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Paranthe Wali Gali




There is no other better place to try out fried wheat bread varieties in Delhi than the famous ‘Paranthe Wali Gali’. This literally means the street of fried bread. One can find this narrow street in the busy Chandni Chowk area of Delhi and it is dominated by streets that sell delicious fried wheat breads or parathas. One can find a huge number of parathas being sold here.

History

Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest landmark destinations of Delhi which was set up as early as 1650 and the entire credit for establishing this market goes to the great Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. The prestigious Red Fort was also built along with this market.

From 1650 till about 1870s, this market was predominantly filled with shops that sold silver goods. However, during 1870s, parantha shops slowly started occupying most of the place in the streets. Amidst all the silverware and textile shops, the first parantha shop was set up by Pandit Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan Paranthewala Shop.

The Paranthe Wali Gali is the first of its kind in the world and the delicious paranthas being sold here made this place a benchmark for other similar outlets in other places of the country and the world. The success of Paranthe Wali Gali influenced the Mela Restaurant in the UK and the “Only Parathas” chain in Mumbai.

During 1960’s, there were around 20 parantha shops set up in this locality, all by the same family. Of these 20, today, visitors can see three outlets that are still functioning today. They are: Pandit Kanhaiyalal Durgaprasad Dixit set up in 1875, Pandit Dayanand Shivcharan set up in 1882 and Pandit Baburam Devidayal Paranthewala set up in 1886. This area was addressed by many names like Chota Dariba or Dariba Kalan before it finally came to be known as the ‘Paranthewala Gali’.

The taste of the paranthas were so delicious that great people like Jawaharlal Nehru, Vijayalakshmi Pandit and Indira Gandhi came to the Pandit Dayanand Shiv Charan shop to have their parantha meals. Today, there are lots of renovations going on in this area and some of the parantha shops have closed now. Only few shops still remain and their rich family legacies from 18th centuries are being carried forward today. A famous personality who used to live on the Paranthe Wali Gali was Hindi film actor, Akshay Kumar.

How to Reach

Chandni Chowk is an area that can be easily reached by buses operating from major parts of Delhi like the Interstate Bus terminus at Kashmere Gate, Sarai Kale Khan and Connaught Place. There are also auto rickshaws, taxis and cabs to this place. The nearest metro station is Chandni Chowk.

Food

This place was set up by traditional Brahmins in 18th century. Therefore, the food served here is vegetarian, till date. In addition to this, due to huge presence of Jains in the locality, most of these outlets do not even include onion or garlic in their cooking. Paranthas with stuffings of cashew, badam, green peas, khoya, cauliflower, potato etc. are a huge hit among the people who frequent this place. The side dishes that accompany these paranthas like the green chutney, mint chutney, pickles made from assorted vegetables, tangy tamarind chutney, mixed curry made from potato, fenugreek and paneer etc. are equally delicious and they complement the paranthas very well.

Drinks

While at Paranthe Wali Gali, one must never miss out tasting the delicious sweet lassi that is served in big Kulhars to the people who come here.

OUR PLANING

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