Name: The Masala Trail by Osama Jalali
Location: 52, Janpath, New Delhi-110001
Ambience: The indigenous interiors have been done up to replicate Indian streets. One wall is sprawled with two large autos made out of sarees. There’s a hand cart too but it has been suspended from the ceiling along with a life-size effigy of a vendor. An old scooter that’s quirkily anchored to the ceiling will take you down the nostalgia lane. Another wall has been hand-painted in traditional block print motifs. The no-fuss and plain seating ensures the attention doesn’t stray from the food.
What we ate: Food curator and researcher Osama Jalali has put in a lot of research into creating the regional street food here. He journeyed across the country, eating at different nondescript places to uncover secret recipes. His endeavour has paid off brilliantly as some of the dishes taste just like the original.
We began with the tower chaat that came in a tall glass. The dish had different layers of chaat—dahi bhalla, papdi, tikki and was topped with a golgappa. Crunchy, soft, tangy and sweet, it was an onslaught of myriad flavours and textures and we quite enjoyed it. This was followed by hot tamatar chaat, a delicacy that you only get on the ghats of Benaras. Succulent, melt-in-your-mouth tomato mush with the right hint of spiciness and crunchy peanuts on top made this dish a winner. Hot on its trail was Kanpuria gadbad chaat. What’s in a name, you’d say, but the name very much prepares you for what’s to follow. The chaat is an amalgamation of potato tikki, potato subzi, yoghurt and chutneys—a little bit of everything that makes for a delicious gadbad (Hindi for mess). Up next was panki from Gujrat—rice batter flattened and cooked between banana leaves. Delightfully soft and thin, it went perfectly well with coconut and mint chutney. Other highlights of the meal were the Bihari litti that’s served with two varieties of pungent chokha and the traditional Benarasi kachori and aloo subzi—both distinctively delicious. The street style chowmein from Kolkata deserves a special mention too. Jalali nails it with the right balance of flavours—spicy and just a little tangy—it’s sure to evoke memories of the City of Joy.
Though the street savouries are the main draw of this place, there are some interesting dessert options too. We tried the decadent Haji Ali fruit cream from Mumbai and relished it.
Price points: Rs 800 for two, plus taxes