i simply love Delhi. I love Delhi for all the things this ancient capital has to offer. I love Delhi because of its vividness. Throughout centuries, people from all walks of life and all corners of India came to Delhi in search of something better; better bread, better shed and a better life. They have settled here, formed little colonies of their communities but followed their cultures and traditions of native places. Rajasthani, Assamese, Bengali, Tamils, Kashmiri, Gujrati, Punjabi; you will find every folks here. As the years passed, this vividness spread in the bylanes of Delhi and now you can see it best in the food culture of Delhi. Food, thats the one thing I love most. So obviously, Delhi is a paradise for a food freak like me. Old Delhi (popularly known as Delhi 6) is famous for North Indian cuisines and offers a wide range of delicacies in both vegetarian and non vegetarian food.
Late august, I was in Ghaziabad. This happened to be the holy month of Ramzan. I always wanted to stroll down the maze of crowded lanes across the glittering colourful evening bazaars of Old Delhi. Being in NCR and at such a perfect time of Ramzan, I said to myself I cannot miss this opportunity. I decided to make a half day trip to Old Delhi to satiate my taste buds. That day before leaving for Old Delhi, I made a huge mistake. My uncle had thrown a pizza party and pizzas are one thing I can never refuse. I ate WELL.
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| Cheese Burst out of Dominos Country Special !! |
After party, I asked my uncle about quickest mode of transportation between Ghaziabad and Old Delhi. He suggested me that I should go on a local train (EMUs). With Rs 3 spent on one way ticket, it was the best deal ever. I took a 3pm EMU to Old Delhi. It reached in good 35 minutes. I walked out of the platform and only to find that I don’t know where to head next. My first landmark was Sheeshganj Gurudwara. I asked local people for directions but everyone seemed to be unaware of the place. I looked back to the Railway Station entry gate- yes, it read ‘Old Delhi Railway Station’. It was somewhere near railway station 10 years ago when I was here :D, then where the heck this Gurudwara has moved !! I decided to go by intuition and started walking on main road. I was thirsty. I went inside a grocery store, asked for a bottle of water and enquired about directions towards Gurudwara. He told me- “Yaar yahi bagal mein toh hain. Bas 100 meter aage isi road par hain”. I was relieved, I was back on track. In a minute or two, I was standing infront of famous Gurudwara. I took a left and kept moving until I reached Old Baptist Church. Just opposite to the church, there is shop of Old Famous Jalebi Wala. This shop make the best Jalebis of Delhi, all cooked in Desi Ghee. A single piece of jalebi comes at price of Rs 30 and if you want to buy a kilo you will have to shell out Rs 300. But its worth the price. And did I tell you, it was established in 1874 and holds the title of oldest jalebi shop of Delhi. They also sell their trademark samosa (Rs 10/ piece). I didn’t give it a try. I ate one piece of jalebi and clicked some pictures.
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| Oldest & Best Jalebi of Delhi. |
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| This is how Jalebi is made. |
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| The final red hot product- Jalebi dripping in Desi Ghee. |
While I was clicking pictures, a guy came towards me and asked me which newspaper I work for. I told him I am a traveller and trying out different cuisines. He shot back, “Are you from Lucknow”? I think he recognized my accent. That nice fellow was also from Lucknow, after a casual talk I bade him goodbye and carried towards my next destination – “Gali Paranthe wali”. Less than 5 minutes of walk and I was standing in the middle of a slender lane filled with smoke and dotted with shops selling paranthas. I entered into a shop named ‘Shiv Charan Paranthe Wale’. They are in business since 1872 AD and hence the oldest shop of Gali Paranthe Wali. They sell paranthe with fillings such as Seb, Neebu, Kaju, Karela, Bhindi, Mewa, Kishmish etc etc. You can have any filling of your choice from their list of over 25 different fillings. Parantha is generally served with 5-6 different types of chutneys, sabji and pickles. I took my seat and ordered a Aloo parantha. Walls were adorned with framed pictures of famous personalities and celebraties who have visited this shop. Seems like its long time favourite of Nehru – Gandhi family. Aloo parantha arrived in a minute. Taste was okay-ish. Infact it was nothing close to what I had expected. May be it is because I have been eating paranthe everywhere I go. A word of caution for diet conscious people, paranthe are generously deep fried.
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| Shiv Charan Paranthe wale. Estd- 1872. |
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| This is how world famous Paranthe are made. Deep fried :D |
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| Aloo Parantha |
I came out, payed the bill, clicked some farewell shots and started walking towards my next destination – Jama Masjid which is good 2-3 kms from Sheeshganj Gurudwara. I think there is a shortcut for reaching Jama Masjid which I missed (Why does it always happen with me?). Anyways, I reached Jama Masjid. Adjacent to Jama Masjid, there is Meena Bazaar.
