Most Amazing Delhi Street Foods You Must Taste If You Are Travelling To India

Food is one of the basic needs of human beings and thus holds a special place in their lives. Tourists face a daunting task of choosing what to eat while visiting other countries, and India is no exception. India is popular for spicy and delicious foodstuff and never fails to serve its tourists yummy and tasty foods. Laal Qila (Red Fort) is not the only famous tourist destination in Delhi because Chandni Chowk also attracts thousands of tourists thanks to the delicious meals and street foods.

This food guide is prepared by William Johan, who works in cargo industry. Currently he is working for Parcels To India, a company that specialises in sending cargo from UK to India.

So, either it is street foods or food streets, Delhi is yummy overall. And if you are a tourist, be ready for some new tastes in life. Followings are few of the most famous street foods of Delhi which you must try if you haven’t already.

Butter Chicken

This dish was first served in 1950’s in Moti Mahal. Though the majority of Hindus does not eat meat, yet Butter Chicken is one of the most favourite and famous dishes, not only in Delhi but also all over India.

You can enjoy this delicious dish in any 5 star hotel as well as any roadside dhaba. The taste of spicy yummy buttery gravy with smoked chicken is really second to none. At first, chicken is cooked in tandoor and after that this smoked chicken is added to the spicy but yummy butter gravy.

In Delhi, if you really want to taste the best Butter Chicken, go to where it was invented. Yes, Moti Mahal is surely the best place for Butter Chicken. If you are ok with non-veg meals it is recommended to try this mouth-watering dish at least once during your trip.

Kabab & Nehari

Meat? Mutton, beef or chicken? Oh forget it, just have a bite of Kabab and you will forget everything else. If you are a non-vegetarian and haven’t eaten Kabab yet, you must be a person who does not enjoy eating meals.

Minced meat mixed with onion, garlic and few other condiments grilled and barbecued on coals tastes really yum. Rich Smokey flavour with traditional Indian spices makes the taste of Kabab’s even better.

However, Nehari is a way different item than Kababs and is really matchless in taste. Well-cooked soft beef or mutton with delicious gravy along with chopped ginger, lemon juice and fried onions takes its taste on the next level.

You can eat Nihari with roti, paratha and with naan as well. Ghalib Kabab corner and Haji Shabrati Nehari walay are the best places for enjoying the best taste of Nehari and Kababs in Delhi.

Cholay Bhaturay

A mixture of white flour, eggs, butter and semolina is a dough of bhatura (Puri). This dough becomes ready for deep frying after few hours of mixing. Spicy and yummy Cholay (Chickpeas) are served with this delicious non-sticky non-oily bread.

Cholay bhaturay, chopped sour salad and a glass full of lassi is what people consider as a traditional Punjabi breakfast. If you are visiting India for the first time, try cholay bhaturay once. And I bet you will never forget this delicious dish for the rest of your life.

If you are in Delhi and want to try the best Cholay Bhaturay of Delhi you should go to Chachay di Hatti. This small place is really better than most of the restaurants. Not only this but also you can try Baba Nagpal corner which is also famous for this awesome dish not just in Delhi but almost all over India.

Paratha

A typical desi bread made by wheat flour and butter or desi ghee. Its origin is Punjab but now you can have it in almost every corner of India. Nowadays, you can have a range of varieties in Paratha. Potato stuffed Paratha, chicken paratha, qeema (minced meat) paratha, vegetable paratha, daal (pulse) paratha and cheese paratha are few of them.

Paratha is a traditional bread served mostly in the breakfast all across India. However, food lovers love to eat Paratha in noon, evening and night too.

Well, in Delhi if you are looking for the best Paratha place, Kakay di Hatti in Chandni Chowk should be your pick. In Chandni Chowk, there is street known as Parathay wali Galee, named after this yummy meal.

Samosa

This typical Indian dish is served as a snack in India. Usually, people like to eat samosa at tea time. Triangular shaped Samosa is filled and stuffed with boiled potatoes, onion, peas and some other vegetables, while for non-veg food lovers, chicken Samosas are also available.

Hot and yummy Samosa is served with mint and yogurt sauce and mixed salad. In Delhi, Chandni Chowk is known as Food Street and you can have almost all street foods in this famous food spot.

Manohar Dhaba in Chandni Chowk is known for its delicious and tasty Samosas all over the Delhi. It is not only Manohar who is frying yummy Samosas in Delhi but Chitranjan Park is also famous for the same.

Inside Delite Cinema on Asif road Delhi, there is a place named The Maha Samosa and that is also popular for yummiest Samosas in Delhi.

Chaat

Chaat? Which one? Aalu Chaat (potato Chaat), Chana Chaat (chickpea Chaat), Fruit Chaat, Cream Chaat or Paapri Chaat (crispy Chaat)? Yes, Chaat is offered in such a host of varieties. Being one of the most famous street foods, Chaat is a delicious and yummy item.

And yes, you must know from where you get these tasty Chaats and who else Chandni Chowk tops the list? Here in Chandni Chowk, there are many food shops known for tasty Chaats like Haldi Ram’s Chaat Bhandaar, Lala Babu Chaat Bhandaar, Bishan Swaroop and Shree Balaji Chaat Bhandaar.

Well, it is not just Chandni Chowk but also you can get this tasty street food from different places in Dehli as well as India. Daulat ki Chaat is really like second to none, though he is not from Chandni Chowk but still this man is really good at serving taste.

