This story is from December 17, 2014

Get the taste of India at street food festival

Food festivals promising regional flavours are far too common in Delhi nowadays. But what one gets are local caterers selling staple stuff much to the disappointment of food lovers.
Get the taste of India at street food festival
NEW DELHI: Food festivals promising regional flavours are far too common in Delhi nowadays. But what one gets are local caterers selling staple stuff much to the disappointment of food lovers. That is where National Street Food Festival to be organized by National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium from December 25 to December 28 promises to be different.
“You can’t have bhaturas being sold at a Bihar stall and papri chaat at a Kerala stall at a food fest.
This is being unfair on food lovers,” Sangeeta Singh, food programme head of NASVI, said.
The association has roped in close to 800 “practicing” vendors for the sixth edition of their annual event. These vendors from 25 states will treat visitors to their special preparations. She said the festival would be a great way to expand culinary horizons. “Street food is more than bhel-puri, gol gappe and chaat. There are popular vendors selling lahsan ki kheer, taash kebab, fish stews and kebabs from Bihar. You can sample all these at the fest. Benarasi paan and tea, ragda patties from Mumbai, fusion dosas and Goan beverages are new additions to this edition,” Sangeet said.
“Our focus has always been actual vendors than commercial caterers. This allows visitors to taste the real street flavours of the country,” Arbind Singh, national coordinator of NASVI, said. The fest will have cooking demonstrations by vendors, who they refer to as “master chefs” and reputed chefs such as Sanjeev Kapoor.
“Street food offers the real taste of India. It also provides livelihood to millions across the country hence the name ‘Food that empowers’. We hope to give recognition to street vendors at our biggest event till date,” he said.
For street vendors, the fest is a great learning experience. Kanchan Devi, a street vendor at Sarojini Nagar, explained how her sales doubled. “I came to know the importance of hygiene and presentation at last food festival. I implemented these at my kiosk in Sarojini Nagar and realized more people were willing to try my samosas,” she affirmed.

Another vendor Gulab Singh, who sells bhel puri at India Gate and is one of the participants of the festival, too concurred with Kanchan. “Cleanliness plays a great role in attracting people to street food. No one can match our taste. We just need to better our hygiene levels,” he said.
NASVI also plans to launch its mobile application that would help people locate street food stall near their location. “We will train street vendors on hygiene and presentation, and put these trained vendors on our application,” Arbind said. A book containing recipes of street food will be released.
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