India – Food & Travel Guide

A few days ago I wrote about some secret breakfast hideouts in India. Here are some more.

Like at Tiretta, in the bylanes of Old China Town, Calcutta. Grimy and grubby–literally. If you don’t mind the stench of leather and are not a stickler for hygiene, the area hosts a floating street mart early mornings. Steaming dumplings, Chinese sausages and tea. This is authentic Chinese food prepared and sold by locals, who come out of their houses in the morning and begin piling the goodies on the roadside. Actually, the food is primarily meant to cater to the China Town community and is available at dirt cheap prices. But there is nothing stopping you from joining in. While at it, you can also make purchases of fresh meats, fish, veggies and sauces for a day of cooking in.

If you are slumming it out, your city’s bus or railway stations could be worth checking out too. Like in Ambala. Regulars are likely to direct you to this small rather obscure shack which has the potential to be the toast of the town! Literally. The shop is famous for its Paneer on toast breakfasts that it serves for just Rs 30. Then again, there’s this omlette-man in Meerut. Legendary for the thickness of his masala two-egged concoctions. In fact, so busy is the man kept that he is known to beat the eggs with both his hands simultaneously.

A little posher in comparison is the Rawat Mishtan Bhandar located on Station Road, Jodhpur. Set up 135 years ago, the shop is now world famous with its Mawa kachoris having found enthusiasts far and wide including the likes of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi in the past. That the delicious khoya-filled kachoris last for about seven days and that seems to have helped their cause further. Not only can you store them for many more sumptuous breakfasts but also dispatch packs to less fortunate relatives in less privileged parts of the world where Rawat’s is still not on the map. The pyaz ki kachori is just as delectable but not as long lasting.

On the other hand, if traditional Indian goodies are not for you and you still hanker after a fulfilling sausages and pancakes meals, we have other suggestions lined up for you. The American Diner at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, must figure on top of the list. In a city littered with five star hotels each of whose coffee shops take pride in serving ‘complete American breakfasts’, the Diner still manages to come first both in terms of range and price. Right from a selection of croissants, rolls and bagels to their classic fluffy three-egg omlettes to the thickest of pancakes smeared with maple syrup and bacon, sausages, corn and hashed brown on the side, it is the biggest breakfast you can ever have for Rs 225 per person. While each of the dishes can be ordered separately, the eat as much as you can for Rs 225 offer here is a steal deal. On weekends, after a brisk jog at the neighbouring Lodhi Gardens you may find it in you to simply pig out.

Cafe Leopold in India’s food Capital, Mumbai, is another must visit for the serious breakfaster. Though not if you are in the navy. The old Iranian-type restaurant at Colaba, open from 7.00 am to 2.00 pm, is so full of foreigners that apparently the Navy banned its staff from venturing in for fear of abetting spying. Nevertheless the 125-seater cafe continues to do brisk business. An entire range of breakfast is available here, right from the European eggs, pork, cornflakes, fried tomatoes to our own poori aloo. The service is efficient–there are as many waiters as tables and each waiter is assigned a table number. But what adds to the old world charm is that the sliding doors are all often left open making the cafe almost al fresco. Except for the roof, you could be sitting on the streets drinking your coffee almost Paris like. But then we told you didn’t we right at the beginning. The best breakfasty places in India are all on the street.

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North East Nashta
Traveling to the North East, are you? Here’s what we suggest. In Darjeeling, Keventers is a good place to get your sausages and bacon from. While in Gangtok, try the Sikkim local dish of Shapalay, which is a stuffed roti kind of a dish, available at both smaller places at hotels like Tashi Delek. Also stuff yourself silly with momos–but then that goes without saying.

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Lazeez Lucknow
The city of graciousness and fine dinning has its own breakfast specialties. Balai, or milk cream but not quite that, is a delicacy. Balai (Bala meaning ‘upper) was the name given to the cream by the late 18th century Nawab Asafudaula and continues to be called that. A similar specialty is the Nimish which is a light frothy preparation made from whipped milk, traditionally placed overnight under the winter sky. You could call it butter/cream but if you have it, Nimish is just froth, garnished with sugar and slivers of pistachio and almonds. It is traditionally eaten with kulchas and used to be a popular breakfast with the aristocracy. Then there was the Gauzabaan (literally cow’s tongue because of its shape) a type of roti made with a flour-ghee-milk dough baked in the tandoor. Another old Lucknowi winter breakfast dish was the methi kichri (rice, lentils and fenugreek seeds cooked together) supposed to be good for the joints and eaten at the crack of dawn. A Traditional breakfast drink was the nishasta–thick milk drink with large quantities of dry fruits, watermelon seeds, ghee and cardamom. And finally, the batasha. It was a biscuit-cum-bread made of wholewheat flour and had with tea. A meal for the poor. While you can still find some of these dishes in Chowk, a touristy option would be to order these at the Taj Residency where the legendary chef Gulam Rasool still cooks.