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Tag: Delhi

  • Aloo Tikki Chaat

    Aloo tikki is the heart of Delhi chaat. Vendors in Chandni Chowk, Lajpat Nagar and every neighbourhood market cook big potato patties slowly on wide, shallow iron tawas, pressing them flat until a thick crust forms. They are then broken open on a leaf plate and loaded with toppings in a rapid, practised sequence.

    The tikki should be crisp and golden outside and soft inside, with a lightly spiced potato filling. The toppings bring every taste at once: sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, cool sweetened curd, warm chickpea ragda, crunchy onion, sev and pomegranate. Chaat masala and roasted cumin tie it together. Nothing is subtle about it.

    It is an evening snack, eaten standing at a stall or made at home for parties. Some versions stuff the tikki with spiced chana dal or peas for extra texture. The tikkis and ragda can be made in advance, and the toppings laid out so everyone can build their own plate. A wide, heavy tawa and a little patience are the only secrets to a crust as good as a street vendor's.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineDelhi street food
    DietVegetarian
    CourseStreet food
    Prep time30 minutes
    Cook time30 minutes
    Total time60 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientspotato / white peas / curd / tamarind chutney

    Ingredients

    For the tikki

    • 5 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
    • 3 tbsp cornflour or arrowroot
    • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
    • 1/2 inch ginger, grated
    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
    • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
    • 1/2 tsp chaat masala
    • 3/4 tsp salt
    • Oil or ghee for shallow frying

    For the ragda

    • 1 cup dried white peas (safed matar), soaked overnight
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
    • 1/2 tsp chaat masala

    For topping

    • 1 cup thick curd, whisked with 1 tbsp sugar
    • 1/2 cup tamarind-date chutney
    • 1/2 cup green chutney
    • 1 onion, finely chopped
    • 1/2 cup fine sev
    • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
    • Chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and red chilli powder
    • Chopped coriander

    Method

    1. Pressure cook the soaked white peas with turmeric, salt and 2 1/2 cups water for 3 whistles until soft. Mash a few peas, add cumin and chaat masala, and simmer 5 minutes to thicken.
    2. Mix the grated potatoes with cornflour, green chilli, ginger, coriander, cumin, chaat masala and salt. Knead into a smooth dough.
    3. Divide into 8 portions and shape into patties 1.5 cm thick with smooth edges.
    4. Heat a heavy tawa on medium and add 3 tbsp oil or ghee. Place the tikkis on it and cook without moving for 6 to 8 minutes until a deep golden crust forms.
    5. Flip carefully, add a little more oil around them and cook the other side for 6 to 7 minutes, pressing gently with the spatula. They should sound crisp when tapped.
    6. To assemble, place 2 tikkis on a plate and press them open slightly. Spoon ragda over them, then curd, tamarind chutney and green chutney.
    7. Top with onion, sev, pomegranate and coriander, and finish with a sprinkle of chaat masala, cumin and chilli powder. Serve at once.

    Tips

    • Use floury, older potatoes boiled a few hours ahead; fresh waxy potatoes make sticky tikkis.
    • Low, steady heat builds the crust; high heat burns the outside before it crisps.
    • Assemble only when ready to eat, or the tikkis lose their crunch.

    Serve with

    Extra chutneys on the side and a cup of masala chai.

  • Pani Puri

    Golgappe in Delhi, pani puri in Mumbai, puchka in Kolkata: the snack has as many names as cities. North Indian vendors carry a large earthen pot of spiced water and a basket of puris, and customers stand in a semicircle as the vendor fills and hands out one puri at a time until they say stop. Delhi's version usually has two waters, spicy and sweet.

    The puri must be paper-thin and crisp so it shatters in the mouth. The filling is boiled potato and kala chana or boondi, and the pani is a sharp, cold blend of mint, coriander, green chilli, tamarind, black salt and roasted cumin. The pleasure is the burst of cold, tangy, spicy water with the crunch of the shell.

