Dwelling on the origins

Delhi is an ancient city which is also the capital of India. The city is rich in history and houses culture of multiple religion. As soon as you enter old Delhi, you get a sense of time this city has gone through. Chandni Chowk is situated right in the heart of it all. This place can look a bit crowded and sure needs some renovation and maintenance but what caught my interest was the different eras this city has gone through. If you ever set your gaze on the old and frail hoarding board of shops, or the food menus you find that most of these shops are close to 60, 80 years old and are still in operation. India and China are among the oldest civilizations in the world which is reflected in their main cities and culture.

Popular menu served

According to our 8 days stay, we tried out different food outlets around Chandni Chowk, Delhi. Most common food menu consists of items like paratha, chola bhattura, pakora, samosa, rice, varieties of naan, varieties of curries.

We preferred chola bhattura as morning brunch. The locals really love this food as their morning brunch which is evident once you see the crowds during the earliest hours of this shop. One thing to keep in mind is that most shops open at around 11:30 A.M, 12:00 P.M in the afternoon till 11:00, 12:00 A.M in the middle of the night.

Chola bhattura is fairly priced at around ₹ 100 which should last you a full day if you are like me.

We had this particular food at a place called Parmjeet Singh & Brothers, which was very clean compared to other local eateries in the area and tasted really good.

After you are done with your chola bhattura, you can have a refreshing smoothie right beside this shop called Gianis Di Hatti. We tried the popular Falooda desert but found it too much sweet for our liking and preferred mango smoothie which was really good. The smoothie cost us about ₹ 100. If you are looking to save 20, 30 Rupees on smoothie, you can get equally good smoothies 100 meters ahead at a place called Super Falooda.

Exploring dinner options

There are obvious choices for dinner in the menu listed above but there is one place that we considered during our short visit. This place is widely recommended by locals and non-vegetarian people from all over India. The place is called Karim Hotels which has been serving Biryanis since ages, as you will find in their websites and menu, This place is located near the oldest mosque in Delhi, Jama Masjid. The owner who runs the eatery has direct bloodline connection with noble chefs who prepared feasts at courts for the Mughal emperors. The dishes are fairly priced considering the rich history and golden heritage behind the place.

Our pick for the best eatery during our short visit

There is one place that stood out during our short visit. This place is right at the popular street of Chandni Chowk. This place seems warm with family friendly ambience, serves very good food and is fairly priced as well. We ordered regular pick of Butter naan, Daal makhani, Paneer Butter Masala and Aaloo Jeera. Each of the item tasted really good for the price and the place had family friendly environment which was evident in the occupied customer tables.

The dinner of 4 cost us total about ₹ 720, which is justified considering the family friendly ambience and good food. After dinner, you can drink smoothie for 70 or 80 Rupees at Super Falooda which is about 100 meters from the place.

Overall verdict from a traveller

Old Delhi is an ancient market with lots of good food waiting to be discovered. The old market and eateries would really shine and appeal to even more people with proper maintenance and a little renovation.