Ustaad Moinuddin ke Kabab

There's something magical about the Old Delhi ambience. The sights, sounds and smells have a charm of their own. And, it's something uniquely Delhi which I have not seen anywhere else. It's a great joy to be sitting on a cycle rickshaw and plying through the crowds, while the pleasant smell of meat roasting on skewers nearby fills the air. After every 10 meters or so, you see a crowd jostling around a vendor. You suspect that, undoubtedly, it has to be another one of the famous eating places in the area and feel tempted to join the crowd, push till you get ahead and try out the item ready for sale. The fact that you have to literally draw swords with the crowd to grab your rightful morsel makes the object of desire even more tempting.

As quoted by Rahul Verma, "Night-time in Old Delhi is completely different from its day-time ambience. During the day, the lanes are engulfed by the hectic pace of its bustling markets. In the evening, little stalls come sprouting up, some with heavy deghs selling korma, some others with coal angithis, grilling tikkas and kababs, and a few with shiny pots of the heavenly rice pudding, phirni. The lights come flickering on, blurring out the rough edges of the fast-paced, commercial face of the Old City.
The moment one hits Hauz Quazi chowk, the nostrils start twitching, set into motion by the cocktail of rich aromas that come wafting in from all corners. Everywhere, people start coming out of the shadows in search of good food. "

Yesterday being Sunday, I decided to venture to Chandni Chowk in the evening to try out succulent buff kebabs made by Ustaad Moinuddin who sits right opposite Hamdard at the corner of Gali Qasim Jaan, where you have Ghalib's famous Haveli. Having parked my car, I had an hour or so to complete my quest. I, accompanied with Pooja, walked down to Chandni Chowk and first went straight to Old Famous Jalebi Waala and tried out a samosa and 100gms of their jalebi. Then I took a rickshaw to Hamdard.

I immediately recognised the "Ustaad", thanks to detailed directions I had picked up from internet. Also I remembered the board which I had seen on someone's review, an A4 sized cutout which said "Kabab Rs.4". The Ustaad, was busy with his skewers. With a deft hand, I saw him take fistfuls of meat, roll it out the pin and place it on the coals. The assistant took my order and gave me two kababs (Rs.8) with sliced onions and hot green chutney. Now. the taste...As it write this my mouth waters. The morsels of the kebabs, hot and spicy, melted in my mouth. The combination of spices was just perfect. For a moment, it was sheer magic and bliss when I forgot everything around me. The fact it was a humid Delhi evening did nothing to deter my senses. No Sooner than I had started my plate was over. I went into queue again and had to wait for another 15 mins to get 2 more rolls of joy. Having devoured them, I wished for somthing sweet. I took a Rickshaw back to Giani's, had a rabri falooda, before taking another rickshaw back to the parking.

A good kababchi has to know three things: the masala that goes into it, the ratio of fat to the minced meat and when to take the skewer out of the grill. Moinuddin clearly belongs to the select group of kababchis with a golden touch. The stuff legends are made of......

Vj