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Hot treats in cold weather...

When the winter chill is upon us, but the sun is mercifully shining bright, it is time for hot bedmis and gulab jamuns at Shyam Sweets in the Walled City, says RAHUL VERMA

BEAT THE WINTER CHILL Think of a hot tasty breakfast, think of Shyam Sweets Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

John Keats had it all wrong. This - and not autumn, as the poet led us to believe - is the season for mists and mellow fruitfulness. And what Keats failed to tell us was that this is also the season for breakfasts in the Walled City. When the winter chill is upon us, but the sun is shining bright, brush your teeth, don a muffler, wear a windcheater and make for Chawri Bazaar. For breakfast, there is nothing quite like the hot bedmis you get in Shyam Sweets at Badh Shah Bulla Chowk near Chawri Bazaar.

I used to do that in my youth. On occasional Sundays, I would get up at the crack of dawn (well, around nine, truth be told!) and then walk all the way down to Chawri Bazaar from Rafi Marg for a sumptuous breakfast, happily salivating all the way. I did it only occasionally because the breakfast of two bedmis - pooris stuffed with ground dal - came for two rupees, which was quite a lot of money then. Now, a plate costs Rs.10.

Shyam Sweets is easy to locate, though the badh tree is no longer visible. The shop is at the corner of the T- junction between Chawri Bazaar and Nai Sarak. All that you have to do is take the Metro to Chawri and then walk up to Shyam Sweets which you can easily spot on your right. There is always a huge crowd there - for his breakfasts are legendary.

Unbeatable

I was reminded of Shyam Sweets when the temperature dipped some days ago. It was, I thought, time I went and renewed my relationship with a couple of bedmis. A breakfast of bedmis is a thought that always excites me. When the Walled City is not an easy option, I go for bedmis to Kaleva in Gole Market. But there is nothing that beats the bedmis of Old Delhi. There is one shop in Maliwara, on the road parallel to Chandni Chowk, which serves some excellent stuff. But Shyam's bedmis are particular favourites of mine. The stuffed pooris are fluffy and crisp and come with a hot potato curry and a tart chutney made of methi or fenugreek.

I took the Metro and reached there in time for breakfast. I asked for - and gobbled up - some bedmis, and then rounded up my breakfast with a pair of hot and juicy gulab jamuns. Bedmis can be had all year round, but hot gulab jamuns are really just right for winter. And Shyam's soft and velvety gulab jamuns are to die for.

Not surprisingly, the crowd in front of Shyam's continues to burgeon. In the New Year, I wish that along with the crowds, may his hot bedmis and gulab jamuns flourish.

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