Kumar pastry shop (KPS) is a very local shop in my neighborhood in Dilli. It’s a safe bet that I might be a bit bias towards this shop. KPS is very well known within 10 miles proximity from its location.
KPS is a local pastry and snack shops located within Moti Nagar, Dilli. Though, by name, it sounds primarily like a bakery it is however more than just that. KPS offers a wide variety of great vegetarian snacks.
KPS opened in 2004 with very limited space. It soon began to expand, as it was an instant hit with the locals. The shop has more than doubled in size since its opening.
KPS became a local favorite because it offered great taste and quality. KPS, especially compared to others, took a great stand on quality of their food. They bake and cook with great integrity.
Also, what separates KPS from other bakeries is that they have there own milk processing place right next door. Fresh milk gives all products that involve dairy a great fresh taste and feel. Offering such high quality baked goods attracts many to the shop. Because the shop is using fresh dairy there products always taste delicious.
KPS also gained so much popularity because it combined a few different cuisines and styles. It constructed the snack menu around the “best sellers” of a particular style or cuisine. Because it was offering what sold most at other locations, it drew a huge crowd. One can get various cuisine favorites all in one location.
Everytime I visit back I give ths place many visits. Few of my favorite are listed below. If you ever get a chance do check the place out.
Snacks: Pastry/Deseret’s:
-Veggie Sandwich – Butterscotch Pastry
– Aloo Burger – Chocolate Pudding
– Singaporean Noodles – Triple Dark Chocolate Pastry
This time I bring to you one of the sweetest desserts you’ll ever have: rabri faluda. Those who know me know that I have a very high sugar tolerance. I can eat the sweetest of all things and I love it! So without a doubt, this is one of my favorite desserts. In fact I don’t limit this to just a dessert for myself. I’ve had this before and after meals throughout the day. Rabri faluda is a very old and traditional dessert of South Asia. It’s found in numerous countries with all sorts of small variations.
Rabri Faluda from Grover Mithaivala, Moti Nagar. (Photo take by me)
Rabri faluda is made by combing two separate dishes: rabri and faluda. Rabri is the Indian version of ice cream. It is a traditional sweet made from milk, sugar, cream, cardamom and nuts. Rabri is very thick and pasty. Also, it is incredibly sweet. Faluda is made from mixing milk with vermicelli (very thin pasta-like noodles), water and ice. A lot of variations can be made with faluda. May like to add various flavor syrups to their drinks. Amongst all the flavors, rose syrup is undoubtedly the most famous. Some also like to add tapioca balls or jelly pieces to their faluda.
Rabri faluda is the combination of these two dishes. You would generally make the faluda and put a scoop or two of rabri on top. Rabri faluda is very thick and generally served with a spoon. I, however, like to just drink my rabri faluda. I either mix the rabri on top into the faluda myself or instruct the server to do so as he is making it. It is very heavy and if eaten after lunch/dinner it can be difficult to finish on your own. A lot of people like to just share the dessert. This dessert is served cold, so most prefer it during warm weathers, but it’s available throughout the year.
Rabri faluda is very famous in Dilli and you will find it at many locations. Few of my favorite locations include Grover Mithaivala, Gaini’s, and Haldirams. All locations can be found all over Dilli.
Paan (or pan) has been part of the South Asian culture for thousands of years. A paan is areca nut, and/or cured tobacco and other various ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf. Many consider it to work as a mouth freshener because of the cool sensation it provides while chewing and sweet taste.
I would like to start out by saying that if you are consuming the product with tobacco, you obviously are putting your self at health risks. Tooth decay, gum damage and even oral cancer can by caused if enough tobacco is consumed.
However because paan can be made with numerous ingredients, a lot of people, like myself, who enjoy paan will consume it without tobacco. I absolutely love paan. While in India, I consume it at an almost daily base. The variety of paans has increased incredibly in the recent years. The most common paan, is the the “metha” paan.
Metha paan is basically a sweet paan. It usually does not contain any tobacco, but of course it can be added by request. Any average person in India has consumed at least one metha paan in their lifetime. It is a very normal thing to eat paan. Some areas within Indai the paan consumption is very high.
