delhi cuisine

Old Delhi food

Chandni Chowk Area

When you are in Old Delhi, you just can't miss the food there. The streets buzz with activity and are filled with the aroma of food. For the connoisseurs, there are restaurants like Karim's. For the food historians, there's a chance to taste Butter Chicken at Moti Mahal. 

Street Food

Chandni Chowk, often called the food capital of India, is famous
for its street food. The variety consists of snacks, especially chaat.
If you wish to enjoy it, shed your high-brow attitude to soak in the flavours and delicacies. Come on, everybody... Yes, it's a kind of celebration in congregation. Chandni Chowk resembles a fair everyday. The streets are lined with halwais (sweet-sellers), namkeenwallahs (sellers of savouries) and paranthewallahs
(sellers of rich, flaky breads soaked in ghee).

A good idea would be to start with the Paranthewali Gali. It became a famous gourmet locality when the parantha shops moved here in the 1870s. This lane has been the haunt of many celebrities of India. In the years after Independence, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and his family members - Indira Gandhi and Vijaylaxmi Pandit - came here to take their parantha meals. Jayaprakash Narayan and Atal Behari Vajpayee were also among the regular visitors.

Though the number of shops in this lane has reduced - one wonders if their owners are more interested in McDonald's franchises - there still are a few left from the good old days. Perhaps the oldest among these is Pt Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan, established in 1872. Others include Pandit Devi Dayal's (1886) and Kanhaiya Lal Durga Prasad's Parantha Shop (1875). The paranthas are fried in pure ghee in cast-iron pans. They are served with Mint Chutney, Banana - Tamarind Chutney, vegetable pickle and Aloo Subzi. Half a century back, you could get only a few varieties - Aloo Parantha, Gobhi Parantha and Matar Parantha, stuffed with potato, cauliflower and peas respectively. While these continue to be the most popular, there are several new variants. These include lentils, fenugreek, radish, papad, carrot and mixed. Besides, there are paranthas which cost slightly more and include those stuffed with paneer, mint, lemon, chilly, dry fruits, cashew, raisins, almond, rabdi, khurchan, banana, karela, lady's finger and tomato.