Street food festival returns to Delhi after three years

The National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) recently organised a three-day street food festival at the JLN Stadium, featuring vendors from all over the country showcasing a variety of cuisines, including Rajasthani, Kashmiri and Awadhi.

The festival, which had been on hiatus for three years, attracted more visitors than expected, with many praising the vendors for not only offering delicious food, but also providing information on the preparation of their dishes.Jitendra, a vendor from Assam, said, “I prepared bamboo shoot sticky rice with smoked fish and smoked chicken to highlight the traditional cuisine of Assam and used traditional methods in the preparation.” Sangeeta Beniwal, a visitor, was surprised by the large crowd at the event. “I especially came for Assamese dishes but bamboo shoot rice was over so we ordered smoked fish, which was worth coming so far.”
As the food festival included street foods from across the country, visitors were spoilt for choice. Amit Baldota, a visitor, said, “I couldn’t decide which cuisines to try and which ones to leave out, so I got several items packed.”



Rakesh Sharma, a vendor from Jaipur, said that is not just the food items but how they are prepared that adds flavour to these items. “Rajasthan ke gaon ke jaise chulhe pe desi khana (gatte ki sabzi) bana jis se logon ko khane ka swaad aa sake.” Vendors from MP said that they have brought a variety of chaats from the state, adding, "Logon ko achha laga toh hum phir aayenge chaat le kar Dilli.”

Visitors also noted that the vendors had taken the festival to a new level by offering restaurant-quality dishes at a fraction of the cost. One of the festival's highlights was the Kashmiri cuisine, with a vendor from the region saying that dishes such as Kahwa tea, Kashmiri namkeen chai and Kashmiri kebabs were popular among attendees. The majority of the items were priced between Rs50-Rs 250. Rishul, a visitor, said, “Street food is popular among college students like me as it is pretty affordable. We got authentic kahwa here at such a reasonable price.”