Dilli I would argue it a bit above average in overall paan consumption in India. Because it is a metropolitan city and host a lot of people of other states, paan is readily available at almost all locations. Also, because it is such a simple item you will find many tiny local shops serving paans. I’ve had paan from locations no bigger then a 3×5 square foot area.
Dilli is known for its food and the variations it can provide. Paan too is available at a very wide variety. In tha past years, various flavored paan have taken the city by storm. It has led to few shops to gain recognition quickly.
My favorite shop is Shukla’s Paan Palace. The shop is open in various locations around Dilli. I am fortunate enough to have one located just 5 minutes from my house in Dilli. It’s open till late night, so my friends and I often find ourselves grabbing a paan after dinner.
Shukla offers many types of paans. Shukla was smart and innovative enough to introduce novelty paans into the market. Like I mentioned earlier, paan has been in the South Asian culture for thousands of years. It has been the same for years, with little to no varioations. There would usually be two types of paans; with or without tobacco (of course there was variation within these two categories, but not huge differences). Shukla took the concept of paan and modernized it. He started to offer novelty paan flavors.
Novelty flavors include chocolate, butterscotch, “panch mewa,” “chuski” and a few others. No one had ever heard of a chocolate paan before. When I heard of such a paan, it sounded very dubious to me. However, when I had the paan I was blown away. When I went and ordered the paan, Shukla himself was present at the moment. He took out a paan for a refrigerator. I asked him why it was in their and he said it so the chocolate doesn’t melt. The chocolate paan is utterly divine. The combination of an original paan mixed with some choclate is simple amazing. Similar could be said for the butterscotch paan. If you’re a fan of butterscotch, yu would love this paan as it has only only butterscotch syrup, but huge pieces of butterscotch as well.
What I consider to the ultimate novelty paan is the “chuski” paan. Chuski paan, is a snow cone with in a paan. Needless to say the paan is HUGE. It requires you to open up wide. And because there is ice inside the paan it leaves you speechless, until the ice beings to melt.
Shukla Paan Palace capitalized on a great opportunity He has made a name for himself. He started out at a small location and has now spread all over Dilli. He is invited by celebrities to serve at their events. You will find photos of him inside the shop feeding paan to well known celebrities. I was fortunate enough to have Shukla serve at my brothers wedding last year. He said he usually doesn’t do such events, but made the exception this time. He came to serve the paans himself by the end of the night.
I’d like to leave you guys with a video of myself enjoying a chuski paan. Enjoy!
This name is embedded into the hearts of many Delhites. Keventers is a milkshake shop located at the heart of Dilli, Connaught Place (CP).
Keventers has been around for generations. In 2012 Keventers changed its name to Shake Square and began expanding. They are now located in 5 different locations. Before one would have to go to CP for one of the best shakes ever created, which had become a popular hangout spot. The mouthwatering milkshakes had created a special place in the hearts of the locals. It would stay crowded even until very late night. I, myself, have gone many times very late at night.
Even though the name has changed to Shake Square, many still refer to it as Keventers (I for one still do). So what does Keventers offer?
Milkshakes. Keventers offers some of the greatest milkshakes ever created. They have been voted Delhi’s best milkshakes. Keventers keeps it simple. Their expertise lies in their shakes and they are well aware of that. Also, unlike American milkshakes, the milkshake is not as thick. I for one prefer a shake that’s not so thick. The serving size of a milkshake is very generous and filling. Also at the original location in CP they still serve the shakes in old retro milk bottles.
Retro Milk Bottles. (photo taken by me)
With the new expansion they have added various food items to the menu as well as hot beverages such as tea and coffee. However, they have more then doubled their shake options. The original Keventers located in CP offered only a small number of milkshakes flavors and they still do! The original Keventers has not added the new milkshake flavors to their list. They still only offer the original flavors (about 8). The new locations offer over 20 choices.
