.

 

                           See The Face of Thela Wala glow with Confidence

After eating road side Chow Mien we decided to have Pizza at Dominos the next day. The reason for opting to go there was as no body amongst has eaten Pizza at these Branded Venues. So after Office we went there and with some difficulty in searching Dominos store we were finally able to locate it. As we entered we could see no body was present there which was a surprise, then for selection of the Pizza we were handed over a template which was showing various Pizzas, we opted for Fresh Country Veg Pizza(It looked the Best) which was written to be of 95 INR exclusive of VAT hence with VAT it costed 107 INR the attender told us to wait for 15 minutes for our order, we were shocked with this as they have this slogan 30 minutes or free and we were being told to wait for 15 minutes at the Dominos store only, can't understand this stuff from them. As we were waiting A guy and two girls also came but they were busy talking with each other and i thought they had no plan to eat here just came here for some peace, the Guy was clicking the Picture of one of the Girl( collecting some memoir ). At last our Pizza came and our first reaction was " Its very Small ! " nevermind
we must taste it now and second reaction after tasting it  was " Its not what we had thought it would be ! " all in all it was not a good experience for us and i planned from now onwards i will not waste my time and Money for Dominos Pizza as its service and the product could not lived to our expectation.

                                     Empty Seats At Dominos

                                                             Its me Waiting For Pizza

                   At Last Our Country Fresh Pizza

P.S. - All the Pics were clicked by Prashanth by the NOKIA Phone that he bought from his Cousin.

 

                 
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Maggi ! Maggi ! Maggi !!!

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One of my biggest passion is to eat, when i am hungry and i don't have to eat something good i generally switch on my TV set to find some cookery show going on and if i don't found one i just imagine myself eating my favourite food but that increase my hunger and i have to search for things which are present in my home like Namkeens or some leftover in my fridge.

If i am still empty handed then i go to the nearest shop and bring back Rs 10 Masala Maggi with myself. But as i am very bad at cooking and knows only Maggi to cook i just add water in the pan, wait for water to become hot and then add Noodles and Maggi Masala, after some stirring my Maggi is ready. I know there are people who make many kinds of Maggi with tomatoes,onions,Capsicums and other things and they taste so yumm !! but i don't know how to cook with them, so i have to contend with my simple Maggi. Yesterday i tried to make it with tomatoes(cause i found them only in my fridge) but i just spoiled it and i was left with some sort of mess which i finished with lot of hard work.

I guess the Masala Maggi is the real epitome of all the instant Noodle family and nobody is even close to it. I generally look out for its replacement but had never found one. Have tried Maggi Curry,Atta,Dal variants the Top Ramens(Curry and Masala),Smith & Jones and many other variants but every time have to come back to Masala Maggi. Its in their masala that attract us to eat it again and again.

Now how i started to eat it ? It was like some 16,17 years back when i first saw it, the Yellow wrapper and was curious to saw it as i had never eaten something like noodles or Chinese before, so in came it in our home and my Sis and I was delighted to have a taste of it, the honour of cooking was given to my Mom, she tried to experiment with it and didn't followed the rules of making it and we landed up in a Soup, what the heck is it ? and the Maggi was shown the doors from our home and off it goes from our Menu list. Time passed away and my hunger increased and once again i landed upon Maggi but the Cook this time was different, the task was given to the most talented guy who by the way happens to be the owner of this blog also and yes this time Maggi was perfectly cooked and enjoyed thoroughly, since then as millions of us eat it regularly, i have also followed that tradition.

In Meerut where i live and work, we get it outside every Office and in all education institutes but you have to wait for your turn as you find its lovers amongst all of us. They charge you 20 Rs and put some chillies,onions and little Butter in it also, obviously it tastes way better then my hand cooked one. So strangely it helps in earning living of some also.

So Maggi has become the Front leader in easing human hunger, when they don't have time to cook or they are living outside their homes and don't know anything about cooking.In fact there was my one Friend who was a Maggi freak and went to London for further studies and was surprised to see it their also in same flavour.

Now my empty tummy is suggesting me to fed it with something and i don't find anything except Maggi in my Kitchen so i am going to prepare it maybe with some experiment lets see how it goes and do tell in comments how u fared with Maggi, maybe any secret recipe of it.

P.S. - Today i started to write about some other topic but as i started, Maggi came to my mind and i wrote about it. But credit for this post goes to Deepak Mashaal whose this post tempted me to write about Maggi. Tweet