A taste of Afghanistan in Lajpat Nagar

The bustling alleys of Lajpat Nagar are witness to men in Pathani suits who have now integrated into Delhi’s social fabric, creating their own Afghanistan in a foreign land

Afghan delights are not only popular among locals in the area that is inhabited by refugees from other countries such as Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon sharing a similar Persian cuisine of bread, but also by other food aficionados.

Local bakeries: As one enters the Afghan refugee colony in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, the smell of baked breads pervading the air is hard to miss. Every street in the colony has one local bakery to offer.

These local bakeries are mainly run by Afghan refugees, who fled war and Taliban regime in their home country -Afghanistan. These bakeries are primarily set up on a table by the side of the road as trespassers halt and purchase their favourites.

Desserts: With an assortment of breads and desserts such as Baklava, cakes, doughnut-like sweets, etc., the seller sits from morning to night with these baked items.Here passersby can choose from an assortment of breads and desserts: mounds of baklava, jowari, namki, tauti, shrinidor, cakes and doughnut-like sweets. They are made and sold by naanwais, mostly men, who roll out fresh rotis or naans throughout the day.

Dry fruits: The groceries at the Afghan colony has a number of groceries that sell dry fruits straight from Afghanistan. With its unique taste and excellent texture, dry fruits here sell like hot takes, despite being rather expensive.

Afghan restaurants: Apart from succulent Chapli Kebabs and Qabuli Pulao, their thick, soft and chewy bread draw the most attention. Restaurants like Afghan Darbar, Kabul Delhi, Mazaar and Nooshe Joon are the main crowd-pullers.

The Afghan delights are not only popular among locals in the area that is inhabited by refugees from other countries sharing a similar Persian cuisine, but also by people outside of the culture who come to Lajpat Nagar from afar to take some of the lip-smacking food.