Culinary lures for CWG visitors

Abuzz with the commercial prospects that the Games are expected to bring, various eateries here are preparing to put forward their best menus that offer tourists and sportspersons a glimpse of the country's food.

In Paranthewaali Gali, the hub of capital's mouth-watering paranthas, is the face of the quintessential traditional Indian food-parantha,subzi, chutney and pickle - all churned in one splash of a parantha meal. The parantha shop owners here are expecting to receive hordes of customers during the Games.

"Usually, once a foreigner comes to our shop, he returns again with a bunch of his friends. Though we are not making any special preparations for the event, we will concentrate on quality and hygiene," says Anil Kumar, who owns a shop here.
Foreign visitors usually prefer simple parathas so Sharma says he serves the traditional Indian food item without any addition of spices.

"Foreigners do not like spicy food. Considering this we serve them only simple paranthas with salt and the vegetables that they eat are also boiled so that the fat levels are low."
The Babu Ram Dev Dayal Paranthewaale shop in the locality which has been in operation for the past 130-years is also gungho about the Commonwealth Games' tourists. The heir of the shop, Neeraj Sharma, however, stresses on serving them with Indian delicacies only.

"When it's happening in India, Indian food should be showcased as a speciality. We are going on with our preparations to serve the tourists. Our menu will remain the same. We will serve our speciality- and that is our centuries old paranthas," he says.
Not the ones to be left behind, the big-wigs of the food industry are also upbeat about the the games.

Saurabh Swaroop, Head of Marketing and Product Development, Barista Lavazza says, "We will be dealing with foreign visitors. International travellers will thus be able to relate to us."

An international food retail brand like Barista Lavazza which does not deal specifically with Indian delicacies also plans to serve dishes like Upma, Poha and Biryani.
"We have customised our menus in such a way that an Indian touch is added. At the same time, the Barista twist and our cafe format is also maintained," he adds.

Domino's Pizza may not be catering to athletes officially but they have already opened an outlet at a metro station and at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
"We are keen to participate in the Commonwealth Games by setting up mini stores for players and for people who would come during the games," CEO, Domino's Pizza India Ltd Ajay Kaul told PTI.

All geared up for the games, Sharma invites tourists to give him one chance of serving them.

"I would just like to tell them (tourists), come here at least once. There is a reason for our paranthas being famous. You must try them," insists Sharma.