If you take the straight road, under the Minto Bridge, from Connaught Place to Asaf Ali Road, you will find the dahi bhalley man on the left immediately after a small roundabout. There is no signboard, and no glittering neon lights, but you know you are at the right spot because of the crowd around him. The dahi-bhalley wallah is surrounded by several earthenware pots, or matkas. One has curds in it, another has the sweet-and-sourwater that goes into golgappas.

What makes him different from the other papri-chaat that you get in different parts of the city is the lavish use of ginger in his chaat. My dahi-bhalla papari (Rs.15 for a plate) consisted of one large dahi bhalla. He had layered this with thin slivers of ginger. On top of that came a layer of papri. To this he added a fistful of boiled chickpeas and cubed potatoes. And then came the curds, followed by green and red chutneys.