India’s eateries run by Afghan refugees become reminder of culinary debt to country now in crisis

A tantalising aroma of sizzling kebabs and freshly baked bread wafts from the hot clay ovens of the dozen or so eateries in what has been dubbed Little Afghanistan, a cluster of around 100 Afghan refugee families in the Lajpat Nagar neighbourhood of southern Delhi. Mutton simmers away in large vats while the local naanwais, or street bakers, do a brisk business selling doughy Afghan naans. In recent years, Little Afghanistan – also known as “Little Kabul”, has seen a proliferation of…