Ram Kachodi - Thank you Hanuman Ji..

Yesterday was a Sunday, and at around 10:45 am, my dad's religious spirit awakened and he wanted to visit Lord Hanuman's temple behind Red Fort. It popularly goes by name of Marghat Waale Hanuman ji. Well anyhow, who wants to get out of rajai at that hour in winters, however after dad promised some breakfast, I was game.

He is ultimate foodie and encyclopedia when it comes to Delhi's street food, so eating out with him is always a pleasure. Anyhowwe reached the mandir complex by 11:45 am, only to find out that temple closes at 11:30 am. While my parents were disappointed and sulking, I was grinning and drooling :D. It was like Hanuman Ji has ensured that I drive more than 10 km to reach there and have his prasad a.k.a KACHODIS....he is not my favorite god for nothing.

Regardless of the general hygiene of the temple complex, which is as sad as any other temple in he city, you can spot few shops selling Kachori, bread pakora, poori and stuff. Out of those 'Ram Kachodi' seemed most prominent, and we decided to have a go. Rs.12 per plate for piping hot stuff. First few bites did not excite me, could taste lot of baking soda in the pithi (stuffing), and thought what a disappointment it was, should have tried other outlets. However enter peice number two and things suddenly changed. The excessive soda was gone, and now the kachodi was as good as any, if not better. Suddenly I realised that it was quite well done, and had spent a lot of time over fire. It was quite crispy, but not hard at all.

There is nothing more divine on face of earth than a properly cooked and stuffed kachodi, and Ram kachodi had that on offer. You cannot blame me for having 2 more after that, and still wanting more. I sincerely thank Lord Hanuman from bottom of my heart or rather top of my belly,for making me come to temple, only to shower me with his blessings in form of food.

Pranathas near Moolchand

Now this one is another legend of the city. If one tries to think of Delhi and Paranthas, its quite easy to assume that Paranthas would be sold at every nook and corner of the city, as we do swear by our paranthas. but unfortunately that is not the case. In this parantha crazy city, everyone only likes what their mom makes (or wfie maybe) and do not generally go out for paranthas.  And yes, the legendary Paranthe waali gali is alive in  legends only, its a sham.

However the Paranthe-walla sitting opposite Vikran Hotel, near Moolchand Hospital in Lajtap Nagar is one of the few that has been able to make a name for itself. It is know by many names, but yes, most of the foodies in the city would know about this place for sure.

As any other famous and roadside joint, this place is often crowded, hygiene is not what you are looking for, food comes cheap and there are not many who do better than them. I guess the most expensive Parantha on the menu would not cross Rs.20, and they have a good variety of those. The most famous one being Egg Parantha.You can have them with combination of Rajma, Boondi Raita, butter or either one of those. They serve it with Masala on top and bunch of spiced up green chillies.

And yes, coming to actual praranthas they are quite good, made on a giant Tawa with perfection of an assembly line. Its the stuff that Taxi waalas eat for a days heavy lunch and youngster after their evening party sessions in fancy clubs and pubs.

If you notice, I have not commented on taste, well is it not a given :D with the description above.