New Delhi, October 18th, 2023: Social entrepreneur and Modern School student, Eakam Sayal, held a food walk exploring the cultural richness and diversity of the heart of Delhi, in collaboration with Mansi @ThisFoodieRecommends, a veteran curator of heritage site visits and food tours. Through his campaign, Grub-aMaze, Sayal works with micro and small food vendors in and around Delhi to support their businesses with services like advertising, marketing, branding and product promotions through CSR partnerships.
The Grub-aMaze Food Walk aims to increase footfall for these micro and small food vendors. As a young entrepreneur, Sayal hopes that curating such guided tours for his Gen-Z peers will put these food vendors in the social media spotlight and create a new target audience for them. Following the trail of culinary explorations, here is your map of 8 must-try foods.
In the Mughal era, Chandni Chowk became a busy trade centre where the European, African, Persian, Turk, Mongol and Asian merchants, and mercenaries visited, leaving behind traces of their culture. These traces are evident in the lifestyle, the commodities and especially, the food.
Kuliya ki Chaat at Hira Lal Chat Corner
A seasonal fruit and vegetable spread, of which, some are scooped in the middle creating containers or “kulle”, that is filled with other fresh-cut produce, seasoned with lemon juice and spices
Fruit Sandwich at Jain Coffee House
A mango centre in soft slices of bread highlights freshly baked bread brought by the English and the Japanese’s unique fruit sandwiches.
Mutton Biryani at DilPasand Biryani Point
From Persia to the plate, it comes with slow-cooked meat options, with its long grain basmati rice cooked in the meat’s own fat.
Shammi Kebabs at Bhaijaan Kebabs
First prepared for a Nawab who lost his teeth, the soft melt-in-the-mouth meat patty is spiced with cumin, coriander, ginger and black peppercorns.
Butter Chicken at Aslam’s
From a pop-up meat store 3 decades ago, to now a 3 story building, their “butter chicken” features a skillfully grilled tandoori chicken marinated with a secret spice rub, served in a butter sauce.
Shahi Tukda at Cool Point
The Mughal way of using leftover bread is now used to create this famous deep friend sweet treat topped with nuts, spices and saffron.
Shahi Sheermal at Haji Nadeem
Milk, sugar, ghee and saffron are infused into the toasted flatbread eaten as is or with variations with toppings of dried fruits and nuts.
Kulpe/Chuski on the go
A summer cooler using the Japanese way of shaving ice and drizzling syrup is widely available at every corner.