Budget Travel Guide.
Discovering and sampling interesting albeit yummeh grub is one of the things that excites me about travel to dizzying levels. And this time around, I absolutely came to love Delhi for its abundance and variety of super affordable yet utterly drool worthy, exceptionally scrumptious food. There is no other way to describe it.
My friend, the dashing young gentleman and upstanding Delhi citizen Avichal Pathik volunteered his worthy services to act as guide for the day . I was pleasantly introduced to a wide array of culinary delights of Delhi’s historical Chandni Chowk area, reputed for its palate teasers.
A veritable storehouse on interesting tidbits on Delhi and its surrounds, he is always more than happy, eager even to re-explore and rediscover the Chandni Chowk vicinity. He says that he never tires of it. After the extensive food walk we started at 10 am and ended at 3-pm, (the blistering sun hampering our progress a wee bit) I can now see why.
I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
I’ve also (at the bottom of the post) attached an easy to follow route on google maps of the very same we took, and places we visited to satiate our ravenous appetites and my somewhat cursory interest in history. Why pay for exorbitantly priced food walks when you can do it yourself in the reasonable price range of Rs 500-600 eh?
If you are using the convenient metro, get off at the Chawri bazzar station (A on the map) which is on the yellow line, to start the walk. Kuremal Kulfi (B) is an easy walk from the metro station (follow map). Their frozen stuffed kulfis are their speciality. Pick from apples, oranges, mangoes or other fruits stuffed and bloated to the brim with delicious kulfi. Though a little pricey at Rs 200 a piece, it is totally worth every bite!
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| Kuremal Mahavir Prasad's stuffed mango kulfi |
Next Stop: Sudarshan’s flavoured milk (C) on the corner of Nai Sarak. Prices range from- Rs-25-30. We tried the rich and flavourful kesar-badam milk.
Move on to the area’s most well-known Paranthe wali gali (D) or the by-lane of fried bread for a variety of dangerous-for-your-arteries but just perfect for your taste buds deep fried paranthas (Indian flat-bread). There are a series of shops selling more or less the same fare. You can choose from a wide selection, including more quirky fillings like rabri or badam or kaju. A plate comes with two paranthas and is normally served with sweet tamarind chutney, mint chutney, vegetable pickle, cottage cheese potato curry and some sort of tempered sweet pumpkin mash. Price-Rs 50-60 a plate.
We stuck to the tried and tested mint and green chilli paranthas.
Take a breather as we did and amble along Dariba lane which is the designated silver and artificial jewelry market in the area. You will come by several interesting ancient and colourful wall to wall houses/buildings in the by-lanes.
At the end of which is Jalebiwala (E). The name says it all. He sells fat and succulent jalebis at Rs 50 for 100gms. Minimum purchase 100 gms.
All the walking and clambering helped us work up a fresh appetite. We doubled back to Chandni chowk via the back of Jama Masjid and onto Nai Sarak once again. We stopped to cool off at the been- there- forever generations old Pandit Ved Prakash lemon wale (H) for refreshing nimbu (lemon) soda. Cost- Rs 12 a glass.
We then took a small detour to take a dekko at renowned Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib’s residence- Ghalib ke haveli which is currently being restored.
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| Sudarshan's flavoured milk |
Move on to the area’s most well-known Paranthe wali gali (D) or the by-lane of fried bread for a variety of dangerous-for-your-arteries but just perfect for your taste buds deep fried paranthas (Indian flat-bread). There are a series of shops selling more or less the same fare. You can choose from a wide selection, including more quirky fillings like rabri or badam or kaju. A plate comes with two paranthas and is normally served with sweet tamarind chutney, mint chutney, vegetable pickle, cottage cheese potato curry and some sort of tempered sweet pumpkin mash. Price-Rs 50-60 a plate.
We stuck to the tried and tested mint and green chilli paranthas.
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| Paranthe Wali Gali |
Take a breather as we did and amble along Dariba lane which is the designated silver and artificial jewelry market in the area. You will come by several interesting ancient and colourful wall to wall houses/buildings in the by-lanes.
