Paranthas of Parantha Wali Gali, Delhi

If you really want to have a taste of true Delhi, than you must check out the relishing cuisines of this colorful city. The flavors of kebabs, street chaat and paranthas are the most appropriate elements to describe the true taste of Delhi.

Beside being the epicenter of Indian politics, Delhi is the city for foodholics. Be it a Five-star hotel or road side food stall, Delhi has no dearth of tempting cuisines belonging to each and every region of the country.

This metropolitan city of India has several popular culinary destinations which are chock-a-block with the visitors throughout the year. Some of the most famous food joints of Delhi are Haldiram, Bikaner, Dilli haat, last but not the least Parantha wali gali etc.

As the name suggest, Parantha Wali Gali in the Chandi chowk area of Central Delhi is the hub of various delicious paranthas, a fried Indian bread stuffed with various materials. Located in a narrow by lane, just of the main street in Chandni Chowk, after the Sisganj Gurudwara, Parantha Wali Gali is one of the living testimony of Mughal era in India. It is believed that this lane of food stalls is as old as Red Fort of India.

At the beginning, there was only one single family who has started selling parantha in the gali. But, later on due to some family disputes, the members of the family has established their own separate food stalls. Previously, there were ten to twelve shops that deals in various kinds of paranthas but now there are only three shops left that prepares extra ordinary paranthas that are the ideal thing to fulfill your appetite.

Pandit Kanhaiya Lal Durga Prasad parantha shop is the first one to establish in this lane. In the past this famous parantha shop has catered to various famed national leaders of our country like Late Pandit Nehru, late mrs. Indira Gandhi and many more. It was established in 1875 and serves more than 25 varieties of paranthas. Some of the special parantha which are available in this shop are rabri parantha and pappad parantha. If you are looking for some pure vegetarian paranthas excluding garlic and onion than you must visit this eatery in the famed parantha wali gali of Chadni chowk.

Another famous parantha shop of this lane is the Pandit Dayanand Shivcharan's parantha shop. It was established in the year 1882. This shop is very famous among the political leaders of India. It was the eating joint of India's first family i.e the Nehru family. Even Late Jayprakash Narayan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are the regular visitors of this eatery.

Apart from this afore mentioned shops, Pandit Devidayal Paranthewale's shop is another popular parantha shop in the lane. It was built in 1886. According to Babu Ram, the direct descendant of the Panditji, earlier there were only three to four types of paranthas that includes usual aloo, gobhi and matar(potato, cauliflower and peas). But the scenario has changed. Now, you can taste almost 20 varieties of paranthas ranging from Kaju (cashewnut), Badam (almond), Tamatar (Tomato), Pudina(mint), mix parantha and many more. Among all the varieties, mix parantha is the most popular one as it is the fusion of various stuffs.

Beside all these parantha shops, another famous attraction of the lane is the 150 years old confectionery shop of Kanwarji Bhagirathmal Dalbhajiwallah. This shop is well known among the Delhites for its snacks like dal bhuji (fried pulses), aloo ka lachha (spicy fried potato spirals) and sweets like barfi and imarti.