Kevnters makes some of the most delicious milkshakes; it’s as simple as that. Their flavor is unmatched. My favorite milkshake is Butterscotch. This is my absolute favorite without a doubt. I have yet to find a place where I can get a milkshake close to this one. A close second is the Mocha (available only at the new locations). So this Mocha isn’t your ordinary mocha shake. The shake is made using milk, chocolate ice cream and coffee. Yes, that’s right coffee, NOT coffee ice cream, but actual coffee. Adding actual coffee does give the shake a distinct flavor. And again, not adding more ice cream allows them to keep the shake not so thick.
Great flavors at the original location are Butterscotch, Strawberry, Rose and Chocolate. Some great flavors at the new locations include Mocha, Oreo (with the option of having it with vanilla, Chocolate or coffee), Kesar-Pista and Banana Chocolate. If ever in Delhi be sure to try these shakes.
Insider Tip: If at the original location in CP ask the guy for “extra flavor” and get ready to have one of the best milkshakes ever.
The global world we live in today has made traveling not only easy, but an important part of our lives. People (or at least me) love to travel. See new places, meet new people and interact with various cities around the world. When visiting any new place, FOOD is something everyone looks forward to. Local cuisine attracts tourism greatly. India has been added to many travel bucket lists in the past few years. New Delhi, India ( or Dilli as many locals like myself refer to it) has been attracting tourists greatly in the recent years. If you ask a true Delhiite (one from New Delhi) places to visit he/she will surely point you towards at least a few different food joints other then just monuments and such. Delhi is known for its food. And local food spots rule the food industry in Delhi. If ever in Delhi, be sure to check out a few spots I recommend.
A local food joint I recommend is 34, Chowringhee Lane Kathi Rolls. Chowringhee Lane (CL) has a few locations with in Delhi. A good location is in Karol Bagh near the Bal Bharati Public School (as shown below).
Students waiting for great mouth-watering rolls.
CL offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian kathi rolls. Kathi roll is a street-food found all over India, but said to be originated from Kolkata, India. A kathi roll is almost any filling rolled in a prantha, Indian flat bread. CL is a local spot that offers mouth-watering rolls. From all the available choices, I enjoyed the Panner Tikka roll the most (and I have had almost the whole menu). Panner Tikka can be described a spicy cottage cheese. Sounds mouth-watering yet?
CL makes the prantha fresh. Most CL location have an open grill so you can see your roll being made as you wait. The bread is made very crispy, that’s an aspect that separates CL from many other kathi rolls from other places. Most kathi rolls are made with soft bread, but CL makes the flat bread very crispy. Many consider it to be the North-Indian touch to the roll.
Each roll can be customized in various manners such as additional sauces or if you’d like an egg or two on the prantha. If you do order it with egg be sure to check out how the cook bakes the egg. The cook lays the bread on the grill and breaks the egg directly on to the bread as its being cooked! He then even scrambles the egg directly on the bread and flips its to let it bake right on the bread. In my opinion the egg does add a bit more flavor to the roll.
So what makes CL a great joint? Other then the fact that its one of the few places to make the bread really crispy, what separates CL from others is simply CL’s taste. The filling used by CL is like no other. They’ve mastered the right amount of masala to all their fillings. Also they are not shy to fill the rolls. They stuff the rolls immensely, making it that much more tastier. For many just one roll would suffice. Also the rolls are quite inexpensive, costing less than $2 per roll!!
An insider tip to make your visit even more memorable (if visiting the Karol Bagh location) is to go to the deli next door and grab your self a RimJhim as your drink. RimJhim is an Indian masala drink. I will say it’s not for everyone because it has a very strong taste, but it’s still worth a shot.
For those of us living in New York there are a few locations that offer some good kathi rolls. The Kati Roll Company is very famous and has a few locations, but the most famous one is on MacDougal Street. Another place I would suggest is Thelewala. It is located right across from the Kati Roll Company on MacDougal. A request can be made to make the bread crispy, but I’ve found that it’s still nowhere close to being as crispy CL makes it. If you like the rolls from any of these locations, I can almost guarantee that you would absolutely love 34, Chowringhee Lane Kathi Rolls.
So keep exploring new foods. See you guys next time.
