Saying goodbye to 2010

So we said goodbye to the year that's about to expire with a trip to the oldest part of this city- Old Delhi. Considering that I was born and brought up here, a trip to Chandni Chowk- the first in 35 years seemed like a good idea. Of course it also involved carting our two babies in an extremely crowded place, something they are not really used to. Which is probably why, for the first five minutes of getting out of the car, my older one refuses to walk on the 'spit of others'! Well I can't really blame him as this is what I have been drumming into them when we walk on the road, "Mind where you walk...; look carefully, don't want you walking in crap...blah blah blah!"

But we persevered, got him walking though got to hear this litany all through: I want to go back to New Delhi. This apart, the experience wasn't all that bad. In fact it was pretty good, exciting even (gives one an excellent insight into my super adventurous life). We got to see a part of Delhi that is so integral to this city and yet, doesn't really touch us on an everyday basis. I completely agreed with my dear husband when he said to me, knowing fully well my inherited fear of crowded places," Mala, it's so crowded that it's freeing in a way."

So what exactly did we do?
Initially with a lot of hesitation and later with more excitement we walked the narrow 'gallies'(lanes) of Kinari Bazaar with all kinds of sarees- bridal and otherwise, laces, buttons and many more embellishments, many that I have never seen before. The lane forked out to Malliwara on the right and Galli Paranthe Wali (the lane of paranthas- indian bread). The obvious choice was the latter having so heard so much about it, having wanted to see it forever. So we followed our noses and found ouselves facing a shop where paranthas were being fried in all their glory. Now the normal way of cooking this flat indian bread involves cooking it with just enough oil/butter on a girdle. So imagine my surprise when I saw them being stuffed with very dangerous looking chopped green chillies and then deep fried in smoking hot oil! Now that is what I call a fatal combo and a principal reason, I am guessing that the majority of people in this part of Delhi being in the shape or the lack of it.
There were quite a few shops with their own regular thronging the shops. There were all kinds of vegetables being used to stuff the paranthas- from the regular cauliflower, radish, potato to the never seen before green chillies, pumpkin, papads and many more outlandish (to my ears) items.
We didn't indulge ourselves with this deep fried road to blocked arteries but another later on! We chose the more mundane samosa, which by the way was out of this world at this place called Kanwarji's. I also bought some sweets the kind I have never seen before- baby rasgullahs is our name for it.

I also bought some lace for one tenth the price I buy in the common south Delhi markets. We had a great time and I guess it's a bit- addictive as A and I were already talking about a return visit.
The other things we really enjoyed were a plate of tikkis, yes I know they are deep fried, but it's once in a very long while and what the hell a little bit of fat (!) did nobody any harm. If you have it in the right places, you might even become a porn figure in the cooking world, hello Nigella! Actually I don't really know which is worse, raw beef steaks or tikkis- give me tikkis any day.
So yes, we gobbled down a plate of amazing tikkis, thin and crisp and not potato-ey at all. They are an absolute must.
My expat friends make fun of me and mostly everyone is so surprised to learn that I had never been to Old Delhi before, just as I would make fun of them saying all they wanted to see was character and therefore dirt and filth. But I am quite happy to say I was wrong and they were right- it's something to be experienced for sure.
And I am equally happy to say we are going back again...right now time to sanitise my four year old's shoes- he absolutely insists!
And oh yeah- a very happy 2011 to my millions of fans.