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Uncle's kababs, our delight

You can safely forget those busy by-lanes of Old Delhi and still have delicious kababs and tikkas at Khan Chacha's Kabab Corner in Khan Market, assures RAHUL VERMA

SUCCULENT GRUB Khan Chacha's kababs at Khan Market make for fare to remember PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

The first sign of arrogance in a food writer are his blinkers. For long years, I would hold forth on how you couldn't get a kabab worthy of being called one anywhere outside the Walled City. The time has come for me to eat my beret. And while I still believe that the kababs of Old Delhi are the best in the city, I have to admit that good kababs can be found elsewhere as well.

The revelation came to me some days ago. All around me, people were talking about a gentleman in Khan Market called Khan Chacha whose kababs, they said, were legendary. I scoffed and jeered at them, but this lot insisted I try him out. So, scoffing and jeering, I went to Khan Market the other day in search of Chacha and his kababs.

Banda Hasan, or Khan Chacha, wasn't there. He was on a Haj pilgrimage, but his nephews were there - all busy grilling kababs and flipping roomali rotis in the air.

The stall is in a middle lane, behind Bangla Sweets.

Once I was there, I realised that I was actually no stranger to Khan Chacha's kababs. I remember having his kababs some years ago when Khan Market was my in-laws' neighbourhood market.

Khan Chacha used to sit in front of a restaurant called Alfina. I wasn't greatly impressed by the kababs then. But, since then, much water has flown under the Nizamuddin bridge, and the kababs are not what they used to be.

The rates are reasonable. Four pieces of mutton seekh kababs come for Rs.45. A roomali-seekh kabab roll is for Rs.50. And eight pieces of mutton tikka are for Rs.45. I asked the young boys - all wearing trendy T-shirts that said Khan Chacha - to pack me a plate of seekh kababs, mutton tikkas and roomali rotis.

Juicy too

The kababs smelt so good that we couldn't wait to taste his stuff. On our journey home, we first bit into the mutton tikkas, which were truly delicious. Tangy and spicy, the tikkas were soft and had been perfectly grilled.

We finished those and moved on to the seekh kababs. This was again a pleasant surprise, for seekh kababs, if not eaten off the grill, tend to get rubbery. These kababs were succulent, and the meat was tender.

We reached home, but the aroma of the kababs was still playing havoc with my salivary glands.

So I wrapped a seekh kebab in a roomali and then covered it with some green chutney and onion rings. What a wonderful treat that was!

Finally sated, I did a silent salaam to Khan Chacha. I was ready to eat my words.

And I would have eaten my beret, too - but by then I was too full!

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