    It is street food eaten in the evening, and at home it is a party favourite, with a counter set up for everyone to fill their own. Bought puris are common, but homemade ones are well worth trying. Good puris and well-chilled pani make all the difference, so plan ahead and chill the water for a few hours.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineDelhi street food
    DietVegan
    CourseStreet food
    Prep time45 minutes
    Cook time30 minutes
    Total time75 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelHot
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientssooji / potato / mint / tamarind / black chickpeas

    Ingredients

    For the puris (about 50)

    • 1 cup fine sooji (semolina)
    • 2 tbsp maida
    • A pinch of baking soda
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • About 1/3 cup water
    • Oil for deep frying

    For the teekha pani

    • 1 cup mint leaves
    • 1/2 cup coriander leaves
    • 3 to 4 green chillies
    • 1 inch ginger
    • 3 tbsp thick tamarind pulp
    • 2 tsp roasted cumin powder
    • 1 1/2 tsp black salt
    • 1 tsp chaat masala
    • 1/2 tsp regular salt
    • 5 cups chilled water
    • 2 tbsp boondi (optional)

    For the meetha pani

    • 1/2 cup tamarind-date chutney
    • 1 cup water
    • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
    • A pinch of black salt

    For the filling

    • 3 potatoes, boiled and diced small
    • 1/2 cup kala chana, soaked and boiled
    • 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
    • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
    • 1/2 tsp chaat masala
    • Salt to taste
    • 2 tbsp chopped coriander

    Method

    1. For the puris, mix sooji, maida, soda and salt. Add water little by little and knead into a stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and rest 30 minutes, then knead again for 2 minutes until smooth.
    2. Roll a portion of dough very thin, about 1 mm, and cut out 5 cm discs. Keep the cut discs under a damp cloth so they do not dry.
    3. Heat oil to hot, around 180 C. Slide in 5 to 6 discs and press each gently with a slotted spoon so it puffs. Fry 1 to 2 minutes, turning, until crisp and light golden. Drain and cool completely.
    4. For the teekha pani, blend mint, coriander, chillies and ginger with 1/2 cup water to a smooth paste. Mix with tamarind pulp, spices and chilled water. Strain if you prefer clear pani, and chill for at least 1 hour. Add boondi just before serving.
    5. For the meetha pani, whisk the tamarind-date chutney with water, cumin and black salt.
    6. Toss the potatoes and chana with chilli powder, cumin, chaat masala, salt and coriander.
    7. To serve, crack a hole in the top of a puri with your thumb, add a teaspoon of filling, dip it in teekha or meetha pani and eat in one bite.

    Tips

    • Puris that do not puff were either rolled too thick or the oil was not hot enough.
    • Store cooled puris in an airtight tin; re-crisp in a warm oven for 5 minutes if they soften.
    • The pani tastes best ice-cold and made a few hours ahead, so the spices infuse.

    Serve with

    Extra chilled pani and a final sukha puri sprinkled with chaat masala.

  • Papdi Chaat

    Papdi chaat is one of the oldest and most loved chaats of Delhi, sold from carts and halwai shops all over the city. Its origins are often linked to Mughal-era Delhi, where chaat (from chatna, to lick) was believed to be a tasty remedy for the city's heavy food. Today it is the standard order alongside dahi bhalla and aloo tikki.

    The base is papdi, thin flaky crackers of maida flavoured with ajwain and fried crisp. They are topped with diced potato, boiled chickpeas, whisked sweetened curd and two chutneys, then showered with sev, onion, pomegranate, coriander and chaat masala. The magic is the contrast of crisp and soft, cold and spicy, sweet and sour.

