JOIN USWinter is at its best now when cool breeze brings a relief in bright sun rays during afternoon – setting up the mood for a brunch. If you thought that the concept is valid only in terms of western food culture then you are mistaken.
In a land where every region has a typical dish for every meal, how can one not talk about the authentic breakfast of bedmi (stuffed puris) aloo and doodh jalebi which is peculiar to the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Wrapped up in woollens from head to toe, in small towns of UP, people often queue up for a breakfast of doodh jalebi. But those in metros find it difficult to venture out so early and thus reach the shops only by noon for a glass of doodh jalebi after bedmi puri. Lovers of this delight in Delhi still make a beeline for the famous joint Makhan Lal Tika Ram in Kashmere Gate, where they get both in its authentic form.
After taking an exit from Kashmere Gate metro station, reach Bara Bazar near Old Hindu College, you will find a lot of shops with similar name. But the one which says Makhan Lal Tika Ram in entirety, is the original one. Standing as a landmark since 1928, the eatery was started by a Makhan Lal who came to Delhi from UP.
The shop started selling UP's favourite breakfast and found many takers for it. The business of sweets got divided in 1995 and then the shop itself was divided into two in 2006. It stands today as a divided shop with an adjacent wall and huge cauldrons of boiling milk that can be spotted from afar.
"My great grandfather came to Delhi from UP,” says Mukesh Gupta, one of the two partners. “That time this breakfast was in fashion so he started with only these two dishes. We still serve these and try to maintain their original taste,” he explains with humility as he takes orders for laal doodh.
“We get milk from UP’s Murad Nagar and it is set to boil from 5.30 in the morning, everyday. By the time the shop opens at around seven, the milk acquires a little red colour and keeps getting thicker till five in the evening,” he informs.
This thickened and unsweetened milk is poured in a tall glass which contains two plum jalebis fried in desi ghee and is then topped with dollops of cream which are bound to leave a white moustache on your face!
It tastes good till hot, so drink it up real quick. And if you don't have a sweet tooth then try the bedmi-aloo available here with meethi ki chutney. A plate of this contains two huge dark brown puris fried after being stuffed with daal ki pithi.
Anil Singh, the cook in the other shop shares, “Mix masala in flour and add daal ki peethi. This peethi is prepared by soaking urad daal a day in advance and then grinding it. We serve this with aloo-chole ki subzi, gajar ka achar and meethi ki chutney. The aloo and chole are prepared separately and then mixed.
The chutney is prepared by boiling methi, namak, haldi, amchur, saunf and kachri.” The vegetable is full of spices and a perfect combination for finger licking Delhiites while the chutney tastes very different from any other regular chutney. “On Sundays we cook special seetaphal ki sabzi,” he adds.
These dishes are available all round the year except on Holi. So try the bedmi aloo first or the doodh jalebi, but the heavy breakfast here is sure to last you till evening!