An element of the city’s street cuisine .

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Are they gone?

The burger trolleys of Connaught Place (CP) would serve those among us who strive to find contentment in cheaply priced street cuisine. The metal carts were spread across the corridors and plazas of CP. They stocked burgers, but also patties, sandwiches, paneer kulche, “hot dog,” and cream-rolls.

This weekday afternoon, despite making two rounds of the Inner and Outer Circle, not a single burger trolley is sighted in the entire CP.

A typical burger trolley would be manned by its vendor, sometimes aided by a young “helper.” The all-vegetarian menu would be painted in red on the trolley’s lane-facing side. Some carts would be sanctified with religious posters or symbols, or with sacred invocations such as Jai Mata Di or Om.

The venerable Shaukat Khan, who has been vending ice-cream in CP for 40 years, confirms that burger trolleys exited the area some years ago, “before the corona.”

If that is correct, is anybody in CP missing the burger trolley? The place anyway has many air-conditioned burger outlets. Plus, the CP walkways are crammed with street food choices: khasta subzi, cut fruit, golgappa, papad, ice-cream, bhelpuri, dal chaat, cotton candy, lemon soda, banta drink, channa jor garam, and thermos chai and thermos coffee. A snack trolley parked beside F Block corridor exudes haughtiness with an unusually wide range of options that include patties, instant noodles, butter cheese macaroni pasta, but no burger.

The trolley’s burger used to be a steal at 10 rupees. The aloo tikki inside the buns would be topped with sliced tomatoes, onion rings and shredded cabbage. The burgers weren’t made by the vendors, but prepared every morning in the industrial bakeries of Karol Bagh and Paharganj, from where the burgers would be distributed across CP (and other areas) by delivery men on bikes. A coal-fired stove, built into each trolley, would be used to re-heat the burgers (and other snacks). The burgers would be served on paper plates or newspaper cuttings. A bit of Tip Top ketchup would be given on request.

One notable burger trolley of CP used to be parked on the sidewalk across the road from Palika Bazar. It would always be surrounded by a crowd. This afternoon, the spot is occupied by a momo stall.

PS: These photos are from around 2010.

Gone with the wind

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