Pakora

A fried mixture of gram flour with specific or different vegetables is called Pakora. Usually, potatoes, onions, spinach, tomatoes, paneer, chicken, eggplant, fish and cauliflower are the ingredients of Pakoras in India. On the other hand, it is said that “You name it, they made it for you”. Yes, it’s true. Name a vegetable and after a few minutes, you have a plate full of its Pakoras.

Muslims serve Pakoras as an appetizer during the month of Ramzan at iftaar. This delicious item is crispy from outside and softer from inside. People like to eat Pakora’s particularly in rainy weather and in winters as well.

So you are thinking that you can get Pakora’s from Chandni Chowk, right? Well, Chandni Chowk never disappoints foodie friends. Though there are many Pakora sellers in Chandni Chowk but few famous ones are not from Chandni Chowk like Khandani Pakoray wala, Gandhi ji Pakoray wala, Paramjit Fish Pakoray wala and Panna Laal Singh Pakoray wala.

All these guys serve some of the best Pakoras along with different sauces of mint, yoghurt and tomato. There is nothing like the combination of hot and spicy Pakoras with a cup of tea in winter or monsoon weather.

Pani Puri

A bite-size puffy and hollow, deep fried puri which is crushed from the top for filling with spicy boiled potatoes, onion, chickpeas and few other spices served with a mixture of chill sour water of tamarind and plums pulp. This is known as Pani Puri or Gol Gappa.

You won’t find even a single person in a country of 1.4 billion population, who has not tasted Pani Puri once in his lifetime. Yes, it is one of the most mouth-watering, tasty and likeable street food of India. No matter how decent and sophisticated you are, grab a plate of Pani Puri and unleash the beast inside you.

Hollow and bloated bite size puri stuffed with spicy ingredients dipped in salty and sour water and then stuffed in mouth, no words can describe this feeling. Fingers drenched with different sauces, mouth full of Pani Puri, eyes wide opened by the spicy and sour taste are some stages you go through while having Pani Puri.

But who cares? You are eating Pani Puri so be open, be shameless and be wild. Forget about manners and decency for a while and meet new you with a hand full of yummy Pani Puri’s.

This street food is crazy, this street food is fun, and this food street is yum as well. You can find Pani Puri in every city and town of India. And in Delhi, Chandni Chowk? Hell yeah! Padam chat corner and Chotay laal caterers and well known for delicious Pani Puri all over the Delhi.

Dahi Bhalla

Dahi Bhalla is the name of two different things. Dahi means yogurt which plays like gravy in this dish while Bhalla is a soaking fried flour ball. It is said that the origin of this dish is Karnatak. Well, it could be, as it is one of the traditional dishes of India.

You cannot taste the whole India in one day. Oh no, I mean you cannot taste whole Chandni Chowk in one day. Yes, if you are looking for famous Dahi Bhalla shop in Delhi, it is in Chandni Chowk again. Old Delhi is nothing but pure love, taste and real India. It is sweet, it is spicy, it is sour and it is classy.

One plate of Dahi Bhalla is quite enough for a person as a onetime meal. It is not heavy, it is not much spicy, and it is not costly. Do you know the second speciality of Chandni Chowk? No, not asking about food items. It is a pocket-friendly hygiene food with taste as well.

A bowl full of fresh sweet beaten yoghurt with Bhalla’s dipped in it along with other sweet and sour sauces and spices are really not comparable with any other dish. Where this dish have ancient history, there are many who are connected with serving this dish from generations.

In Chandni Chowk Natraj Dahi Bhallay wala serving its customers this delicious dish since 1940.

Kachori

Kachori is the tastiest and crispiest snacks of India. It is believed that its origin is Uttar Pradesh or Rajasthan centuries before but now you can enjoy this yummy item anywhere in India.

Kachori is a kind of desi deep fried patties usually stuffed with chickpeas and potatoes but now chicken Kachoris and Minced meat Kachoris are also available. No matter it is summer, winter or monsoon, grab a cup of tea and start enjoying delicious Kachoris along with yummy spicy, sweet and sour sauces.

If someone asks about the food planet on earth, yes it is India and in India, of course, it is Chandni Chowk. Jung Bahadur Kachori wala is like a taste icon of all type of Kachoris not only in Chandni Chowk but in whole Delhi as well.

But it’s not only Chandni Chowk who offers you the crunchiest snack, few more also known for their taste and skills like Fateh Chand Kachori wala. Fateh Chand is not from Chandni Chowk but it is true that from a common man to almost all politicians and parliamentarians are fond of its tasty Kachori’s.

What is behind this fame is nothing but effort and love of three generations. Yes, Fateh Chand serving its client from 1950s. It is Brij Mohan, the grandson of Fateh Chand, is running its family business and tradition of providing matchless taste.

Pav Bhaaji

It is hard to find even a single person in India who does not like Pav Bhaji. If you are a tourist than it is suggested to try Pav Bhaji once before leaving food planet. It is a simple but yummiest dish of India.

It is not India’s national food but everyone likes it like it is. The most admired and favourite street food of India is Pav Bhaji. A thick gravy of different mashed vegetables along with crispy bread, mistakenly originated in the 1850’s by some factory workers, is now served in almost every restaurant in India.

Kamla Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Model Town, Krishna Nagar and Mayur Vihar are few areas known for yummy Pav Bhaji of Delhi. Few more are providing matchless Pav Bhaji in Delhi like Bittu Tikki Wala, Imli, Bobby Tikki Wala, Shiv Tikki Wala and of course Bikanervala. They not only provide a delicious taste of Pav Bhaji but also Cholay Bhaturay, Kachori, Dahi Bhallay and Samosas as well.