Famous Cuisine In Delhi

Delhi Cuisine is as diverse as the nature of people living in the city. Delhi has lots of options in terms of food as one can get a feel and taste of food from all over the country and the world in the various food outlets in the city. However, the true flavour of Delhi is known from the authentic and delicious Mughlai cuisine that the place has to offer. This was originally the most favourite place of the Mughal Emperors who were the inventors of the lip smacking Mughlai cuisine, the hallmark of Delhi. The ingredients made to make the food and the food itself is a package suitable for the royals. The exotic fragrance, curries that have generous dollops of butter and cheese, rich dry fruits and meat cooked in deep tandoors, make the food taste absolutely divine.

Punjab has a huge influence in the cuisine of Delhi, mainly because of the geographical location of the state and because Delhi is home to lots of Punjabis who have settled down. Typical of Punjabi cuisine, Delhi cuisine too has started to use generous dosages of butter, cream, ghee etc. There are people from various cultures who have made Delhi as their abode; therefore, the Delhi cuisine contains traces of many different cultures and languages.

Chinese cuisine too has gained deep inroads into the city as it is the toast of roadside vendors across the streets of Delhi. The peculiar ingredients and the exotic taste of the Chinese cuisine has a huge fan following all over Delhi. Most of the restaurants contain Thai and Italian cuisines as well, and these are equally loved by the Delhi public, as they are game to try the different types of food available here.

The Punjabi Cuisine - The Most Famous Delhi Food

The main highlight of cuisine in Delhi is that the chefs here alter the international cuisines like Chinese, Thai, Lebanese, Italian, Indonesian, Mexican French, Moroccan, Israeli , Swiss and many more types and do mix and match of these cuisines to cater to the diverse tastes of people of Delhi. The Punjabis, by nature, are more than willing to try out different types of cuisine in their standard recipes.

In the earlier days, till about the 1940s, people from traditional Hindu families would never eat outside as they were not sure about the cleanliness of food or the caste of the cook. Traditional Hindu Brahmins ate only food cooked by Brahmins. Even Kshatriyas and kayasthas and other castes were reluctant to eat out.

During the time of Independence, lots of Punjabis sought refuge in Delhi during partition and one Punjabi family opened a small food outlet near the Red Fort, selling Tandoori and Mughlai cuisine. There has been no looking back ever and the seeds for eating out sown during this time have turned into a big time fashion today.

Mughlai Cuisines in Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk is a market in Old Delhi. Old Delhi was initially known as Shahjahanabad as this place was originally founded by him. Old Delhi is dominated by Muslims and this area serves some of the best Mughlai cuisines in the world. Karim’s, Babu Khan’s close to Jama Masjid, Kallu’s Halim close to Gali Chitli Qabar and Nalli Nahari close to Ballimaran are places that serve authentic Mughlai cuisine and it has been tasting the same way for centuries now. Most of the people who run these famous kitchens are young generation members from the family who worked in the Royal Kitchens once. This place should be given full credit for waving the Mughlai cuisine flag high up, undeterred by the onslaught of the Tandoori cuisine in other parts of Delhi.

Bazaar - The Traditional Eating Joints of Delhi

There are lots of roadside eateries in the market area that sell some heavenly delicacies. This place is often jam packed and if you are not one of the early visitors you might have to stand while you eat.

The Paranthewali Gali is the most famous place in this market area. The paranthas made of bread and without yeast, is believed to have originated in Punjab, but it has been made in Delhi since time immemorial. The point that proves this point is that Mughal emperors themselves were served these Parathas with stuffings of egg, chicken or mutton. This unit is managed by three families who have perfected the art of making Paranthas and who have been in the business for many generations now.

Snacks Speciality

Haliram’s or Bikaner’s in Chandni Chowk are the perfect places to indulge in some snacks that are salty and tingle your nerves. Many tourists visit this place and buy large packets of these salty snacks while going back home. The sweets that are sold here are very delicious but their shell life is a maximum of couple of days. The syrup filled sweet, limratis and the milk and cream flavoured rasmalai are some of the sweets one must sample while at Bikaner’s. For tasting Bengali sweets there is no other better place than Halidram’s.