Chandni Chowk- The Street Food Capital of India

Delhi is a city known for its vast amount of history, culture, life, food, and everything that one could possibly imagine. Dilwallahs is a term to address the people of Delhi which means it is a city filled with people with big hearts. They are also the type of people filled with big appetites too. Delhi is filled with the various types of mouth-watering dishes through the streets of Chandini Chowk where one can experience the essence of north Indian food.

Delhi's city proper population was over 11 million, the second-highest in India after Mumbai, while the whole NCT's population was about 16.8 million. Delhi's urban area is now considered to extend beyond the NCT boundaries and include the neighbouring satellite cities of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida in an area now called Central National Capital Region (CNCR) and had an estimated 2016 population of over 26 million people, making it the world's second-largest urban area according to United Nations. As of 2016, recent estimates of the metro economy of its urban area have ranked Delhi either the most or second-most productive metro area of India.

Now, let’s walk through the different types of dishes one can find in the streets of Chandini Chowk.

JALEBI

Jalebi was brought to Medieval India by the Turkish invaders. Jalebi was meant in the context of a dinner held by a rich merchant. Jalebis are usually made by deep-frying maida flour batter in pretzel or circular, then they are soaked in sugar syrup. The dessert can be served both warm or cold.

Now, coming to the place where we get these sweet delicacies is the place called ‘Old Famous Jalebi Wala’, has been around since 1884. The shop is majorly famous for piping hot, thick and juicy jalebis. Their USP is that they use desi Khandsari sugar instead of normal sugar and the jalebis are prepared using desi ghee, cooked over coal fire. The view of these jalebis being made is a sight for sour eyes as it is done in front of you. The Sweet maker takes the cloth filled with batter and artistically makes the circular and pretzel shaped jalebis in the boiling oil. One cannot pass without tasting these delicacies.

Where: Shop No. 1795, Dariba Kalan Road, Dariba Corner, Opposite to Central Baptist Church, Chandni chowk, New Delhi

Timings: 8 AM to 10 PM

Cost: INR 500 per kg

PARATHAS

It’s hard for the body to reject the aroma of hot oil and spluttering spices. The atmosphere is clouded with different people shouting and the chaos from the busy streets of Delhi. One cannot simply refuse the sight of stuffed parathas dipped in to a large cauldron bubbling with desi ghee. They emerge elegantly from the oil as deeply fried and golden, just makes one’s eyes glitter for no reason.

The parathas are made whole wheat flour, local spice ingredients and then deep fried. The oil makes the upside brown and the steam produced is used to process the insides. Usually, one cannot find oil inside the paratha as they dont absorb that much oil as they do in pan fried. Nimbu-pudina and pappad paratha are some of highlights of this place.

How to reach: You can take the metro till Chandini Chowk Metro Station. Walk out of the station and head to the bylane on the opposite side of the road. All shops remain open from 9 am to 11 pm.

CHOLE BHATURE

The fairy tale of spicy and creamy Chole (chickpeas) along with puffy hot Bhature is the perfect indulgence when monsoon comes knocking. This Punjabi delicacy has taken its food lovers by storm. Usually accompanied by some tangy pickled carrots or radish and onion, this iconic dish has its die-hard fan following. But why is it loved so much? The reasons are well embedded in our Indian roots. The chickpeas are cooked with a host of earthy spices including cumin(jeera), coriander (dhania) and anardana (which lends it a tart flavour) in a hearty mix of a tomato and onion gravy. The inflated deep fried goodness is achieved through drying the dough for more than one hour, then it is sprinkled with the local spices and served with sabji can turn any frown upside down. This delicacy is a must have for every other person who wants to experience the local cuisine.

Where to get: Giani's di Hatti located near Fatehpur Masjid

Timings: 12 pm- 11 pm

BUTTER CHICKEN:

Its highly implausible to scroll down without seeing a non- vegetarian dish. Do not fret, we know just the place to freshen your mind, fill your appetite and that is butter chicken for you that is if you are a non- vegetarian. This dish is served in almost all the non- veg restaurants across India but one cannot simply miss the sumptuous butter chicken being served in the exotic places of Delhi. To a name a few, Aslam Chicken has caught the eye of people who pass by that street where it is located. Served at a very high temperature with butter flowing till the brim; the chicken pieces trying to coming to the surface and with them is the smell of highly intoxicating spices just waiting to be swallowed by the human. One cannot just stand simply and watch everything while everyone begin their feast. Can be served with any type of bread from romali roti to phulka.

Where to get: Aslam Chicken, 540 Matia Mahal Gali | Jama Masjid, New Delhi

Timings: 4 pm to 12 am

CHAAT:

Yes, we are saving the best for last. Chaat is an assortment of dishes for every other person who needs to take a break from their daily routine. The chaat shop usually consists a lot of delicacies such as paani puri, bhel puri, dahi papdi chaat, etc. The reason why chaat is a huge success is because people don't need to sit down, relax and eat, its a kind of fast food where they just come, eat and leave with happy smiles. This is a common occurrence in the streets of Chandni Chowk but one cannot simply refute the sight of people standing and having their paani puri at the Padam Chaat Corner. The shop stands on a small platform at the corner of Bark Wali Gali, where the shop has numerous number of spices waiting for the human buds to get replenished. Padam Chaat Corner serves pani puri in four different flavours along with gluttonous snacks including Papdi Chaat, Aloo Tikki and Dahi Bhalla.

Where to get: Padam Chaat Corner

Timings: 4 pm- 10 pm

The reason as to why Chandni Chowk is the strret food capital of India is because of its richness, heritage and the history it carried along with it. The above mentioned places have all of these characteristics. People not only go to this place for food, shopping but also to take in all the essence of history that the place has been through. This the reason why people in Delhi are called Dillwallahs.

Please comment or contact us for more information about the different cuisines that one can succumb his/ her cravings.

Girish Muralidhar Raman