All Day

Hard work to make this chaat, but a holiday to eat. Crispy-fried babyleaf spinach with yoghurt, chutneys, spices, sev and fresh pomegranate. So light, so zesty, you'd eat twenty.

A roadside hottie. Smashed spiced potato patties, dolled up with sweet yoghurt, fresh green chutney, sweet-sour tamarind and crunchy papdi. Warning: Vendors will whistle.

So much greenery! Fresh broccoli, toasted pistachios, seeds of pumpkin and sunflower, shredded mint, chilli, and so on.

Marinated morsels of black pepper chicken (like Murgh Malai) flung about in creamy yoghurt dressing with salad leaves, kale, red chilli and spiced wholesome seeds.

Irani bakery favourite. A pastry puff with hearty filling of Keralan pepper-fry chicken. Warm and spicy.

Three crunchy short-crust (Punjabi style) pastry parcels of potato, onion, green pea, carrot, cinnamon and clove stuffing. God loves a triangle.

Golden Gujarati filo (not Punjabi shortcrust) stuffed with minced lamb, onions and spices. Lime for tang.

An Indo-Chinese choice in permit rooms, this bundle of marinated and battered chicken is deep-fried, and ready to roll in red chilli chutney.

A favourite from Leopold’s: twice-cooked potato chips steeped in sultry sauce of Indo-Chinese heritage (via Kolkata).

A couple of devilish eggs. Boiled, spiced and loaded with onion, tomato and green chutney. Mild heat, savoury, sour and sweet – more layers than Aunty’s sari.

Succulent grilled fish patty with coriander and carom seeds, cumin, onion and tomato. Fresh green chutney and kachumber salad bring zing to your tongue.

A Goan go-to. Pan-tanned prawns in a tangy masala of red chillies, garlic and ginger. Arrives on an a-peeling banana leaf.

Chickpeas bob to saucy beats. Roasted cumin, black tea and dried mango cut loose over waves of heat. Hearty for your party.

Tender chicken in a rich-and-silky makhani sauce. A good and proper curry full of spice and flavour.

Very peaceful curry of coconut milk, golden with turmeric, curry leaves, fresh ginger, garlic and spices. A South Indian recipe with juicy prawns (or vegan with cauliflower).

Fall-apart lamb in seductive South-Indian coconut sauce. Spiced with ‘black gold’ (aka pepper), chilli, earthy stone flower and curry leaf. Made for spooning.

Perky peas, pillowy paneer in a delicious tomato gravy. Simple comfort.

Full-on tasty pot of chicken, ginger, garlic, mint, coriander and rice cooked together in the Kacchi biryani style. Think Britannia’s Chicken Berry Pulao, with cranberries.

Luscious jackfruit – unexpected – with onion, tomato, jaggery and whole spices, under a heap of saffron pulao rice studded with barberries and sultanas. Could be a group thing.

Shakarkandi is mellow yellow Indian sweet potato grilled and dashed with tangy chilli-lime masala, just as the street-vendor would make it.

The Hindi name is hari phool gobhi (green flower cauli), here steamed and grilled, then tumbled with chilli and lime. Fools, and angels, rush in.

Minty yoghurt, cool as a cucumber. Always on standby.