Delhi

This book is about the food of Delhi, one of the world’s great gastronomic capitals and a city where food is a living archive of migration, empire, social hierarchies and everyday neighbourliness.

The author frames her narrative around four intertwined communities—Baniyas, Muslims, Kayasthas, and Punjabis—whose kitchens, rituals, and street foods map onto Delhi’s colonial and social histories. A core thread is that culinary knowledge is embodied and transmitted informally: through market errands, pickle making, festivals, religious practices. The more than 90 recipes in the book are thus more than instructions; they are windows into moral philosophies (Ayurveda, Jain ahimsa, Islamic halal and Unani Tibb), sensory aesthetics (perfume, texture, layered spices), and techniques (bhunai, dum, dhungar) that define tastes in the city.

Starting with a regional-historical backdrop, the author then provides a granular evocation of her own mohalla (neighbourhood) and a taxonomy of shared culinary techniques, ingredients and condiments. This is followed by chapters devoted to the cuisines of the four communities. In each the author deconstructs and explains hallmark methods, provides recipes and historical context while also debunking myths—for instance, that all vegetarianisms are alike or that Kayasthas eat meat only due to Mughal proximity.

The book also sketches constraints that affected each of these cuisines and generated creativity: limited seafood in a land‑locked city; the elite glamour of hunting’s and its legal end; and municipal pressures on informal vendors who nonetheless ensure that affordable snacks dot every market and lane. The result is a multicultural grammar that allows Delhiites to appreciate difference within a comforting sense of amicable coexistence.

Readers will appreciate that the city’s genius is not a handful of signature dishes but its capacity to seat opposites at the same table and to keep absorbing new migrations without losing its own voice. That is the Dehlvi promise this book invites readers to taste and keep alive.

• By (author) Priya Deshingkar

"Part memoir, part history, the author of this well researched book takes the reader into the fascinating world of Delhi, often called the food capital of India, with its diverse and vivid food cultures. Peppered with delightful stories and tales plus many classic and some less well known recipes, this illuminating book is a must have for food historians, home cooks, chefs and anyone interested in Indian food and culture." Helen Saberi, author of Noshe Djan: Afghan Food and Cookery, co-author of The Road to Vindaloo: Curry Cooks & Curry Books and co-editor of The Bloomsbury Handbook to Indian Cuisine "A braided narrative that treats food as social history, cultural anthropology and living memory all at once. This book is a time machine served with lived memory. While I was reading this book I was able to smell the neighbouhood chaska, tadka, addebazi, conversations of community, and migration." Sadaf Hussain, chef and author of Masala Mandi "A ground-breaking and deeply affectionate memoir of food and cooking with serious historical and social underpinnings, Priya Deshinkar unscrambles for the lay-reader - anyone interested in why we cook the way we do - the complicated taxonomy of religious attitudes to feeding minds as well as bodies in her native Delhi. As a hands-on cook herself, the author provides detailed information on the use of spices, meat and dairy and the value of pulse-and-grain combinations in a traditionally vegetarian diet. Over hundred step-by-step classic recipes complete the story. Food for both mind and body - two for the price of one." Elisabeth Luard, acclaimed food writer, President of The Oxford Food Symposium, and author of several books about food "This trail-blazing book tells the story of the food of India's ancient capital in all its amazing diversity. The author interweaves memories from her childhood with historical accounts and recipes for both popular dishes and some that are virtually forgotten. This book is a treasure trove of information for Delhiwallas and tourists alike." Colleen Taylor Sen, author of Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India and coeditor of The Bloomsbury Handbook of Indian Cuisine "A richly textured and engaging work that goes far beyond the confines of a traditional cookbook. The book's recipes, gathered from friends, neighbours, and her own family, are embedded within broader social and historical contexts, making them both accessible and meaningful. Deshingkar's writing is warm yet incisive, and her commitment to documenting lesser-known traditions ensures that this work will stand as both a cultural record and a source of culinary inspiration. This is essential reading for anyone interested in Delhi, food history, or the connections between what we eat and who we are." Professor Daniel Newman, Durham University, Cultural historian of the Middle East and author of The Exile's Cookbook and The Sultan's Feast "Priya Deshingkar drills down into the foods of Delhi, dividing and connecting the food of Baniyas, Muslims, Kayasthas, and Punjabis, illustrating why calling anything "Indian food" is as generic and uninteresting as calling something European food. This is a rare book that does justice to the complexity of food and community on the subcontinent -- their rules of inclusion, exclusion and hierarchy." Krishnendu Ray, Professor of Food Studies, New York University, and author of The Migrant's Table "Step into the bustling lanes, royal kitchens, and forgotten courtyards of Delhi with this evocative book that traces the city's rich and layered culinary heritage. From the lavish feasts of the Mughals to the robust flavours of Partition-era refugees, from the subtle elegance of everyday Muslim foods, exciting meat and stuffed vegetable dishes of the Kayasths and rich vegetarian dishes of the Baniyas, to the sizzling delights of modern street food, this book offers an edible history of a city forever shaped by migration, empire, and memory." Rana Safvi, Eminent historian of Delhi and author of Delhi Trilogy and In Search of the Divine "Histories of syncretism in India are all too easily forgotten but this meticulously researched book offers a multi-layered analysis of Delhi's recent past through its food. Priya artfully evokes the heady energy of urban Delhi in this absorbing memoir and socio-cultural history of a vibrant, pulsing city." Naaz Rashid, Associate Professor, University of Sussex; post colonial studies, gender and food cultures "Deshingkar's knack for food storytelling ensures that the book is an enjoyable read for all. Her description of recipes balances modern Western approaches with measurements and consistent processes, with the classic Indian tradition of oral transmission. This is the sort of book that you can both lounge and read, and also take into the kitchen and cook with - a rare combination indeed." Kalyan Karmakar, award winning food writer and author of The Travelling Belly
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