Chandni Chowk
Old city, right? The heart of Delhi; the epicentre of gastronomic and cultural delights. Now reduced to a maze of garbage underneath and a jumble of electricity cables overhead. The buildings stand more on willpower than on foundations, defying an era of neglect and misuse. You can tell how magnificent they must have been. Chandni Chowk or moonlight intersection was so called because it looked beautiful at night, when moonlight skimmed off the canal that used to run through it. Today its roads are home to hundreds of homeless migrants who’ve decided to look for their destiny in the heart of Delhi.
Having said that, Chandni Chowk, or the romance of its past, still feeds our fantasies. Delhi used to be a foodie’s paradise and old Delhi was the leader in local cuisine. Still is. The old eating joints have survived feudalism, independence, political skirmishes, McDonald’s, globalisation and whatever you may call it, to maintain the same standards in food.
A few months back we went on a ‘food walk’ organised by Himanshu Verma of Red Earth. It was fun, except walking in old Delhi requires all your senses to be on full alert. It’s exhausting. The good thing was we actually did discover some places we’ve never been to. Old Delhi may have lost its panache but the glory of it’s food is still intact.
Food Walk- by Red Earth. Himanshu is the guy in white.
Here’s the route we took and the food we ate.
We met at the Fatehpuri Mosque. The group was led by Himanshu.
Our first stop was a flower market in an old building in Khari Baoli where we bought some flowers (marigold/genda phool).
Flower Market
They make an appearance later in the story.
Making a U turn we entered Khari Baoli, heading towards Kake Di Hatti where we sampled some stuffed naans. Without exaggeration I can say that they were the best Naans I’ve ever had. The crispness was offset by the softness of potatoes/cauliflower/cottage cheese stuffing inside; not so much that the stuffing would seem to be gunning for a jailbreak, not so little that it makes a guest appearance in between bites. Just right.
Our next stop was Bade Miyan Ki Kheer, for which we had to walk a lot, dodging a mass of rickshaws, carts, people, animals (cows, goats and dogs mainly), bicycles, kids returning from school, autorickshaws, scooters, you name it. But the kheer was worth the trouble… it pretty much floated through the mouth into the belly. I don’t do lactose but the taste was worth the trouble.
Bade Miyan ki Kheer
Next stop : Ashok Chaat Bhandar. Honestly I have stopped eating chaat outside of home. It just doesn’t appeal to my sense of hygiene. Everybody else had great things to say and if you have a hardy stomach, I’d say go for it.
Ashok Chaat Bhandar and regular business of old Delhi right opposite.
Ashok Chaat Bhandar
After that we headed to a chuski shop that was shut.
Some of us got lost, some abandoned the trip and the rest of us made our way in rickshaws towards Parathey Wali Gali, the star of this whole walk. A genda phool fight across rickshaws is one of the activities Himanshu likes to organize as part of the walk. You might think it’s juvenile and awkward but it did end up being fun. We could behave like complete louts in public.
Anyway, at the Parathey Wali Gali we tasted all possible Parathas.
Parathey wali gali
Be warned that the parathas are deep fried in pure ghee, the wok never comes off the fire but fresh ghee keeps getting added to it. They have all sorts of parathas, from the conventional (potatoes, cauliflower, cottage cheese, lentils) to the bizarre (poppadum). The good thing about going in a large group is that you can taste a bit of each type. It all tastes great, but it can’t be right, like all good things.
Paratha flip book
Down the road from Parathe wali Gali is Dariba and it’s famous jalebi wala. I have to say, that his jalebi has lost it’s juice. It was fat and soggy, not happy and perky the way we like it.
'Old Famous Jalebi Wala'
Famous fat jalebi
That was the the whole route. It’s a fun way of exploring old Delhi. These eateries would be difficult to find for any outsider without a guide.
And yes, there was a Giani’s kulfi at some point, but I really don’t do lactose, so…
[...] let my culinary excursions make you forget what parathas are supposed to be like. Here is a recent article from Odd Ends discussing ghee fried parathas from Old Delhi’s Parathe wali Gali. Maybe for [...]
[...] While navigating Old Delhi is never easy, some of the food shops here have been serving generations of loyal customers. For a walk with a group of foodies this summer that includes Jalebi, Kheer, Stuffed naans and parathas click here. [...]
Nice. We should do a food walk in Bangalore, maybe.
…because a food drive is definitely not possible
Are these walks still organized (by trustworthy people i.e)? Perhaps I could recommend it to the NRI invasions.
Oh yes, totally trustworthy and worth it. Send the hordes without any fear
Loving it
Loving it!
Can I send someone else (read: You could have been that one) to the walk for me and get the stuff packed. You see I don’t do crowds…