Delhi Belly

Popcorn man serving up fresh snacks outside the Bahai Temple

The prophecy of Delhi Belly rings true–all travelers in India, upon reaching Delhi, tend to fall ill. Perhaps it was the copious amounts of street food (see: Cal-Cutta It Out) that did me in. Or, perhaps my body was telling me it was time to rest. Regardless, I spent my first 4 days in Delhi unable to eat much of anything–a tragic way to start my first visit to a new city. Luckily, a quick round of antibiotics revived my body and soul, and I hit the ground running, exploring Delhi’s delicious culinary offerings and its spectacular sights.

LESSONS IN COOKING

Nick has a ton of family living in Delhi and we stayed with his Pami auntie for the week. One of the many great benefits of this arrangement is we got relax and eat some fabulous home-cooked meals.

Flavorful Chicken Biryani, served family-style

Typical delicious lunch at Pami Aunties: bean/veg salad, yuka fritters with cumin and turmeric, steamed puri with vegetable curry

As a small gesture of gratitude for the tremendous hospitality the family extended toward us, Nick and I decided to bring a little of our home cooking to India. Nick requested enchiladas, so a Mexican feast we had! I was pleasantly surprised to find products like salsa verde, monterey jack cheese, and margarita mix at the local Nature’s Basket (India’s closest store to Whole Foods).

Suchitra teaching me how to make homemade Sour Cream

I worked in the kitchen with Suchitra, teaching her the recipe. In return, she taught me how to make homemade sour cream, which tastes slightly more sour than what you find in the states, but is absolutely delicious and fresh.

Fresh Yogurt hangs in a Cheesecloth for about 12 hours before it becomes Sour Cream

COCKTAIL HOUR

Chiku preparing Vodka Gol Gappas (aka vodka puri or vodka puchka)

In my last post, I talked about puchkas, the hallow-out fried bread filled with goodies. In Delhi, they call puchkas gol gappas, and they are no less dangerous. A popular nighttime variation of this treat is to replace the pani (water) with vodka.

The gol gappa Nick and I tried was filled with something like this:

-fried puri

-aloo (potatoes mashed or finely diced)

-dash of cumin

-tamarind sauce

-1-2 ounces of Vodka

Sampling the Gol Gappas and learning what it feels like to chew vodka

FINER DINING

In Delhi, we also sampled some fantastic international food. Nick’s family took us to the oh-so-trendy Set’z restaurant, located atop one of the fanciest malls I’ve ever entered. Delhi, it seems, is filled with its fair share of citizens with cash to burn–chalk it up to it being a government town… Set’z served everything from Japanese to Italian, a “versatility” that usually leaves me skeptical, but the food was well-done, the flavors were authentic, and the presentation gorgeous.

Getting my pasta fix: whole wheat spaghetti with red chilies, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and pesto breadcrumbs.

The Kapur/Bathla cousins on the patio at Set'z

AGRA

I couldn’t go to Delhi without touring some of the countries most spectacular sights. In the city itself, I checkout out India Gate, Humayun’s Tomb, and the President’s House. The real highlight, however, was the day trip Nick and I took to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri. Agra is about a 4-hour drive from the capital. Not only did I enjoy the sights themselves, but I relished in seeing some of India’s rural country-side. My trip has been so urban-heavy! Here are a few pictures from our day in Agra: