Afghan Kabab House

So after a successful maiden drive to MKT, the Gremlins decided to explore South Delhi. After much deliberation the decision was to dig into succulent kababs. Two of us had previously visited the Afghan food places in Lajpat Nagar and felt that an education in kabab was required for the uninitiated. This time around the Gremlins were joined by 3 guests, 2 of whom had come all the way from Kerala, by road!! Children these days seem to have a very different kind of fun. On a trip pretty much around the country, they stopped in the capital to catch up with a cousin (A Gremlin of course) and we invited them to join the festivities.

After a rather adventurous rickshaw ride, we reached our destination. Nestled in the interiors of Lajpat Nagar, is Afghan Kabab House. A tiny hole in the wall but with excellent food. The minute you enter you are transported to what you perceive to be an eating place tucked away in the bazaars of Kabul. The clientele are presumably Afghanis and you do feel a little out of place, almost touristy. And then to shake that feeling off, a warm welcome in the form of a soup brought by the server there. Not entirely sure what went into it but it felt rather nice. It resonated the general warmth of the place. The menu there is in Arabic I suppose and you pretty much need to consult the photographs given below to pick what you want. Language is a barrier, but food does act as the perfect bridge.

We tucked into various kababs, names of which I possibly can't pronounce...let's just say it was worth not knowing. Especially the mutton. I am told the place serves beef (beg your pardon, buff) as well, but we weren't in luck. The biriyani was....different is possibly the best word to describe it. I am a stickler for the right kind of biriyani. Possibly the only place that comes closest to being the kind of dish I consider as biriyani, is Lucknow. Anyway I digress. We spent a good hour or more there, happily stuffing our faces, making promises of more such outings. The meal could very well be called the Last Supper, as we were saying goodbye to two of our original members, who chose to move on to greener pastures. Bittersweet but seemed like a fitting fare thee well.

Afghan Kabab House is a winner in terms of food as well as pocket pinch, so if you are in the mood for some good Afghan hospitality, do make your way to Lajpat Nagar. I can guarantee it will be worth your time.

P.S. The Gremlins and guests.

MKT

So while some of the Gremlins were regulars at MKT during their college days, a couple of us had not managed the trip in even four years in the city, which to me is just appalling considering it was FOOD!! Many plans had been made with many different people...mostly during winter but those plans remained just that...plans. So when the Gremlins got together, we thought MKT would be a brilliant place to start. For those who are a little confused MKT is Majnu Ka Tila, a Tibetan colony with the most yummytous food. It is near the University area, so the yellow line metro would be the easiest way to get there.

The Gremlins, in the planning stage, realised quickly that getting 6 people together is quite the Herculean task. Nonetheless after many cancellations and changes we managed to set a date. But alas it was no longer winter. However that did not deter us...even with Seamus whining about being broke. Motto: Money does not decide a food trip. Enough Gremlins about to make up for empty pockets. It's a very giving community we belong to.

So off we went by the Delhi Metro to MKT followed by an auto ride where we had to split up....one auto with the guide and the other winging it. Needless to say the wingers got there first, even though the veteran did laugh at us. The first glimpse of MKT warms the cockles of ones heart. If you love the hills as much as I do, the fluttering of the Tibetan prayer flags will ALWAYS make you nostalgic and happy. And remind you of the beautiful crispness of the mountain air will savouring a bowl of momos and thukpa. It does make you forget, for a brief moment, that you are in fact in the concrete jungle of the capital city.

Once you make your way through the labyrinthine lanes of MKT, you find many eating joints. We chose to go to Wongdhen House, a tried and tested favourite I am told. While waiting for the veterans, we lost no time to order plates of beef and chicken steamed and fried momos. When the entire party sat to break bread the order stood at momos, cheley-tongue, tingmo-bread, dry chilli beef, chilli chicken, chowmein, gyuma--goat sausages, sliced beef with spring onions and beef and chicken shabalay. You would think at this point that for 6 people this would be too much. I am pleased to say ABSOLUTELY NOT!! We are Gastronomic Gremlins are good eaters and we try to lick the plates clean...sometimes quite literally.

So, the fried momos were excellent. We all agreed that we had had better steamed momos elsewhere. Coming from a city where even the random roadside momo stalls rock, the momos did little for me. The Kid and I were adventurous enough to dig in to the tongue while the others blessed us. In fact the Mallu shuddered every time we even said tongue. One must at this point slip in this little bit of trivia. The Kid is allergic to aginomoto....well not allergic exactly. Let's just say what a good joint is for some, aginomoto is to The Kid. And considering the spread, we were bound to be in for a hilarious meal. I do believe at some point The Kid declared that he would text his boss and ask him if he wanted some tongue. In his sobriety, The Kid chooses to avoid eye contact when said incident is mentioned in public.

The shabalay was rather nice, though I have had better. And no, shabalay is not Shefali as another Gremlin tried to convince the server. To be fair, I think what he was aiming for was shefalay. What's in a name, eh? The tingmo was a big white ball of turd and absolutely yum. The chilli chicken ranks in one of the worst chicken dishes I have had. The chilli beef was good, the spring onion not so much. But the best bit, again agreed upon by The Kid and I, was the gyuma. These little cocktail sausages were heaven sent. Having never tried this before, it was an instant hit. I would go back just for this dish.

Wongdhen House gets a 7.5/10 from me though the service could improve. Also, if you do want to head to MKT, DO IT IN WINTER!!!

After nearly 90 minutes we were done. And we all had miles to go before we slept....some all the way to Gurgaon. So we thanked our chef, doffed our hats, smoked our cigarettes and trooped out. We took a rather risky ride to the metro....what with 6 stuffed people in one vehicle. I say vehicle because I am not sure how to exactly describe the vehicle. Needless to say, it was a very slow ride.
Disembarked, took the metro and then said our goodbyes and tried to roll back to the confines of our homes....more specifically, our beds. The Kid and his Bodyguard decided the night was too hot and too young, so followed it up with some chilled beer.Of course considering we only think of food, we decided on the next port that very day.

After nearly 4 years, the trip to MKT was worth it. But once again, and I cannot emphasise this enough...GO IN WINTER!!!

P.S. Next stop, Afghan Kabab House.

The Introduction

It's true. I eat therefore I am. I love food. It makes me giddy with happiness. I am a carnivore and proud of it. Of course I don't completely dismiss the merits of vegetarianism but personally seems like a complete waste. I enjoy food, enjoy experimenting, cooking and of course feeding people. And clearly I am not alone. So yaaaay!

A group of food enthusiasts  like me from my work place got together to share this mutual love for food. From organising potluck lunches at the the workplace to going around town stuffing our faces, we have taken this seriously. After all good food is serious business. We are very committed to our cause. We are not particularly finicky about where we eat or how in/expensive it is. The point is to eat and be shiny happy.

We like to think of ourselves as Gastronomic Gremlins (yes, if you do feed us past a certain hour or give us just water, we do go all batshitcrazy) and have made it our mission to never give up the good food despite the expanding waistlines. The people in the group change and will keep changing, but there's the hope that wherever we go, we will take a bit of the Gremlins with us. For now the group has covered the folks from Kashmir, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal, Lucknow (yes I am aware it is UP but let's face it, Lucknow as a food place is waaaaaay cooler than UP) and Jharkhand.

After a couple of crazy food trips, I figured a food blog would be a good way to keep the memory alive. And help others like us just a little to make that trip to these places after reading about it. Plus it combines my twin passions of food and writing (yes, I am selfish like that.) And voila! Edo Ergo Sum is born.