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| Jalebis at Jalebi Wala |
Daryaganj is a ten minute rikshaw ride away. This area houses ‘Aap ki pasand’ (F), a tea house that sells an eclectic selection of teas. Also, check out Moti Mohal Restaurant. We skipped these as it was a weekend and we got distracted by the (every) Sunday second-hand book market that runs along a long stretch of the road. After which it was time to check out the historical Jama Mashid, reportedly the largest mosque complex in all of India. A short but strenuous climb up one of its towers (entrance Rs 30 for desis and and Rs 100 for aliens) will afford you sweeping views of Old Delhi and particularly the nearby majestic Red-Fort. This one’s a not to miss. You will be denied entry if not dressed appropriately i.e. knees and shoulders must be covered. You will also be charged Rs 300 if carrying a camera.
Pop into the nearby Karim (G) for its known far-and-wide non-vegetarian delights. I was informed that the forefathers of the family who run it have been in the business from the Mughal era. They were apparently culinary artists of such standing to be in the contented employ of the royal family.
Pop into the nearby Karim (G) for its known far-and-wide non-vegetarian delights. I was informed that the forefathers of the family who run it have been in the business from the Mughal era. They were apparently culinary artists of such standing to be in the contented employ of the royal family.
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| Karim |
All the walking and clambering helped us work up a fresh appetite. We doubled back to Chandni chowk via the back of Jama Masjid and onto Nai Sarak once again. We stopped to cool off at the been- there- forever generations old Pandit Ved Prakash lemon wale (H) for refreshing nimbu (lemon) soda. Cost- Rs 12 a glass.
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| Pandit Ved Prakash's cooling nimbu soda |
We then took a small detour to take a dekko at renowned Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib’s residence- Ghalib ke haveli which is currently being restored.
If you voluntarily subject yourself to long sermons on history, you sure do deserve a treat. It was time for dessert. After squarely hitting Fatehpur Masid at the very end of Chandni Chowk, we turned right, into Church Mission Marg till we got to Giani (I) for thick lassi and heavenly Rabri Falooda ( a fusion dish of rabri, an Indian sweet made out of yogurt mixed with vermicelli, one of the main ingredients of falooda). Though not a big fan of falooda, I give this one full marks. It was A-awesome ! Giani was established in 1956 and has stores across Delhi. The one on Church Mission Marg is their original store.
Next door is ‘Kake di hatti’ (J) that sells a variety of massive stuffed naans to be eaten alongside daal and sabzi (curry).
Rabri falooda- Rs 50 a glass. Stuffed nans from Rs 20 onwards.
In spite of food almost coming out of our ears we managed to make room for the dahi-bhalle king Natraj’s (K) delectable dahi balle and aloo tikki (Rs 40 each). This joint is back on Chandni Chowk, a stone’s throw or maybe two away from the conveniently located Chandni Chowk Metro (L) station which is where we finally made our way to. It was time to head home thoroughly sated.
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Rabri falooda- Rs 50 a glass. Stuffed nans from Rs 20 onwards.
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| Giani's rabri falooda.Look at the joy on the boy's face! Bottom right- Kakke di hatti. |
In spite of food almost coming out of our ears we managed to make room for the dahi-bhalle king Natraj’s (K) delectable dahi balle and aloo tikki (Rs 40 each). This joint is back on Chandni Chowk, a stone’s throw or maybe two away from the conveniently located Chandni Chowk Metro (L) station which is where we finally made our way to. It was time to head home thoroughly sated.
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| Natraj's dahi balle and aloo tikki |
Other foods to be tantalized by while here. Chole Bature at Giani. This one is also allegedly fantastic in shops in and around Sadar Bazar. For kachori, try the small alley next to Natraj that leads to a square where you will find a cart selling these little treats. Ashok Chat Bhandar at the beginning of Chawri bazzar is well known, as its name aptly suggests, for its chats. For those with a sweet tooth try Ghantewala sweet shop. Their karachi halwa and paneer pakoda come highly recommended.
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| Chole Bature. Inset-kachori |
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Great pictures and coverage. The first part 'Idly' in your blog, while not seen in your Delhi coverage, makes sense! As soon as I see the word Idly, the one we eat comes to my mind!
ReplyDeleteOne question though is about health. Do we need some immune shots before we venture into the streets of Delhi and try out all those yummy stuff? Sadly, I will have to give a miss to all those sweets. Thanks for sharing.
hahahaha, yeah my dad thinks it's idli too! I think as Indians we are naturally immune, those from outside the country may need to exercise some caution. Most of these place seemed fairly clean though I'm sure they wouldn't stand up to any standardized hygiene test. Oh sweets, oh well you have so many options you wont miss them.
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