Mughlai Food at Turkman Gate in Delhi

On days when mess food in our college hostel back in St. Stephen’s is particularly ‘delicious’ and there is a mass exodus to Kamla for the Chinese food (as they would like to believe) that tastes the same in every joint, one might want to invoke the explorer in them. On a day such as this, Dr. David Baker, an ardent foodie and my partner in culinary crimes, myself and a friend decide to go hunting for Mughlai food in the Turkman Gate area.

Being a pseudo historian, I cannot resist providing readers some information on the location. All the cerebral exertion may help work up our appetite. The southern part of the area comprises of some pre-Shahjahanabad sites that originated with the burial site of Shah Turkman or Biyaban, a sufi saint, who probably came to India during Illtutmish’s reign. His followers include Begum Raziya Sultan, the only female sultan of Delhi and Illtutmish’s daughter, who is also buried here. Shah Turkman died in 1240.

On how to get there, I would like to give fairly detailed directions to prevent confusion, as getting lost there could be quite a pain. One can take the metro to the New Delhi railway station and take a rickshaw or even walk, although if unfamiliar with the area, it is advisable to take a rickshaw for ten to fifteen Rupees. We took a long winding route only to realize there were easier ways of reaching the food joints. It is located right behind the Ramlila grounds, opposite Zakir Hussain College. The best landmark is the Haj Manzil building, the food lane is located very close to it. There are many small hovels, most selling beef and some selling mutton. The one we chose had a great variety of dishes- Bheja (brain) Curry, Stew, Korma, Palak Gosht, Aloo Keema and Daal Gosht, all simmering in round metal pots. For vegetarians, there was Daal without any meat in it. And we tried all the dishes except the daal. Servings per plate are small, meant for one person, so one can choose to have multiple dishes. And it is extremely inexpensive, a relief from the usual Kamla bills, and is appropriate for light wallets. We paid a total of about Rupees hundred and eight for a full meal enough for three, and that included a twenty two rupee bottle of mineral water. The stew and the bheja curry were my favourites, especially with the particularly soft and thinner tandoori rotis. The food was comparatively less oily than some other places in Old Delhi and a difference in the taste is noticeable.

Content with the meat intake, we moved on to other things, namely, dessert. There are sweet shops along the lane. We tried out Firni and Shahi Tukda at the stall right at the beginning of the lane. It was even better than the ones I have near the Jama Masjid. In fact, for sweet-tooths, there is an entire sweetmeats market opposite the Haj Manzil Building, although our amply full bellies did not let us sample the inviting lure of the sweets on display.

This is an area hardly explored by many. It is not of huge commercial appeal as Chandni Chowk but can give it a run for its money any day. It is not so difficult to find and is worth a try by hungry explorers and potential foodies.

Published in SOUL, issue 20, March 10th, 2010