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A hub for great grub
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Bismillah in the Walled City may have only a few dishes, but its daal gosht is an absolute delight, feels RAHUL VERMA
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It’s curious how a city names its streets. In some parts of New Delhi, you have a road named after a golf club, or after a Moghul king or even in tribute to a Cypriot Archbishop. Some of the names of the prominent roads come from the old basti
s. Nizamuddin, for instance, is one of the oldest settlements of Delhi. But elsewhere, you have streets to honour dead politicians. In the Walled City, however, the streets have names that bring alive a slice of history, and tell you about the professions of the people who lived there once. You have a place called Suiwallan, where the needle-men used to stay eons ago. We know of Maliwara, where the gardeners used to once live. There is even a little lane called Bandukwali Gali, which was, clearly, the place for gunmakers.
So it doesn’t surprise me at all that the people of Old Delhi refer to Ballimaran as Billimaran. Is it possible that a road has been named after cat killers? I was in the area the other day, and every time I asked a local for directions, I was urged to take the Billimaran Road. So I did, in search of a little eatery called Bismillah.
How to reach
The weather was such that I needed some good red meat in my body. The temperature was dipping, and I thought it was just the right time for a hot plate of korma. Bismillah is one such place where you can sit and eat, or take something home — and at prices that are unbelievable. To get to Bismillah, enter Ballimaran from Chandni Chowk, near Fatehpuri. Bismillah is on your left. Ask anybody, and you’ll find your way there without a problem. It has a narrow mouth, which opens up as you enter.
You will find a horde of hungry people there, eating their kormas with khamiri rotis. Bismillah has only a few dishes, cooked with either buff or mutton. They have to offer, in either of the two kinds, dishes such as korma, ishtoo, kofta and daal gosht. The lamb dishes are for Rs.26 a plate — consisting of one boti and lots of gravy — and the buff dishes are for Rs.10.
I tried out the daal meat and the korma, and was happy with both. The korma had the usual, somewhat spicy gravy, but the meat pieces were soft and well roasted. What I really enjoyed was the daal gosht, where the meat had melted wonderfully well into the daal, giving it a great flavour. Since this is a poor man’s restaurant, seconds consist of a helping of daal, without the gosht, doled out carefully. But, truly, the daal itself is awesome. I had it at home with some khamiri rotis — thick bread with a soft interior — and thought I couldn’t have had a better meal. Bismillah doesn’t believe in overwhelming its gravies with chillies — and this is something that I have come to appreciate in these sad times of acidity. But Ballimaran — or should I say Billimaran? — is a great hub for great food. I didn’t see anybody killing cats, but quite a few old chefs there are known to kill with their food. And, no, I don’t mean that literally, but use the word in the nicest possible way. The food, in short, is deadly.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
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Kochi
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