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Photos 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 By Karam Puri; 3, 7 By Tanvi Madkaiker
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a small stall along the streets of Old Delhi, there’s a man who makes a rather delicious double-fried chicken. The batter, explains David Rocco, is made of chickpea flour and yogurt, and spiced with a masala, some turmeric and garlic-ginger powder. But before the poultry is coated and fried, twice, it must be chopped. And here’s where it gets interesting: “Usually you have a person holding one end and another person holding the other and you’d chop,” continues the celebrity chef. “This guy is holding the chicken down with his feet.” His what? “His bare feet.” Rocco chuckles, acknowledging the bizarreness and blatant lack of sanitation. “I know! See, I just went with it. I saw it. I’m like, ‘I’m here. This is wild. This would never happen in Woodbridge.’ And it was the best chicken I’ve ever had.” Like the butchered bird at the heart of that tale, that practice would certainly never fly here in Canada — or anywhere with a health code, for that matter. But being a country of over 1.2 billion people, India is a land where an 8 a.m. appointment may turn into an 8 p.m. appointment on a whim and filming permits may be rejected for no real reason at all. Rocco found when exploring the warm, crowded and vibrant streets of India, you just have to go with the flow. “After all, in India, make plans and Indians will laugh at you. And God will laugh at you,” he says with a smile. For years, Rocco has spiced up the lives of television audiences with www.citylifemagazine.ca
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City Life Magazine Oct/Nov 2013
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