You can’t quite blame me for catching the tinge of happiness in the air already. From last Sunday, Onam festivities flagged off across the country. With this, comes the unofficial flagging-off of the Indian festive season—a period that begins largely in the third week of August, and lasts all the way through Diwali and Gurpurab at the end of November.
These three-odd months bring joy and cheer to almost every community across the country—and, with Delhi being the confluent potpourri that mirrors our nation, we’re perhaps the best-placed to savour the best tastes from every community, region and faith across India.
It all begins with Onam, of course, and with it comes a hand-picked set of destinations across the city to savour pretty much the best that this festival has to offer. Last year, too, I spoke about home-chef Rekha Natarajan’s decadent sadhya, which she served out of her Panchsheel, Delhi home. While Natarajan no longer lives in the capital, she returned to Delhi in time for Onam this year as well, to serve the multi-course, leaf-plated meal that satiates your soul.
“As Onam approached and the preparations were visible in Kerala, I started having withdrawal symptoms. I wanted to be back in the thick of things. The sadhya cooking is the closest to a spiritual experience. In spite of the long hours of hard labour, there is joy in the process. It had become addictive after four years of sharing the home-cooked sadhya with our Delhi-NCR family,” Natarajan tells me.
In fact, she finds so much joy in creating and serving the sadhya that for the year, she has partnered with Noida-based sustainable, experiential food up-start, Seeking Roots Experiences, to cater the fare.
While Onam is traditionally meant to be a family get-together where you soak in the festivities with your loved ones, this year, like ones that have come before it, restaurants offer a great way to join in the festivities as well. From Mahabelly in Saket, to Monsoon Cafe in Aerocity, Sanadige in Chanakyapuri, and Chef Lakshmi Kini collaborating with Chef Saarthak of Radisson Blu MBD in Noida—Delhiites are spoilt for choices.
But it’s not just Onam, for Rakshabandhan is just around the corner, too. Now admittedly, the first item of food that comes to mind, thanks to a million ad campaigns, are packed sweets and chocolates. Some, though, are looking to make a difference.
Delhi-based mother-daughter duo Jyotsana and Kshiti Taneja, who launched The Laddoo Waala last year, are offering dishes based on exquisite heirloom family recipes which are a confluence of traditional mithai recipes with modern approach. From pistachio crunch barfi, dates and walnuts laddoo, to the traditional besan laddoo, to savoury items like mewa pudina namkeen and achaari mathri, they have it all.
But they aren’t the only ones. Gurugram-based modern-day mithai shop Bhawan by Kainaz Contractor and Rahul Dua have a blend of traditional and modern mithais in the offing as well. While the purists can choose from malai kesar peda, motichoor laddoo and the ever-popular kala jamun, there is also Jim-Jam barfi and salted caramel Mathura peda, for those willing to try new flavours.
And, while there are more and more takers for artisanal mithais, one can’t ignore the undying love for Old Delhi’s Chaina Ram Sindhi Halwai and Shyam Sweet’s ghewar that Delhi residents swear by and indulge in during Teej festivities and Rakshabandhan. I, for one, always make it a point to carry one box of the traditional ghevar for my brothers.
It isn’t untrue that every festivity is as much about the festival itself, as about what we eat during it. Many items that are generally not in the mainstream fold everyday, come through to markets and menus during this time.
You’re more likely to find regular queues in restaurants all through this period of the coming three months, showing the love that the city has for the best and the most diversified food experiences that chefs and restaurateurs can offer.
From the oldest corners of purani Dilli, to the advent of home-chefs that bring their home recipes to the market, and restaurants that transform through limited-duration pop-ups, there’s truly no time to hop around on a food trip across Delhi, like now.
