A Mouthwatering Culinary Journey around Chandni Chowk

Most people consider Chandni Chowk as a tacky wholesale bazaar located in the heart of Old Delhi. But, there's more to it in reality. It combines history, food, religion, modernity, chaos, commerce and tradition, making it symbolic of today's Delhi. It was built by Shahjahan, a mughal emperor, in 1650 A.D. It got its name due to the reflecting moonlight from its main canal.

Sampling History:

Wide array of shops can be found in Chandni Chowk making it a shopper's delight. Highly reasonable prices and huge frequency of snack shops further adds to the delight. Some of these shops are extremely old dating back to the previous century. Hence they are responsible for keeping the culture and history of this place intact. They include chaat sellers (chaatwallahs), spicy savories sellers (namkeenwallahs) and confectioners (halwais). The flavor of each shop is different from the other one even if the dish is same.

Dahi Bhalle Of Natraj

This shop was established in 1940 and is frequently visited by film stars as well as politicians. One dahi bhalla plate costs Rs.15. This delicacy is prepared with fried dumplings, yoghurt, spices and masalas. Aloo tikkis of Natraj are also extremely famous. They are similar to burger patties which are made of seasoned and mashed potatoes and then stuffed with seasoned as well as ground dals, moong dal or dry fruits.

Paranthe Ki Gali

This is located opposite to Natraj's café. About five shops out of the twelve which occurred earlier are left today. This lane is located exclusive to parantha sellers. Paranthas are a form of stuffed unleavened bread which is shallow fried with clarified butter.

The 150 year old shop of Kanwarji Dalbhajiwallah graces the gali's entrance. Namkeens like allu lachha (potato sticks which are spicy fried), dal bhuji (pulses which are fried) and sweets such as imarti and barfi are this shop's specialty.

Devi Dayal's shop which is located first in the lane is also famous for its wide parantha varieties, other than the traditional aloo (potato), mutter (peas) and gobi (cauliflower) paranthas. Kaju, mix, matar and badam paranthas are especially fantastic. These paranthas range from Rs.8 to Rs.25. These paranthas are prepared with pure ghee in pans of cast iron and served with delicious chutneys, raitas and vegetable pickles.

Oldest parantha shop in this lane belongs to Kanhaiya Lal boasting of about 25 delicious parantha varieties from the sweet rabri parantha to the spicy papad parantha. Mounds of radish pickles and colorful carrot decorate the front of the shop. Pictures of Nehru and Indira Gandhi having visited here are hung on the shop's wall. An angithi (coal stove) is used for frying the parantha after rolling them on huge marble slabs and filling them with stuffing.

Nai Sarak

The Kamdhenu corner and Jaypee snack of Nai Sarak are well known for their faloodas and milk shakes and kulfis of white chocolate and kesar pista flavor respectively. Kulfi is an ice-cream prepared from dry fruits, condensed milk and saffron. It is served with syrup and a form of noodles made of glass. This lane's Bhaji, Kachoris and litchi milkshakes are also well known.

Ghantewala Halwai

This is Chandni Chowk's oldest shop selling sweets, being about 200 years old. Sohanhalwa prepared from sprouts, dry fruits and sugar is the most well known delicacy of this shop.