    It is eaten as an afternoon or evening snack and is a fixture at weddings and parties. Assemble just before eating; papdi softens quickly under the curd. The papdis, chutneys and boiled potatoes and chickpeas can all be prepared in advance, so the final plate comes together in two minutes. Adjust the balance of sweet and green chutney to suit your taste, and do not forget the final shower of chaat masala.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineDelhi street food
    DietVegetarian
    CourseStreet food
    Prep time30 minutes
    Cook time20 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientsmaida / curd / potato / chickpeas / tamarind chutney

    Ingredients

    For the papdi

    • 1 cup maida
    • 1/2 tsp ajwain
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 2 tbsp oil or ghee
    • About 1/4 cup water
    • Oil for deep frying

    For the topping

    • 2 potatoes, boiled and diced
    • 1 cup boiled kabuli chana
    • 1 1/2 cups thick curd, whisked with 2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt
    • 1/2 cup tamarind-date chutney
    • 1/3 cup green chutney
    • 1 onion, finely chopped
    • 1/2 cup fine sev
    • 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
    • Chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, red chilli powder
    • Chopped coriander

    Method

    1. Mix maida, ajwain and salt. Rub in the oil until the flour looks like breadcrumbs and holds when pressed.
    2. Add water gradually and knead into a stiff dough. Rest 15 minutes.
    3. Roll the dough thin, about 2 mm, and cut into 5 cm discs. Prick each disc several times with a fork so it does not puff.
    4. Heat oil on medium-low, around 150 C. Fry the papdis in batches for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until crisp and pale golden. Low heat keeps them flaky. Drain and cool completely.
    5. Season the potatoes and chickpeas with a little salt, chaat masala and cumin.
    6. To assemble, arrange 6 to 8 papdis on a plate. Top with potato and chickpeas, then pour over generous spoonfuls of curd.
    7. Drizzle with tamarind and green chutneys, scatter onion, sev, pomegranate and coriander, and finish with chaat masala, cumin and chilli powder. Serve immediately.

    Tips

    • Papdi keeps for 2 weeks in an airtight jar; make a big batch.
    • Whisk the curd until completely smooth and chill it – cold curd over crisp papdi is the point.
    • Add boiled moong sprouts for extra crunch and protein.

    Serve with

    A cup of masala chai or chilled nimbu pani.

  • Dahi Bhalla

    Dahi bhalla, the North Indian name for dahi vada, is a dish of festivals and summer afternoons. In Delhi it is sold in large trays at chaat shops, the bhallas swimming in curd, and at home it is a fixture of Holi, Diwali and family functions. It has ancient roots; dishes of lentil fritters in curd appear in early Indian texts.

    The bhallas are made from soaked urad dal ground to a light, airy batter, fried and then soaked in water so they become soft and sponge-like. Squeezed and submerged in sweetened, lightly salted curd, they turn melt-in-the-mouth. Tamarind chutney, green chutney, roasted cumin and red chilli add contrast. Everything is served well chilled.

    It is served cold, as a snack or as part of a festive meal, and is especially welcome on hot days. Bhallas can be fried a day ahead and soaked shortly before serving. A well-beaten batter is the secret to soft bhallas, and it is worth taking the time to whisk it by hand. The finished dish keeps well for a day in the fridge, though the toppings are best added just before serving.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineDelhi street food
    DietVegetarian
    CourseStreet food
    Prep time30 minutes
    Cook time25 minutes
    Total time55 minutes
    Serves6
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsurad dal / curd / tamarind chutney / cumin

    Ingredients

    For the bhallas

    • 1 cup skinless urad dal, soaked 5 to 6 hours
    • 1/2 inch ginger
    • 1 green chilli
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • A pinch of hing
    • 1 tbsp chopped raisins and cashews (optional)
    • Oil for deep frying

    For the curd

    • 3 cups thick curd, chilled
    • 3 tbsp powdered sugar
    • 1/2 tsp salt
    • 1/2 tsp black salt
    • 1/4 cup chilled milk

    To serve

    • 1/2 cup tamarind-date chutney
    • 1/4 cup green chutney
    • Roasted cumin powder
    • Kashmiri red chilli powder
    • Chaat masala
    • Chopped coriander and pomegranate seeds

