Dalca & No. 12 Pettigrew Street – A Taste of Childhood Memories

With Aunty Lisa — With Nita, their niece

Some dishes are remembered not just for their flavours, but for the people, places, and moments that surround them.
The first time we tasted Dalca was at No. 12 Pettigrew Street in Bangalore — a place that, as children, felt almost magical. Visiting the five aunts who lived there was like Christmas for us. They welcomed us with love, slabs of homemade chikki, endless stories, and never hesitated to sit on the floor and play with us.
Each aunt was unique. Aunty Beulah, the eldest, entertained us with stories of kitchen mishaps and adventures. Aunty Sheila was the family historian, able to trace generations of family history through a fascinating web of memories only she could recall. Aunty Charlotte, the gifted cook, introduced us to delicious Mughlai dishes like Dalca, Biriyani, and Kheer — and generously shared her recipes with us. Aunty Amy, the strict yet fun-loving teacher, and Aunty Lisa, the one we adored, completed this wonderful circle of personalities.
Aunty Lisa, who rode a scooter at a time when very few women did, with Aunty Amy perched behind her, was affectionately known by their students as “Jumbo Jet” — with Aunty Amy being Jumbo and Aunty Lisa being Jet! The students thought the aunts never knew their playful nickname for them.
Today, only Aunty Lisa remains — a gracious nonagenarian, still as elegant and charming as ever. But No. 12 Pettigrew Street will always remain a keeper of memories — a silent witness to a generation that loved deeply, laughed freely, and lived fully.
And every time I make Dalca, I remember not just a dish, but a home filled with warmth, laughter, and the magic of childhood.

The Recipe:

The Ingredients:

The Recipe:

The Ingredients:

800gms (4 large) Mutton Marrowbones with meat on them

¼ cup Masoor Dal with skin

¼ cup Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal

¼ cu Pearl Barley

1 tsp Tamarind Paste

1 large onion, sliced fine

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

3 green chillies, slit

1.5 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 inch piece cinnamon, bruised

3 cloves, bruised

3 cardamom pods, bruised

1 ½ tbsp Sambhar Powder (use any good brand or make your own)

2 large potatoes quartered

Seasoning:

1 tbsp cooking oil

3 sprigs Curry leaves

1 onion, sliced fine

Method:

Wash and soak lentils and barley for half an hour

Pressure cook marrow bones in 3 cups water in large cooker for 15 minutes. Cool and release pressure. Add the lentils, barley, spices, potatoes, chillies, tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, tamarind paste and sambhar powder and pressure cook with the bones for 5 minutes. Wait until cool. Open and add salt to taste.

In the meanwhile, heat a pan with 1 tbsp cooking oil and season the curry leaves and sliced onions to a golden brown. Add to the dalca and give it a good boil. Serve hot with parathas, rice or bread.

NB: The barley is my twist to the recipe. Traditionally different dhals are used.