Delhi’s first ‘zero waste’ festival begins at JLN Stadium

Vendors are using leaf-based, wooden, and bamboo cutlery, and recyclable plastic containers provided by NASVI

As he tossed in a new batch of Turkish pizza into the oven, Sirkeci Osman – an economist in Turkey – looked at the eager crowd around his stall nervously. The 41-year-old is not a professional chef, and rarely has a crowd this size to feed. “We are a little rusty... That’s ayran, a Turkish salty yogurt. And we have vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizza. Try it!” he announced to the crowd.

Sirkeci Osman at his stall in Jawahar Lal Nehru stadium. (HT Photo)

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On day one of the National Street Food Festival at the Jawahar Lal Nehru (JLN) stadium in Delhi — inaugurated by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union minister for housing and urban affairs — Osman brought with him the flavours of Izmir, the beloved port city in Turkey where he grew up, and where his father made a living as a street vendor. “My connection to street food is old. When I was a child, I used to help my father at the stall where he sold simit (bagel), doner kebab and fish sandwiches, popularly known as balik-ekmek in Turkey. Maybe that’s why when I heard about this food festival, I couldn’t resist taking part. This is my sixth year at the festival,” said Osman, as he watched his wife Kameron, 40, a psychologist, put toppings on the dough.

NASVI claimed this is the first zero-waste food festival in the country, and vendors are using leaf-based, wooden, and bamboo cutlery, and recyclable plastic containers provided by NASVI.

Apart from Turkey, the 13th National Street Food Festival also has participants from countries such as Afghanistan and Nepal, and 22 Indian states such as Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Kerala, and Bihar. From kulhad pav bhaji, Kerala fishy fry, and boiled bhutta (corncob) to bun tikki, pink candy floss and pista kulfi — the festival has something for everyone.

Representing Afghanistan with trays of Afghan mantu (dumplings), baklava, saffron tea, and plum cakes is 46-year-old Farida Khair – who has been living in Delhi’s Jangpura with her four children since 2016.

“I escaped from Afghanistan due to escalating violence. I was scared for my children. When I moved here, I needed work and started baking. This is my first time at the food festival,” she said.

When the festival was announced, the organisers mentioned that there will also be a Pakistan stall at the festival. “We couldn’t get the Pakistani vendors here and it was cancelled at the last minute,” said Rajesh Singh, who works with NASVI.

To fill the gap, the organisers roped in a team of cooks from Old Delhi who specialise in dishes such as reshmi kebab, malai boti, and Balochi chicken sajji – delicacies popular in Pakistan.

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Khan Gulshan, who has come from the Araku Valley of Andhra Pradesh, said, “We are from the Araku valley and the tribes there only make food in mud chulhas. It brings out the smokey flavour in the food”

The Andhra Pradesh stall boasted a variety of food cooked in bamboo, like bamboo chicken, biryani and fish.