    Method

    1. Drain the urad dal well and grind with ginger and green chilli using as little water as possible, 2 to 3 tbsp, to a smooth, thick batter.
    2. Add salt and hing and beat the batter vigorously with your hand in one direction for 5 minutes until it turns light and fluffy. A small drop should float in water.
    3. Stir in the raisins and cashews. Heat oil on medium. Drop spoonfuls of batter, or shape round bhallas with wet hands, into the oil.
    4. Fry on medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until light golden and cooked through. Too hot and they stay raw inside.
    5. Transfer the hot bhallas straight into a bowl of lukewarm water with a pinch of salt. Soak 20 to 30 minutes until they are soft and swollen.
    6. Whisk the curd with sugar, salt, black salt and milk until smooth and creamy.
    7. Press each bhalla gently between your palms to squeeze out the water, place on a serving dish and pour the curd over to cover completely. Chill 30 minutes.
    8. Before serving, drizzle with both chutneys and sprinkle cumin, chilli powder, chaat masala, coriander and pomegranate.

    Tips

    • Beating the batter well is what makes the bhallas soft; no soda is needed.
    • Do not let the batter turn runny while grinding – add water a spoon at a time.
    • Fried, unsoaked bhallas freeze well; thaw and soak in warm water before using.

    Serve with

    Served chilled on its own, or alongside papdi chaat and aloo tikki.

  • Chicken Changezi

    Chicken changezi is a dish of Old Delhi's Mughlai eateries around Jama Masjid and Matia Mahal. The name nods to Changez Khan, but the dish is a modern restaurant creation, a cousin of butter chicken with a heavier hand of browned onions, cashews and cream. Places like Karim's and the smaller dhabas of the area made it a late-night favourite.

    The chicken is marinated and grilled or fried until charred, then finished in a thick, buttery gravy that is richer and spicier than makhani. Fried onions and cashews give body and sweetness, tomatoes add tang, and green chillies, garam masala and a whisper of kewra provide the Old Delhi character.

    It is eaten with rumali roti, khamiri roti or naan, usually as part of a meat-heavy feast. A small portion is plenty; this is not an everyday curry. It reheats well, and the flavours deepen overnight, so it can be made a day ahead for a party. The charred chicken is the key, so do not skip the searing step. A squeeze of lemon and a few rings of raw onion on the side cut through the richness.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineMughlai
    DietNon-vegetarian
    CourseMain course
    Prep time30 minutes
    Cook time50 minutes
    Total time80 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientschicken / cashew / cream / onion / tomato

    Ingredients

    For the chicken

    • 800 g bone-in chicken, curry cut
    • 1/2 cup hung curd
    • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
    • 1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 tbsp oil

    For the gravy

    • 3 tbsp oil
    • 2 tbsp butter
    • 2 large onions, sliced
    • 20 cashews
    • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
    • 3 tomatoes, pureed
    • 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 3 green chillies, slit
    • 1/3 cup cream
    • 1/2 tsp kewra water
    • Salt to taste
    • Chopped coriander

    Method

    1. Marinate the chicken with curd, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, garam masala, lemon and salt for at least 2 hours.
    2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy pan or tawa on high. Sear the chicken in batches, 4 to 5 minutes per side, until charred in places. Set aside. (Or grill at 230 C for 20 minutes.)
    3. In a pan, heat 3 tbsp oil and fry the onions on medium for 12 minutes until golden. Add cashews for the last 2 minutes. Cool and grind to a smooth paste with a little water.
    4. Heat butter in a heavy pot on medium. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook 1 minute, then the tomato puree with chilli powder, coriander, turmeric and salt. Cook 8 minutes until thick.
    5. Add the onion-cashew paste and cook on low, stirring, for 6 to 8 minutes until the gravy turns glossy and fat separates.
    6. Add 1 cup hot water and the seared chicken. Cover and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
    7. Add green chillies, garam masala and cream, simmer 3 minutes, then sprinkle kewra and coriander.

    Tips

    • Charring the chicken first gives the dish its smoky Old Delhi flavour.
    • Stir the onion-cashew paste constantly; it catches easily.
    • For extra richness, finish with a tablespoon of butter just before serving.

    Serve with

    Rumali roti, khamiri roti or butter naan.

