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For that ‘different’ taste
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RAHUL VERMA goes back to an old haunt, Chhoti Hatti, in West Delhi and yet again savours its chholey bhaturey, topped with pureed spinach
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This week I am in a charitable mood. So, instead of pandering to the taste buds of the carnivores, I shall tell you all about a little known place in West Delhi where you get a different kind of chholey-bhaturey and desi-ghee ki tikkis. I used to go
there often in my youth — and regular readers will remember that I had a great time with a bowl of chholeys and some soft bhatureys a couple of years ago. But I went back there — and discovered that the place has reinvented its chholeys.
This is a place called Chhoti Hatti, literally a small shop. It used to be a small shop at some point of time. But it has expanded over the years and can seat at least 12 people. Don’t go there looking for comfortable chairs and muted lighting. You sit on benches, quickly eat your chholey-bhaturey, and, as soon as you can, surrender your seat to the man waiting for his turn.
How to reach it
Chhoti Hatti can be located easily. If you are going down the main Patel Nagar Road from Connaught Place, you will find an Aggarwal sweetshop to your right. Turn right to the lane after Aggarwal’s. At the next crossing you will find Chotti Hatti, earlier also known as Chhotu di Hatti. The man who runs the place is a bit of an artist. He is a veritable part of the local Ram Leela celebrations — and I can tell that the man likes his drama, for there is quite a bit of it in his food as well.
Earlier, it was known only for its chholey-bhatureys. But these days, he cooks a mean aloo tikka in desi ghee and fries crispy kachoris in the afternoons.
Though I was dying to have some of his aloo tikkas that I had heard a lot about, I was there at the wrong time of the day. So I ordered his chholey-bhaturey — and found he had made some interesting changes to the dish that he had mastered long years ago.
He still uses the tasty small channas instead of the usual large-sized kabuli channas. Then — and I love this — he purees some spinach and tops his chholey with it. That’s his USP, for I have had chholeys with bits of paneer or small pieces of potatoes, but Chhoti Hatti is the only place which serves its chholeys with spinach. And the green leaves undoubtedly add to the taste of the chholey. On a separate stove, you can see the spinach being heated.
His paneer bhaturas are good, too, for unlike other places, the bhaturas are not overstuffed with paneer. Instead, the paneer here is light, and seasoned with coriander leaves.
A plate of chholey with two bhaturey — for Rs.20 — comes accompanied with a side dish of onion rings, a coriander-mint chutney, boiled and spicy amlas, and green chillies.
In Delhi, we all have our chholey-bhaturey favourites, and even the local chholewallahs have their legions of fans. I would, however, urge you to try Chhoti Hatti out. To quote that old ad, it’s different.
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