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I was walking down Kucha Pati Ram, off Bazaar Sita Ram. It was not quite the weather for desserts – the heat demanded that you spend time behind closed doors, dousing the fire raging within you with gallons of nimbu pani. But I was there in that busy little lane of Old Delhi, meandering around with one thought in mind – that I had to look up a small shop where they sold the most delicious rabri in town.

A friend had told me about the rabri of Old Delhi. Strangely, you don’t get very good rabri in Delhi. In cities and towns of Uttar Pradesh, the rabri is sublime. Delhi has somehow lagged behind in the rabri market. But my friend insisted that there were two tiny shops in Kucha Pati Ram where the rabri was to die for. It was quite a nice walk, despite the heat. The lane – the old home of the city’s banias or the trading community – has some beautiful old havelis that you can gawk at. The doors and window frames are intricately arched, and you can get a glimpse of a Delhi that was by just walking past the houses, some of which look rather well-preserved.

I had taken the Metro to Chawri, and then walked out of the Chawri exit. I took the first road on the right, which is Bazaar Sita Ram. The third lane on the right is Kucha Pati Ram. I went down the lane, and after walking some 200 yards, I saw a small little shop on the right. This is Manohar Lal’s rabri shop. The other shop is further down, some 20 steps ahead, to the left. But for this visit, I had decided to focus my energies on Manohar Lal’s shop. Shop is a bit of a euphemism, for it’s really a hole in the wall. But what a hole!

The place is known essentially for its rabri, khurchan, milk cake and well-browned pedas. The rabri was in a stainless steel parat – a flat bottomed vessel ideal for such sweets. I could see the rabri, under a fine mesh. You get a kilo for Rs.160.Three things about the rabri struck me. One, it is made with full-fat milk, so the rabri had a creamy consistency that was truly wonderful. Two, it wasn’t too sweet. And three, the rabri was not runny, as some rabris can be, but nicely granular. It is a heavy sweet, but you don’t get the feeling of fullness when you have a small dona of rabri, possibly because of the low sugar levels. I took some rabri for a group of friends, and got some packed especially for my friend, Raj Chauhan, who took it back home for his mother. I got rave reviews from the Chauhan household, which made the walk down Kucha Pati Ram really worth it.

All in all, despite the weather, this was a good outing. I saw a slice of history, ate a slice of a great dessert, and managed to please my otherwise difficult to please friends. It ended up easing the ravages of 42 degrees in the shade.

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