As every foodie in the city knows, excellent street food in Delhi is like a constant companion throughout the hard seasons that Delhi residents face. Sudden spurts of chilling thunderstorms crackle through the 3° cold, making winter seem eternal. The craving for gingery, hot tea and butter-laden parathas seems to prevail over any desire to prepare for a summer body six months later each time it emerges. When summer approaches, there’s nothing like a fast kulfi or kala khatta to keep you cool from the Delhi sun’s fire-breathing dragon. If you want to spend a day eating street food, here is our recommendation of the best spots to go regardless of the season.
1. Connaught Place
Connaught Place is Delhi’s Times Square—only it’s a circular. It’s a centre of offices, one of the most upscale retail areas, and a must-see for any traveller. Connaught Place’s several concentric circles are home to some of the city’s most diverse cuisine selections. For non veg lovers, mutton curry at Kake Da Hotel and for vegetarians, rajma chawal at Shankar Market are the most popular delicacies of CP. You can enjoy a spicy curry with rice and a fresh salad to fuel your purchasing and sightseeing adventure.
2. Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk’s sweets and savouries are essential to Delhi’s street cuisine. Once an exclusive Mughal Courts bazaar, the area is today bustling with wholesale stores and the world’s largest spice market. A must visit place for parantha lovers in Chandni Chowk is a no-frills store Pundit Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan in Parathewali Gali. The parathas here are made with a variety of fillings and served with a mild potato curry, a pumpkin preparation, and a sour tamarind sauce. Your delicacy journey can never be completed without visiting Chaina Ram Sweets and Natraj Dahi Bhalla Corner. Chaina Ram Sweets is known for its samosas and mithais, while Natraj provides some of the greatest dahi bhallas in town.
3. Yashwant Place
Yashwant Place is a vital component of the city’s gastronomic landscape. It used to be recognised for having Delhi’s first fast-food restaurants, but today it’s known for its budget-friendly but delicious cuisine alternatives. Yashwant Place has a plethora of vendors serving Indo-Tibetan street food such as hot noodles, curries, soups, and momos. If you’re in the mood for a snack, go for the chicken thukpa and steamed or fried momos, but on a cold winter evening, go for a dinner of chow mein and chilli chicken.
4. Chawri Bazar
This wholesale store in Old Delhi specialises in personalised wedding cards. It’s also the epicentre of everything Delhi: winding streets, congested crossings, ornate buildings, and a plethora of food booths. While in Delhi you must try a Delhi style Breakfast at Shyam Sweets where they serve nagori halwa and puri. You must accompany your satisfying meal with a daulat ki chaat, bedmi kachauri and a frothy soufflé to experience the Delhi food nirvana. After the beautiful sunset in the capital city, I suggest you to visit Ashok Chaat Bhandar and also try Kulfi from Kuremal. The 100-year-old store, is the perfect way to conclude any dinner here. You may taste whatever flavour you want—or all of them at once—whether it’s mango, apple, orange, rose, fig, or plain cream.
5. INA Market and Dilli Haat
The freshest fresh vegetables in town can be found at INA Market, the city’s food centre. It’s also home to a slew of modest South Indian restaurants. Authentic meals and snacks are served at these establishments, which are unlike their North Indian equivalents. Meanwhile, across the street, Dilli Haat’s outdoor food court offers a diverse range of Indian cuisines. In this handicrafts market, stalls specialised to regional cuisine provide everything, and many people come only to eat. Dosas, kachoris, kahwa, chuski, appams, curries, and samosas are just a few of the dishes available.
6. Moolchand
Parathas are a common dish in Delhi. They feed thousands of people every day around the city, either with a pat of butter or a cup of yoghurt. The greatest ones may be found at Moolchand Parantha. What began as a modest shop many years ago has grown into a full-fledged restaurant with dozens of paratha variations and drinks to accompany them. These sizzling hot aloo, paneer, and mixed parathas, best eaten with burning fingers late at night, are the ultimate Delhi delicacy.
For those seeking for something a bit more formal, Delhi has many of wonderful restaurants, but don’t be afraid to walk the streets and eat casually. Every day, millions of workers, shoppers, students, and others are fed by Delhi’s greatest street cuisine, which exceeds the simplicity of tastes and appetites. There are many wonderful things to do in Delhi, but those who want to get to the heart of the city should go straight for the street food.
Delhi is a joy in many ways, but the megacity’s street food culture is something totally other. The food scene in the Indian capital reflects the city’s variety, so don’t be shocked if you have to select between Mughal-era Middle Eastern cuisine and Punjabi delicacies from Pakistan, with lots of other alternatives in between. These disparate influences meet delectably, transforming Delhi into one of the world’s gastronomic capitals.
