Venue: Kamla Nagar Market

All college campuses have their food hubs. Delhi’s North Campus which is North India’s most sought after educational area also has its very own favourite food places. Any college goer to North Campus would swear by places like Mini Shop, Chacha ke Choley Bhature and Bille ki Lassi.

Bille di Hatti is one of the very few places that have survived the test of time. They were awesome way before Ricos and The Hudson Cafe came to the university scene and they are still going strong even after so much competition now.

It’s so many years that we finished college but still every time someone talks about Bille ke poori choley and lassi, we get nostalgic. Recently when a couple of our college friends came to Delhi, we decided to relive the experience and visit Bille di hatti again. Its a small place inside Kamla Nagar Market and in breakfast hours one may have to wait for some time to get a table. We had to wait for around 20 minutes to get seated. Once seated there is not much to contemplate as they have just 2-3 basic items. Poori choley, Lassi and Suji halwa.

We ordered a plate of poori choley for each of us along with lassi one by two. This was probably the thickest lassi that was available in those days. Now of course a lot of sweet shops make similar lassi. Having said that, there is no comparison to Bille ki lassi even today. Thick lassi with a dollop of curd in it and a slice of malai that is peeled from the top layer of sedimented curd out of an earthen vessel. They provide you with a spoon along with your lassi glass so that one can scoop out the malai and eat it while drinking lassi. Oh the mouth waters while typing this…

Poori choley is also one of the best that is available in Delhi. The pooris are thin, light and not very oily. Choley are smaller in size than the regular ones and are topped with sliced onion and methi chatni. Finger licking good. The pooris are not heavy but the lassi is. We could only stuff ourselves with a plate of poori choley and half a glass of lassi each. There was no room for dessert left and we also wanted to keep the taste of this food in our mouth for some time…

We saw the next generation of the owners sitting at the counter and managing this small restaurant which is simple, unassuming and brings back the nostalgia for anyone who has studied in Delhi University’s North campus. Till date we see so many students lined up outside Bille di Hatti to get a table and that’s proof enough of the taste and quality that has not deteriorated even after so many years. No wonder Bille di Hatti is still North Campus’ favorite food joint.