About three years ago, four avid food lovers felt the need to bring to Delhi a food festival that went beyond chicken tikka and kathi rolls. This was the time when Asian flavours were restricted to the close confines of a restaurant.
“We wanted a space that celebrated food but wasn’t like a Diwali mela ,” recalls Atul Sikand, one of the four organisers of the recently-concluded Asian Hawkers Market. “So we decided to dedicate the space to authentic Pan-Asian cuisine.”
The idea seems to have worked, for the festival is in its sixth season and shows no sign of slowing. “Asian Hawkers Market is a space where we bring together the best Asian flavours under one roof,” says Sourish Bhattacharyya, noted food journalist, also one of the organisers, “The idea is to have a space where people can enjoy the best Asian food at the most affordable prices.”
While one might enter the food festival expecting everyone to be walking around with noodle boxes, the place turns out to be much more than an assembly of chow-mein carts. The food here ranges from Malay to Indonesian, Burmese to Japanese, Chinese to Thai, and sometimes somewhere in between all this.
Dumplings and dim sums
According to the Chinese, dumplings have medicinal properties. Looking at the number of people indulging in dim sums here, one would think Indians find them therapeutic too.
From curried to fried, vegan to gluten-free, cheese to avocado, dim sums are everywhere. “People love dim sums; they are light, easy to eat, plus they come in small portions,” says Jitin Mittal, co-founder of Oriental Heritage. His stall offers curry dumplings, seafood dumplings, and vegetarian dumplings; others have offerings like avocado, water chestnut and bok choy.
“Our dim sums are completely gluten-free and vegan,” says Chef Siddharth Chogle from Kiara Soul Kitchen. He makes vegan, gluten-free dim sums in a bok choy wrap instead of traditional flour and serves them with home-made sauces.
Home-made sauces, pickles, and original recipes seem to be the buzzword at the market: while Chef Parth Bharti from Pikkle shows us his spring onion-and-black garlic sauce, Chef Harangad from Pra Pra Prank takes pride in his original recipe, the Japanese nihari .
“We add Japanese curry paste to our nihari ; it gives the dish a unique flavour,” he quips. The dish, served with baked bread, is indeed different and not without a pronounced Japanese feel.
Japanese flavours are omnipresent at the market, with almost every stall presenting its version of the sushi , sashimi and California rolls. Some are authentic, while some present the creator’s take on the dish. At You Mee, one of the latest additions to the market, the rolls are made with Philadelphia cheese and wakame, tuna and salmon, and edamame and asparagus. “Our rolls are made with our own recipes, and people are loving them,” Lama, the manager at You Mee tells us.
At Pra Pra Prank, the rolls seem to be more Indian — the beetroot roll served with salsa and green chilli is one such. Spicy, tangy, sweet, and hot at the same time, it is nothing like the original, but does convey the restaurant’s theme of pranking its guests with hidden flavours. “We want people to discover our food and taste all we have to offer,” Inderjeet Singh Banga, owner of Pra Pra Prank, tells us. The reason he has attended all editions of the festival, he says, is because it gives him an opportunity to bring the food to an entirely new audience, and get immediate feedback.
Another way to reach new audiences seems to be via trial boxes and small plates. “The only way to sample many things is to have small plates. It ensures affordability and versatility,” explains Sourish, adding, “It also ensures there is little or no wastage.”
Small plates come in the form of meal bowls, sampling portions, and trial boxes. Meal bowls are made of a single combination; trail boxes bring an assortment of things in one box. “Trial boxes are for people who want to try everything,” says Gaurav Mehra, the owner of The Trial Box, who puts everything from a spring roll to dim sums, curry, noodles and even salad in his boxes.
