What is in season in Delhi. and what to order when the market changes.

Spring

  • Thandai at Holi: Holi in March turns north Indian kitchens to thandai, cold milk blended with almonds, fennel, rose petals, pepper, cardamom and saffron, served with dahi vada and chaat.
  • Gujiya: Crescent pastries of fried dough filled with sweetened khoya and dried fruit, made in north Indian homes and sweet shops for Holi and again for Diwali.
  • Aam panna: Raw green mangoes reach the markets before the ripe fruit. They are boiled and blended with mint, cumin, cardamom and pepper into a tart cooler as the heat builds in April.

Summer

  • Lassi: From May the lanes of Old Delhi push lassi, curd whisked with sugar or salt and sometimes rose water or cardamom until frothy, often served in an earthen cup.
  • Monsoon pakodas: When the rains arrive in July, Delhi reaches for pakodas, vegetables dipped in spiced besan batter and deep-fried, with a cup of sweet chai at street stalls and at home.
  • Onam sadhya: Around Onam in late August or September, Kerala restaurants in Delhi serve the sadhya, a vegetarian feast of rice, curries, pickles and payasam laid out on a banana leaf at lunch.

Autumn

  • Durga Puja in Chittaranjan Park: In October the pandals go up in CR Park at Cooperative Ground, B Block and Mela Ground, in the neighbourhood that already runs Delhi's Bengali fish markets and phuchka stalls.
  • Diwali mithai: Before Diwali, Delhi households order boxes of barfi, laddoo and dried-fruit sweets from their neighbourhood mithai shop to give to family, friends and colleagues.

Winter

  • Daulat ki chaat: The airy milk dessert is a winter-only trade in Old Delhi, whipped from milk left out in the night dew and sold by a handful of vendors in Chawri Bazar for a short season.
  • Gajar ka halwa: Red winter carrots are slow-cooked with milk, ghee and sugar into halwa. Old Delhi sweet shops near Matia Mahal Road also make a white-carrot halwa that appears only in the cold months.
  • Matar kachori: Fresh green peas arrive in winter and go straight into stuffed kachoris and samosas, a seasonal special at the snack shops of Old Delhi.
  • Nihari and khamiri roti: Winter mornings in Old Delhi mean nihari, slow-cooked shank stew, eaten with khamiri roti, a lightly fermented flatbread, in the lanes around Jama Masjid.

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