Khan Chacha. Written for "The Students' Inc", the fortnightly tabloid for DU students

Delhi is a crazy place. You can get lost here with its “gone-in-the-blink-of-an-eye” pace of life. But for a certified gourmet like me, who is almost always tight on money, Khan Chacha spells salvation.
You may have read about the place in numerous eating-out guides, but here is a first-hand, student review of the place that sells the best kebabs there are, by someone for whom writing about food comes as naturally as eating it does.
Situated in the upscale and expensive Khan Market, it is the location and setting of Khan Chacha that makes it so popular among the student community. In a city marked by large malls and shopping centres, this tiny 8X6 shop in the back lanes of the bustling khan market, with its brick-paved lane give, in a strange way, a sense of belongingness to the loyal Khan Chacha fans.
And the food… oh, the food… tender, juicy kebabs wrapped in the soft rumali roti, with onions and chutney that innocently drips on your clothes while you are indulging in its sinful taste, and which, you only see when you get back in your car or home… The kebabs, my friend, are not food, they are poetry.
(My request for forgiveness for dramatic comparisons still holds.)

Many a food critics were entrusted with the task of describing and rating all the items on the menu for Khan Chacha. And till date, it is a task unaccomplished. For, once you order a mutton/chicken seekh (with or without the roomali rotis), you will never find the need to try anything else. I have heard that the mutton tikkas are brilliant too, but if I, with my gigantic body proportions, am unable to eat anything after a roll and beer, I am pretty much sure no one else can. Ah! The beer… the icing on the cake… of course, you will not get any at Khan Chacha’s but there is a theka nearby. Just make sure, you wrap the can with tissues to avoid unpleasant incidents with the thullas nearby!

After food, the best thing about Khan Chacha, which is also the reason for its almost fanatical fan following, is its prices. Now, Khan Market will present a number of options for foodies, from Big Chill to Barista, from Café Turtle to Fab Café. Yet Khan Chacha, with its modest settings has held its own, owing to its great prices. Assuming that you have an appetite that is worthy of being considered “competition” by me, a meal at Khan Chacha’s would cost you nothing more than a hundred bucks. A roomali seekh kebab roll is for 50 bucks. All other items on the menu are priced likewise. A beer-can will cost you another 40bucks. Do the math and you will realise that when the huge pockets of your baggy jeans are mostly empty, and you need to take a couple of people out for lunch, Khan Chacha is your saviour. Peerless food, peerless prices!

And all the vegetarians out there, who are missing out on the best things in life, are welcomed by Khan Chacha with his (so they say) sumptuous Paneer Tikka Rolls. Writing this meant making frantic calls to the precious few vegetarian friends I have and I lay down that I should not be held responsible for any bogus content. If you feel I am guilty of exaggerating just how good Khan Chacha’s chicken kebabs are, hang me till death, for I refuse to budge from my stand.

For me and a lot of college students, Khan Chacha is not just another eating joint. It’s a place that holds memories to the best times spent with friends- a reason to celebrate when there is no apparent reason, the distraction that has led to many a mass-bunking, the comfort zone when times are travelling downhill... this cosy back lane provides a combo that kicks the arse of all the fast-food joints’ combos- melt-in-your-mouth kebabs, beer, suttas, and friends.

Cheers to the Chacha and his kebabs!!