SPICE WORLD

Divided and subdivided over the years, the narrow shop we’re in—one of dozens packed in along this street—has been reduced to a mere meter wide. Yet its selection of nuts, dried fruits, and spices gratifies even the most exacting cook in India.

Few countries make use of as many spices. Not all are grown here, of course, but many have found some of their fullest expression in Indian kitchens. When cooks in Delhi want to get the finest cumin, coriander, cardamom, and dozens of other spices they so copiously use, they head for Khari Baoli at the western end of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. Running since