Food arts and crafts at GIG carnival

NEW DELHI, Feb 6:
As spring sets in, Delhiites have yet another chance to enjoy the last leg of the winters with food, arts and crafts.
The GIG carnival being held here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium brings an amalgamation of street food from various cities apart from cuisine from some of the best restaurants in the city.
The 3-day carnival, curated by Gourmet Planet and part of the Incredible India campaign kick started yesterday offering street food of over 14 cities and 47 restaurants of the city including the Turkish Embassy which offers authentic Turkish cuisine.
Festival curator Sonny Walia says it is his passion for food that drew him to organise such a festival. A street food corner titled ‘Gol Bazaar’ is one of the highlights of the carnival.
“Food is my passion and I am doing this for passion. For for these stalls I had to go to each and every place individually and meet chefs and restaurant owners personally. Be it the Old Delhi area or places in Kolkata or the North East, I went to each and every place and it was difficult to convince them to come here,” says Walia.
Street food including Club Kachori, Puchka with three different types of water (Meetha, Khatta and hing water), Jhal Muri, Ghugni Samosa chaat from Kolkata, Litti Chokha, Khaja and Kachori from Bihar, Sevpuri, Panipuri, Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav and Bhel puri from Mumbai, Palak (Spinach) and Tomato Chaats from Benaras are on offer.
Street food also includes Raj Kachori from Allahabad, Aloo Tikki with Dum aloo from Haridwar, Delhi’s very own Chhole Kulche, Bhalla Papri, Dahi Gujiya Papdi, Chhole Bhature from the famed Nand Bhature shop in Sadar Bazar.
The Carnival is also a treat for the non-vegetarians with dishes like Biryani and Tikkas being offered to the customers to give them a gastronomical experience.
Aslam Chicken Tikka, Mutton Lahori, Chapli Kebab (made of mutton, Anjeer and walnuts) by the famed Chajju stall hailing from Amritsar is a real treat while Aslam Chicken Catering from Jama Masjid lays down the Mughlai tradition with Chicken Tikka, Chicken Seekh kebab and Rumali roti.
The idea, as the organizers say, was to offer Delhiites a complete treat that can be enjoyed with the family.
The festival is an initiative in collaboration of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
North-eastern delicacies including brown rice, pork and chicken momos, chicken bamboo shoot, steamed fish in banana leaves comprise a slice of the platter laid out by representatives of the seven sisters.
47 restaurants including Khan Chacha, Kunafa, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, Olive Bar and Kitchen, The Claridges, ITC Maurya, Zambar, Punjab Grill, Fio Cafe, Smokeys, Shangri La etc are participants at the carnival.
One such restaurant, Ammi’s Kitchen, having origins in Rampur served dishes made of authentic recipes of their grandmother including Khichda, Yakhni Pulao etc.
“We only deliver and have our origins from Rampur. The recipes used to make the dishes are all given by my grandmother and so we have named it ‘Ammi’s Kitchen’. Our specialty is Yakhni Pulao which is lightly fragrant pulao with less spices and mutton pieces. Also our ‘Khichda’ which is made of various Dals, and mutton is a favourite among the customers,” says owner of Ammi’s Kitchen.
The Turkish embassy has a pool of authentic dishes with dishes like cigarette borek (cheese), meat ball, dal kofte, and yaprak sarmosi which is wine leaves stuffed with rice and spices. The stall also had Turkish bracelets, a Coffee Set, Nazar Bonsieur etc for the customers. (PTI)

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