  • Nihari

    Nihari comes from the Arabic word nahar, meaning morning, and in Old Delhi it was traditionally eaten after the dawn prayer. The dish is said to have been cooked in the Mughal kitchens of the late eighteenth century, and the shops around Jama Masjid and Ballimaran still cook it overnight in sealed degs and sell out within hours of opening.

    Bone-in shanks and marrow bones simmer for many hours in a broth spiced with a dedicated nihari masala of fennel, dried ginger, long pepper, mace and nutmeg. Roasted wheat flour thickens it into a silky, glossy gravy, and a slick of spiced ghee floats on top. The meat should fall off the bone at a touch.

    It is eaten with khamiri roti or kulcha, garnished at the table with julienned ginger, green chillies, coriander, fried onions and lemon. In homes it is a weekend or Eid breakfast, often cooked the night before. The bone marrow is a prized part, sucked out straight from the bone. It is very rich, so most people eat it slowly, with long breaks for tea.

    At a glance

    RegionDelhi
    CuisineMughlai
    DietNon-vegetarian
    CourseMain course
    Prep time20 minutes
    Cook time240 minutes
    Total time260 minutes
    Serves6
    Spice levelHot
    DifficultyHard
    Gluten-freeNo
    Key ingredientsmutton shanks / atta / ghee / nihari masala

    Ingredients

    For the nihari masala

    • 1 tbsp saunf (fennel)
    • 1 tsp cumin seeds
    • 1 tsp black peppercorns
    • 2 pippali (long pepper)
    • 4 cloves
    • 2 black cardamom
    • 4 green cardamom
    • 1 inch cinnamon
    • 1 blade mace
    • 1/4 nutmeg
    • 1 tsp sonth (dry ginger) powder

    For the nihari

    • 1 kg mutton shanks (nalli) and bone-in pieces
    • 2 marrow bones (optional)
    • 1/2 cup ghee
    • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
    • 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
    • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
    • 1 tsp red chilli powder
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric
    • 2 tsp salt
    • 8 cups hot water
    • 1/3 cup whole wheat atta mixed with 1 cup water

    To garnish

    • 2 inch ginger, julienned
    • 4 green chillies, sliced
    • Chopped coriander
    • Fried onions
    • Lemon wedges

    Method

    1. Dry-roast the whole spices for the nihari masala on low for 2 minutes until fragrant. Cool and grind fine with the sonth.
    2. Heat ghee in a large heavy pot on medium. Fry the onions for 12 to 15 minutes until deep golden. Lift out half and keep for garnish.
    3. Add the mutton and marrow bones and sear on medium-high for 8 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry 2 minutes.
    4. Add chilli powders, coriander, turmeric, salt and 2 tbsp of the nihari masala. Stir-fry 3 minutes, adding a splash of water if the spices stick.
    5. Pour in the hot water and bring to a boil. Cover tightly (seal the lid with dough if you like) and cook on the lowest heat for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the meat comes away from the bone easily.
    6. Meanwhile, dry-roast the atta in a small pan on low for 5 minutes until it smells nutty and turns light brown, then whisk it into 1 cup water until smooth.
    7. Skim off some of the fat from the top of the pot and reserve it. Stir the atta mixture into the nihari and simmer, stirring, for 20 to 25 minutes until silky and thick.
    8. Heat the reserved fat with 1 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp nihari masala and pour over the top before serving. Garnish at the table.

    Tips

    • Shanks give the gelatinous body nihari is known for; boneless meat will not.
    • A pressure cooker cuts the cooking to about 50 minutes, but the slow-cooked version is noticeably silkier.
    • Nihari reheats well; it thickens on cooling, so loosen with hot water.

    Serve with

    Khamiri roti or kulcha, with ginger, green chillies, fried onions and lemon.

  • City of Djinns

    City of Djinns, published in 1993, records a year that the young William Dalrymple spent living in Delhi with his wife, the artist Olivia Fraser. They rent rooms from the formidable Mrs Puri, a Punjabi refugee who rebuilt her family's fortunes after Partition, and ride around with a taxi driver, Balvinder Singh, whose opinions enliven many chapters.

