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Warm hearts for the winter

Prodded by a friend, RAHUL VERMA goes to Sindhi tikkiwallah near Deshbandhu Gupta Road and returns with a booty of heart-shaped tikkis

ILLUSTRATION: satheesh vellinezhi

The problem with being a foodie is that you get a lot of unsolicited input from fellow food lovers. For quite some time, our friend, Amita Baviskar, has been bravely trying to tell me about her favourite tikki-wallah in Delhi. I tried to ignore her, but she didn't take the hint. At every gathering, just when I had reached a state of mellow contentment, she would jump up from behind a bush and tell me all about the Sindhi tikkiwallah who, she said, made the most delicious tikkis in Karol Bagh.

I realised that the only way I could get her to stop doing this to me would be by visiting the tikki-man. So sometime last week, when the weather seemed just right for a hot tikki, I decided to go look for it.

How to reach

I don't think I would have found the place by myself. But thankfully, I was with a friend who knew the area, and had even eaten these famous tikkis. To reach Sindhi Corner, as the place is called, go down Deshbandhu Gupta Road. You will find a huge Saravana Bhawan on your right. Turn right at the next traffic light and you will hit Ramjas Road. The shop is some 60 yards down the road, on your right.

Sindhi Corner has all the usual snacks and sweets - but is most famous for its tikkis, paneer pakoras and gulab jamuns. I knew I was at the right place when I saw this huge cauldron filled with ready-to-fry tikkis. The tikkis were being gently dropped into a big tawa with steaming oil, and taken out the moment the two sides turned a reddish-gold.

Most of the regulars of Sindhi Corner go there for its tikki sandwich (Rs.12) - the man at the counter takes a tikki and squashes it between two slices of bread with a dollop of chutney. I didn't have that, but asked for a plate of tikki (Rs.20 for two) and paneer pakora (Rs.16 for two).

The paneer pakoda was excellent - a crispy batter around a soft piece of paneer stuffed with masala. But what really won my heart was the tikka. For one, it was not the usual circular tikka, but was heart-shaped in a nicely elongated form.

The coat was crunchy, and the potato filling was incredibly tasty. The chutney that they served with this was great - it was made out of coriander and mint, with chillies and jaggery, and little crunchy pieces of onion in it. I just loved it.

I took some tikkis back home with me. They were still crispy when we had them later, and I won a great round of applause at home for conquering a crowded maze called Karol Bagh, and returning with a wonderful booty of heart-shaped tikkis.

I think I should now treat friend Amita with suitable respect. Better still, when we meet, I am going to jump out from behind the bushes and tell her how good the tikkas were. That should make her day.

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