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.
The real flavour of the Delhi street food lies in the chaat. The original chaat is a mixture of potato pieces, crispy fried bread,
Dahi Bhalla, gram and tangy-salty spices. The mixture is
garnished with sour home-made Indian chilly and saunth (dried
ginger and tamarind sauce), fresh green coriander leaves and
yoghurt. However, there are several other popular variants now,
including the one with an Aloo Tikki.
Let us explore a few of the chaat shops.
Shree Balaji Chaat Bhandar (1462, Chandni Chowk; Noon to
10pm) is perhaps the best and most popular chaatwallah in
Chandni Chowk. We particularly recommend the Papdi Chaat with its liberal inclusion of Kachaalu Chutney, Khasta Papdis and
saunth.
Bishan Swaroop (1421, Chandni Chowk; 10am to 10pm) is one
of those gems tucked away in the chaotic by-lanes of Chandni
Chowk which keep alive the magic of another time, another taste.
Since 1923, this tiny little stall has dished out just three items:
awesome Aloo Chaat, fabulous Aloo ke Kulle and mouth-watering
Fruit Chaat.
You cannot afford to give a miss to the authentic chaat at Lala
Babu Chaat Bhandar (77, Chandni Chowk, Near McDonald's;
11am to 10pm). Glorious Gol Gappe served with a type of Jal
Jeera that's packed with harad (a digestive), kachoris stuffed with
potato and peas, Gobhi-Matar Samosas, Dahi Bhalla and Matar
Paneer Tikki are the fastest-selling items here.
Jugal Kishor Ramji Lal (23, Dujana House, Chawri Bazaar,
Chandni Chowk; 10.30am to 10pm) is best known for the Fruit
Chaat that has become a quintessential part of the sounds and
sights of Chandni Chowk. Though they do offer a version of Pao
Bhaji and Aloo Tikki, it's the Fruit Chaat that is the winner here.
Dahi Bhalla need not always be a part of chaat; it can be served
as a principal dish as you will find at Natraj Dahi Bhalla. The
delicacy called Dahi Bhalla is a deep-fried urad dal dumpling
smothered in whipped curd. Often, it is streaked with chocolatebrown
laces of sweet-sour tamarind chutney. Pink pomegranate
seeds glisten in the folds of the curd. Natraj is located near Bhai
Mati Das Chowk at the turning to Chandni Chowk metro station.
Kachori, usually stuffed with pulses and served with potato
curry, is another delicacy that makes your mouth water. Jung
Bahadur Kachori Wala (1104, Chhatta Madan Gopal, Chandni
Chowk; 10.30am to 8pm) is perhaps the most famous for its Urad
Dal Kachori, which is served with Aloo Subzi. This place is surely
worth the adventure.
On the sweeter side, Rabdi Faluda is a must. And the place to
have it is Giani di Hatti near the Fatehpuri Mosque. It has now
become an ice-cream parlour specializing in exotic flavours like
Litchi and Bubblegum. Apart from standard ice creams, they also
serve milkshakes, fruit shakes, ice-cream shakes and sundaes.
If you are interested in kulfi - a flavoured frozen dessert made
of milk - venture towards the Ajmeri Gate. The popular name
here is Siya Ram Nannumal Kulfiwale (629, Gali Lodan, Ajmeri
Gate; 7am to 4pm). What you get here is kulfi as kulfi should be
- sinful, scrumptious and oh-so-splendid! Order any flavour -
Kesar, Pista, Rose, Kewra, Banana, Mango, or Pomegranate. Or
better still, order one of each.... Indulge!
Coming back to Chandni Chowk, you meet the Old and Famous
Jalebiwala just before you enter Dariba Kalan. Refresh yourself
with a delicious plate of hot jalebis - a sweet made by deepfrying
batter in a kind of pretzel shape and then soaked in syrup.
Also, don't miss the Jama Masjid area that buzzes with activity.
The aroma of food wafts to your nose from the Urdu Bazaar
facing Gate No. 1 of the Masjid and a side street called Matia
Mahal. The smell of fresh fish, aromatic kebabs and fried chicken
is in the air. Vendors sell kebabs and tikkas (made of buffalo meat)
wrapped in rumali roti (paper-thin bread) at throwaway prices. The Mutton Burrahs here are easily the
best in the city. They are practically the
only place to serve Nihari and Paaya,
which are all sold out by 8.30am Other
unmissables are Stew, Mutton Korma,
Shammi Kabab and Shahjahani Korma.
Ghantewala at Chandni Chowk is more than 200 years old. The sweets here are
prepared in pure desi ghee. Highly
recommended are the Sohan Halwa
Papdi, Pista Samosa and Badam
Burfi - truly sinful pieces of heaven
on earth.
Delhi's only tea boutique worth its name,
this place bursts with atmosphere.
Midway between New and Old Delhi,
tourists in the know and locals in search
of that magical cuppa beat a retreat to
this store-cum-drawing room. Even if tea
is not your thing, you can pick up gifts
for friends.
Even though it has distinctly frayed at the
edges, the restaurant offers the cuisine it
truly pioneered in the city - Dal Makhni,
Butter Chicken, Reshmi Kabab, Murgh
Musallam. After all these years, the
Tandoori Chicken is still succulent.
Chor Bizarre is one of the few restaurants
to serve Kashmiri food and attempts to
replicate a 'thieves market' in its decor.
Specially recommended for
non-vegetarians is the Tabak Maaz.
Also good are the Yakhni, Rishta and
Goshtaba, besides the wonderful
greens - Haaq.
BUTTER CHICKEN IN DELHI
Butter Chicken originated
at the Moti Mahal, Darya Ganj in the
1950s. The restaurant was
famous for its Tandoori
Chicken. The cooks there
would recycle the chicken
juices that were left over
by adding butter and
tomato. Once, be it by chance or by design, this sauce was
tossed around with pieces of Tandoori Chicken. And the rest
is history. Butter Chicken was born and soon set tongues
drooling the world over.
Butter Chicken is creamy with thick, red tomato gravy. It
tastes slightly sweet. The sauce percolates into the chicken
pieces, making them soft and juicy. This melt-in-mouth dish tastes best with tandoori roti or naan.
