I’ll be honest.
I’m not the biggest fan of Delhi as a whole. Perhaps it’s the whole Mumbai-Delhi rivalry or the fact that Goa sees some of the rowdiest tourists from that part of the country. But one thing I can’t deny is that the city unquestionably churns out some of the best food that the country has to offer.
Whether you’re walking through the maze of lanes that is Old Delhi for piping hot jalebis and dahi bhalle, stopping at a roadside dhaba for heavenly kheema parathas or in are in more elite areas that boast of some of the best fine dining restaurants in Delhi, you’ll leave the city with an appetite for more.
Where to eat in Delhi – Mahabelly!
All my trips to Delhi thus far have been one-day stopovers. While I’m not complaining about the lack of time in the pollution-choked capital, I do lament the fact that I can’t try out more than 2 restaurants at a time, especially with gorgeous monuments like the Safdarjung Tomb and Agrasen Ki Baoli to see, too!
On a recent such 24-hour stopover, I visited a restaurant that was a mere 30 meters from where I was staying, at the Sheraton, Saket. Recommended by a trusted foodie in Delhi, this restaurant, called Mahabelly, serves Malabar cuisine and I jumped at the opportunity to visit with a friend, Priyadarshini, from Kolkata – who loves South Indian flavours just as much as I do.
Thankfully, we reserved a table and could jump ahead of the bunch of hungry patrons outside. We were seated right at the corner of the noisy restaurant, and before long, were flipping through the menu full of Syrian Christian, traditional Nair and Moplah delicacies. Let me tell you, choosing what to order was hard!
On the recommendation of our friendly server, we ordered a portion of Fish Wafers to start with – and they were the regular off-the-shelf fry-and-eat snack that I used to relish as a kid. I will admit, I was surprised to be served those, but then again, they are the McCain Fries of a South Indian restaurant.
What we ate
Next on the table was a portion of Pork Fry / Ularthaiyathu – deliciously sticky-fatty pork, served dry with robust flavours that were broken up by bites of browned coconut slices. If you drink alcohol, this would be an unbeatable snack to relish with it. If not, just eat it plain like I did – its finger licking good.
The Moplah Biryani was next! In case you haven’t heard of Moplah Cuisine before, it is the traditional fare of the Malabar Muslims in Kerala, called Moplahs or Mappillay. We dug in to the fragrant rice, topped with caramelized onions to find succulent chicken pieces coated in mild spices within. It was distinctly different from any other biryani I’ve had before. Even the biryani at Thaal, a Bohri Muslim restaurant in Goa was starkly different in terms of the flavour of the meat. Served with raita, the Moplah Biryani is a delicious pick – but then again, isn’t biryani a cliché of deliciousness?
Nothing unleashed our inner gluttons more than when the next course was served. The Allepey Fish Curry was so rich, so luscious, so exquisite, that we ate in silence, ordering one egg appam after the next, mopping up every last drop of the mango-coloured gravy. The fish couldn’t have been done any better, it was as flaky as it could get. Bold flavours, and tantalizing spices softened with creamy coconut milk were simply irresistible and I’d highly recommend this!
Can’t skip dessert!
We couldn’t breathe – but ordered dessert anyway! Cream Caramel – a dish I was reluctant to order because I know no one does it better than us, Goans. I was right – it was quite dense and lacked that little jiggle that is the hallmark of a good Cream Caramel. The syrup (and the pudding itself) was much too sweet, and I felt that the hand-churned ice cream would have been a better pick.
Did we stop there? Oh no! Because who goes to a South Indian restaurant and not order a filter coffee? I knew I ate way too much (I say this all the time, but this time I could literally feel that the food had no space to settle in my tummy). We should have skipped the coffee – perhaps it was too sweet, too strong, or both, but we did not enjoy it, especially after fish curry! We left quickly and pottered back to the hotel to sleep it off.
South Indians in Delhi, and even Delhi folks who dare stray from the Hauz Khas strip, do give this place a whirl! And if you’re ever in Goa, check out Gunpowder and Anand Seafood, for an equally amazing dining experience.
Catch me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and I’ll reveal some more great places to visit, and even the ones to avoid! Bye!