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| Panoramic view of Meena Bazaar |
It is a nice market selling all girly stuff, groceries, wooden works, carpets, fruits, snacks etc. There were some stalls selling beef kebabs and biryani. I was tired. I climbed up the stairs of Jama Masjid, took off my shoes and walked inside the Mosque courtyard. Along the perimeter of courtyard, there are balconies, all occupied by Muslim women who were reciting holy Quran and offering prayers to the Almighty. Ramzan it was !!
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| The Mighty Place of The Almighty !! |
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| Jama Masjid- Dilli 6. |
After spending some time, I came out, took my shoes from the old man who was looking after visitors’ footwear. He looked at my camera and told me that the entry fee for camera is Rs 250 and I have violated the entry rules. I smiled and asked him to show where it is written to pay entry fee for camera. I think he was prepared for this question, he told me that there was an information board earlier but now it has been moved for repainting. I told him that I have been to Jama Masjid almost a dozen times and never paid camera fees. Poor old man was running short of reasons, he gave up. I guess he was enamoured by my $ 140 Nike shoes and misunderstood me as a rich NRI. I paid him Rs 5, strapped on my shoes and walked downstairs, took a right turn, then again a right turn and I was on Matiya Mahal Road (my next stop). There are numerous famous restaurants, bakery shops, snacks stalls, deserts corners etc etc. Both sides of road were occupied by stalls of biryani degs (deg: big vessel), shahi tukra, kheer, halwa, roasted chickens and fish cutlets, samosa, bujiya, chilly pakore etc. World famous Karim’s, Tunday Kebabs and Al Jawahar Restaurant; all three are situated next to each other along this road. I decided to step in Al Jawahar.
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| Al Jawahar Restaurant. |
Its my personal favourite and I am a big fan of their Chicken Jahangiri and Malai Gosht. This time I wanted to try something different, so I ordered a chicken biryani. It was close to the best biryani I have ever eaten (Wahid’s, Lucknow is best). Every ingredient was in perfect proportion.
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| Al Jawahar’s Biryani |
Though paying Rs 120 + taxes for half plate of Chicken biryani was a bit on higher side but biryani was perfect, it was worth every penny spent and I was pleased. But I repented on my decision of eating pizza earlier in the day, had my stomach not filled with pizza, I would have also tried some other delicacies. It came out and headed towards one of the Shahi Tukra stall.
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| Shahi Tukra |
I ordered 100 grams of Shahi Tukra, it was very hot and very delicious. They make it with desi ghee. I don’t remember the name of the stall and I don’t remember how much I paid for it, I was in a hurry to reach my last stop of the day- “Kuremal Kulfi” in Bazaar Sitaram. I spent over 45 minutes asking directions, getting lost, again asking directions and getting lost again. It was very frustrating but finally my efforts were rewarded. I reached the shop of Kuremal Kulfi Wale.
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| Kurelmal Ki Kulfi. |
They offer about 20 different types of Kulfis, most popular among them is their Rabri Kulfi. It was not in the stock, so I ordered a Mango Kulfi. It was very good, if not exceptional. All flavours are priced between Rs 20 to Rs 50. I paid Rs 35 for mango kulfi. I was full up to my throat so I called it a day. I hired a rickshaw to drop me at railway station. I was stuck in notorious jam of Old Delhi. After 30 mins I was at railway station, running towards platform. Luckily, train was late. I caught another train which was about to leave, reached home late. An evening well spent.
: Summary :
Old Famous Jalebi Wala.
Address- Infront of Baptist Church, Near Sheeshganj Gurudwara, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-6.
Cost- Rs 30/ piece of Jalebi, Rs 300/ Kg | Rs 10/ samosa.
Pt. Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan Paranthe Wale.
Address- Gali Paranthe Wali, Near Sheeshganj Gurudwara, Chandni Chowk, Delhi- 6.
Cost- Rs 30, Rs45.
Al Jawahar Restaurant.
Address- Matiya Mahal Road, Near Jama Masjid Gate No. 1, Old Delhi.
Cost- Kebabs starting from Rs 40, Maincourse from Rs 90-200.
Shahi Tukra Shops.
Address- Small outlets/stands dotted along the road sides near Meena Bazaar and Matiya Mahal Road, Jama Masjid Gate No. 1, Old Delhi.
Cost- Rs 20-30.
Kuremal Kulfi Bhandar.
Address- Kucha Paati Ram, Bazaar Sitaram, Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi.
Cost- Rs 20- Rs 50.