    Dalrymple's method is to travel backwards in time. He talks to survivors of 1947 and of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, explores the remnants of British New Delhi and of the Mughal capital, visits Sufi shrines, eunuch communities and fading Anglo-Indian families, and finally searches for traces of the Delhi associated with the Mahabharata. The djinns of the title are the spirits believed to haunt the ruined city.

    Part travel book, part history and part comic memoir, it is full of affectionate portraits and eccentric encounters. It won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and established Dalrymple's reputation, and it remains one of the most popular introductions to the many cities layered within Delhi.

    Book details

    AuthorWilliam Dalrymple
    First published1993
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreTravel
    TypeNon-fiction
    Pages (approx.)340
    SettingDelhi, late 1980s, with excursions into its history
    AwardsThomas Cook Travel Book Award 1994

    Themes

    • Layers of history
    • Partition memory
    • Sufi and Mughal Delhi
    • Eccentric characters
    • Urban change

    Who should read it

    Travellers and armchair historians who want a witty, personal guide to Delhi's past and present.

    If you liked this, try

    • The Last Mughal
    • Delhi: A Novel
    • Twilight in Delhi

  • Delhi: A Novel

    The present-day narrator is a cynical, womanising Sikh journalist and tour guide who loves Delhi the way he loves Bhagmati, a hijra he met near a mosque: helplessly and against all advice. His episodes, set in the 1970s and 1980s, are earthy and comic, full of the city's ruins, bureaucrats and visiting foreigners.

    Between them, Khushwant Singh hands the stage to people from Delhi's past: a Hindu cast out by his community in the 13th century, the poet Amir Khusrau, Timur, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir, an Englishman and others caught in the 1857 uprising, a man present at the building of New Delhi, and finally participants in Partition and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

    The book took Singh about twenty-five years to write and reflects his love of history and his irreverence. Its frank sexuality divided reviewers, but its scope makes it a lively, if unorthodox, biography of a city repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Readers who prefer restraint may find it excessive, but it is never dull.

    Book details

    AuthorKhushwant Singh
    First published1990
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreHistorical fiction
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)391
    SettingDelhi across six centuries, from the Delhi Sultanate to 1984

    Themes

    • History of delhi
    • Power and conquest
    • Desire
    • Religious conflict
    • The city as character

    Who should read it

    Readers who enjoy irreverent historical fiction and want a tour of Delhi through the centuries.

    If you liked this, try

    • The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
    • Train to Pakistan
    • City of Djinns

  • The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

    Twenty years after her debut, Arundhati Roy returned to fiction with a sprawling novel that begins in Old Delhi. Anjum, born intersex and raised as a boy named Aftab, leaves her family to live in the Khwabgah, a house of hijras, and later settles among the graves of a Muslim cemetery, where she gradually builds a refuge for people the city has pushed out.

    A second strand belongs to Tilottama, an elusive architecture student, and the three men who love her: a journalist, an intelligence officer and a Kashmiri who becomes a militant. Through them the book enters the violence of the Kashmir valley, with its checkpoints, torture centres and disappeared sons, and the two narratives slowly converge around an abandoned baby.

    The novel is restless and openly political, folding in the 2002 Gujarat riots, the anti-corruption protests at Jantar Mantar and Maoist insurgency in central India. Some readers find it diffuse, but its compassion for misfits and its refusal to look away from state violence make it a deliberate counterpoint to tidier portraits of modern India.

    Book details

    AuthorArundhati Roy
    First published2017
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreLiterary fiction
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)445
    SettingDelhi and the Kashmir valley, 1950s to 2010s

    Themes

    • Gender identity
    • Kashmir conflict
    • Outsiders and belonging
    • State violence
    • Religious nationalism

    Who should read it

    Readers who want a politically charged, many-voiced novel about the people left out of India's success story.

    If you liked this, try

    • The God of Small Things
    • Delhi: A Novel
    • Midnight's Children