I am not delhiite neither I am born and brought up here. I came to Delhi some 15 years ago.I can only explain about things which I saw after 1999. Majority of people in delhi are immigrants. Means at some point of time they have moved to this city for various reasons. People those who moved here had lots of memory of their native place. 80 % people of living in Delhi are actually came from somewhere else. Lots us came from different part of the country now settled here, there are lots of people who came after partition we also have some people who actually came from other countries and now living here. Making Delhi as their home now all of us(mostly) are immigrants who is now settled his and living his 2nd or 3rdgeneration also. They all make community here, immigrants’ community. Like me I came here for my further studies and then started working here. A very interesting article on immigrants on WSJ. http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/12/09/picture-focus-delhi-a-city-of-refugees/. Where they have not only shared the story of people who have migrated from now Pakistan but from other parts of india also.
When I met with Umesh couple of months back during one of my review, I was very impressed by his work. Infact after that I met him couple of times and reviewed couple of places where he has not only designed the menu but done the entire food. I must say he is one of those few chef who is not only passionate about his work but also very much aware about deliverables. Will share more details about him once his restaurant will start. Yes you are right, very soon Connaught place will see a true café. Immigrants project – A café in history which opened couple of weeks ago have some very interesting stuff. A ghee dhaba which is use to keep all the cutlery has put on a steel thali which we use to eat. Lots of pictures and posters which will remind you of era of partition. Immigrants follow a very simple philosophy: Food should taste good and they don’t claim that they are serving anything authentic. Their dishes are inspired from what we have had in our childhood days and from people who moved to another country, yet carried their tradition and fused it with local region to make their own dish. Madrasi Parmisano is result of the same. People from Kerala who live in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern country - It’s their take on the classic Italian pasta. This is how the dish was invented and it is served with south Indian tadka. It is a simple fusion dish that tastes marvelous! Khichdi is tribute to David Rocco legendry Italian chef who was recently in India and did some mix and match with Indian and Italian ingredients and came up with an interesting dish. Khichdi which is very simple and very common in North, east and western India , where we use rice and dal; however here for Khichdi they have used Arborio rice and followed the risotto cooking process. Very innovative and interesting dish and a must try! Kimchi and cheese sandwich is another take on the famous kimchi salad, which is a Korean dish, but equally popular with people in Nagaland and north eastern India. A little twist with added cheese so that it gets a little mild and reduces the spicy flavor and you get an excellent sandwich that you will love.
Now comes the interesting part of their menu. Immigrants Project have worked really hard on their cold drinks and shakes and you will fall in love with every sip that you take! Vanilla bacon shake will simply blow your mind and their “chamanprakash” which has the classic chawanprash with a hint of mint, will definitely surprise you with its unique flavor. The blended taste lasts long and you will love it more, wondering, – how can it taste so wonderful! Finish your journey with half-baked cookie Sundae and you will be amazed to know that you can’t afford not to come here to try each and every unique dish. Everything here it seems to have been churned with hint of love, passion that chef brings on the table until it comes out perfectly well, nice presentation and of course amazing taste!. As they said, “immigrants is not only about food, it’s about experience”
