Savouring Delhi’s flavours

It is that time of the year, when everyone is on an exploration drive to savour diverse flavours and often end their search with Delhi, as an unmatched destination for street food. To celebrate the tradition of food in the capital, Delhi Tourism came out with the concept of Dilli Ke Pakwaan in the year 2010 during the commonwealth games. Since then, the journey has been immensely successful and this time again fifth in series, Dilli ke Pakwaan 2014 is an authentic treat. Exclusive food items by nearly 40 participating vendors will make that perfect Dilli Ka Zaika.

In  a bid to give an organised space to street food vendors in the region and usher in a new wave of vibrancy in street food arena, Delhi Tourism in association with Govt. of Delhi had introduced this seven day street food saga in the capital. The festival was being held at Baba Kharak Singh Marg from December 24 and commenced on December 30 and celebrated Delhi’s love for street food. 

Christmas festivities are over but the feast continued at Dilli Ke Pakwaan with around 40 food stalls offering more than 60 different dishes. The cold weather did not stop people from stepping out of their homes and taste the flavours of Delhi. 

The festival was not just about food but goes beyond the regular, with different cultural performances lined up every evening. From puppet shows, youth-centric musical performances, to magical Qawwali night and Rajasthani folk dance and music, there were numerous entertainment avenues. Visitor-friendly activities like ‘Art in Motion Cars’ encouraged people to paint on autorickshaws stationed at the venue. 

Dilli Ke Pakwaan  also offered numerous activities like recipe competition, food photography crash course, expert food talk, musical evenings, art and craft section along with others. Dilli Dil Se, recipe competition cum food talk  allowed people to freely drop their secret recipes and earn recognition, and pioneering expert from the industry will also be conducting talks on healthy food and special diets. Dilli Belly, a food photography workshop aimed to impart the skill of clicking beautiful photos using basic camera devices/ mobile phones. 

In a special societal welfare opportunity at Dilli Ke Pakwaan, an NGO Antardrishti, along with its sister project Antarkranti was given a platform to showcase its exquisite products at the venue. Antardrishti works towards the benefit of visually impaired, while Antarkranti helps in rehabilitation and reformation of prison inmates. 

Another feature at the event was the Home for Food Tradition (HFT) movement that has taken upon itself the task of providing wholesome meals to people on the move. The idea is to bring the hygienic, wholesome, and health-oriented organic meals out of the confines of capital’s malls, five star hotels, and hi-dining joints, and democratise their availability on the streets of Delhi for common man at an affordable price through a network of specially designed network of trawlers. In other words, it aims to provide affordable meals, planned to take care of one’s nutritional requirements, while serving it hot in the streets of Delhi in a manner that is portable and reusable. In short, when it comes to planning a wholesome meal every day, Home for Food Traditions is fostering the care of a mother, with a touch of professionalism. This is happening in Todapur Village of Delhi under the supervision of Home for Food Tradition (HFT) to create Right to Eat Movement.