India, Oct. 30 -- So many people here, and the market street strung with fairy lights. Such a grand welcome for the one and only Daulat Ki Chaat.

Ok, let's cool down the hyperbole. There indeed is crowd, but it is an everyday feature of Paharganj's Main Bazar. And the streets lights are truly festive, but they are remnants of the recent Diwali decorations. Even so, this Tuesday evening, the surrounding props do seem like appropriate trappings to mark the return of Delhi's most poetic wintertime street dessert.

It is his Daulat's inaugural day for the new season-says vendor Rohit, see photo. The classic dish the young man is hawking on his cart is arranged neatly into a giant platter, the dish's fluffy top is garnished with rose petals....