Places to go in Delhi for some unusual international cuisine
The many flavours of the world: beyond the regular Chinese or Italian
When it comes to experimenting with cuisines, Indians are gradually adjusting their tastebuds to the various international dishes that are making an entry into its capital city, New Delhi. After many years of restricting ourselves to only a few global cuisines like Italian, Chinese and Japanese, here are places to go and try dishes from other parts of the world as well.
There’s a lot more, equally good, if not better. Here is a look at some of the places with dishes from around the globe.
The Spanish Paella in North and West Delhi
If there’s ever been a simple dish wrapped in mystique, it’s Paella – a rice dish originally from the beautiful city of Valencia in Spain. There are several types of Paella, but the tastiest of them all is the traditional Paella with meat and green beans. If you are an absolute rice lover, there’s nothing better than a dish of rice tossed in some intrinsic flavour of Spain!
Where:
Sevilla, The Claridges, A P J Abdul Kalam Road
Three Tuns Cafe n Bar, Janak Puri
Try the spicy Korean Kimchi
Korean food is heaven for those who love eating spicy food. Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish made of fermented vegetables (notably napa cabbage and Korean radishes) with a variety of seasonings (garlic, ginger, chili pepper, scallions, and jeotgal).
Where:
Gung The Palace, Green Park
Hahn’s Kitchen, Gurugram
Falafel: with love, from Egypt
Falafel, the ultimate traditional Israeli food, is a deep fried snack made with chickpeas, groundbeans and spices. Apart from being delicious, it is also great for health as it is a good source of protein. So, win, win!
Falafels have successfully blended in the food culture of the Middle East, that most likely originated in Egypt, served through street vendors in pita bread, wrapped in taboon (a Middle Eastern flatbread), or even just like that, as an appetiser. Hummus, tahini sauce or garlic yogurt is best served with it!
Where:
Lub Lub Lebanese, Gurugram
Lutyens Cocktail House, Janpath
Gorge on Bunny chow from South Africa
South Africa has various types of cuisines, some of which owing their origin to the Indian population living there. Curries with hot spices are popular in Durban (eastern South Africa). One of the local Indian Durban specialities is the ‘bunny’ or bunny chow, which consists of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with a hot curry. It is an innovative conceptualisation of the food that was served to Indian prisoners during the Apartheid in South Africa.
You use the bread insides to mop up the curry and leave the plate clean, making it the ultimate comfort food!
Where:
Woodbox Cafe, Hudson Lane
Papa Buns, Satyaniketan
The crispy yet stuffed, Quesadillas from Mexico
Quesadillas are crisp corn tortillas stuffed with sweet potato, black beans, avocado and red pepper. A quick and tasty Mexican dish, it is ideal for lunch or a light supper. The beautiful colours of the veggies can all be seen when the quesadillas are cut into quarters. Many like to take the classic quesadilla beyond the corn tortillas and cheese, and make them with flour and add variety of stuffings, making it a healthy meal. Served with a simple guacamole (avocado) dip or a red/green salsa sauce with chopped onions, and the snack is ready for a weeknight dinner!
Where:
Depot48, Greater Kailash
Chillis Grill n Bar, Delhi
