Paranthe Wali Gali in Chandni Chowk - A Street in Old Delhi popular for it's delicious as well as great variety of stuffed Paranthas, which are served with flavourful curries

Most likely you have heard about famous Paranthe Wali Gali in Old Delhi, but you may not know all the realities of this street. Through this post, we will share some realities which may change your perception of the place. Idea is not to discourage or encourage anyone to visit this place for Paranthas but to ensure you make an informed decision on the basis of details shared in this blogpost. 

Paranthe Wali Gali is in Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi. I visited this place 3 times so far and for all different reasons. My first visit was mainly because of the fact that I had heard a lot about Paranthe Wali Gai and being a fan of paranthas, I had to go eat paranthas there :). and my first impression of Paranthe wali gali was not so good. In fact, it was quiet disappointing. Now let me share why I say so. After reaching at Paranthe Wali Gali, I realised that these paranthas are deep fried and pretty small in size. That was ok, but what we tasted didn't resemble with Paranthas I had eaten throughout my life :). So first experience was a spoiler for me. 

Second time, I visited Paranthe Wali Gali in a food walk lead by someone who has very good understanding of food of India and especially Delhi food. He took us to various places and in Paranthe wali gali he took us to the oldest parantha shop in this street. He recommended what to order and how to relish special Paranthas of Paranthe wali gali. That certainly helped as I was no more associating these paranthas with what I had eaten and ate them as a new dish which is served with different kinds of curries. This time, I could appreciate the legacy of the place and how these bunch of shops are carrying forward the business of their previous generations. There are some very interesting stories associated with Paranthe Wali Gali.  

The paranthas sold at these shops are unique and very different from the traditional Punjabi paranthas that are usually stuffed and then roasted on tawa. Some butter is added to make them crisper. However the paranthas at Gali Paranthe Wali are a mix of the traditional Punjabi parantha and the Bedmi poori, which is cooked not on the Tawa but deep-fried. It is served with spicy potato sabzi or curry and tamarind-banana chutney. 

Paranthe Wali Gali is one of the most famous streets of Chandni Chowk which is parallel to Dariba Kalan, which is a market famous for its silverware. Paranthas are not the only food items that make Paranthe Wali Gali so popular. 

It is believed that Pandit Gaya Prasad Paranthewala was the first one to sell paranthas here (sometime around 1870s). 

3 Most popular parantha shops in Chandni Chowk are - Pt. Kanhaiyalal Durgaprasad Dixit, Pt. Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan Paranthewala and Pt. Baburam Devidayal Paranthewala.

Pt. Kanhaiyalal Durgaprasad Dixit is considered popular for it's rabri paranthas. Apart from that this shop also offers paranthas of lady fingers, chilli & bananas. 

Babu Ram Paranthewala offers some unique varieties like Papad parantha, Meva parantha, Karela parantha, Dal Aloo parantha and Lemon parantha etc. This shop is known for serving these paranthas with Aalo-matar & Pethe ki sabzi. 

Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan Paranthewala is popularly known for serving paranthas to personalities like Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Amitabh Bachchan. 

All these shops do food preparation without onion and garlic. The paranthas boast of unusual flavours and the sweet ones are a big crowd-puller. Of course, one cannot expect a great ambience in these shops as they are pretty old and also seem to be suffering from restrictions of space and competition from newer concepts. This street is more of a heritage street now and weekends are super busy for them, although weekdays are equally busy as there are lot of markets around Paranthe wali gali.

And not only paranthas, this street in Chandni chowk also has a popular Kachoriwala - Jang Bahadur Kachori wala. I am sure there are more gems around the street.  

Winter is a good time to visit these streets of Chandi Chowk in Delhi and enjoy food delicacies of old delhi. There are various stories associated and it seems that lot of freedom fighters used to conduct night meeting in this street. many other stories of Chandni Chowk & Paranthe wali gali can be enjoyed more when you are there with someone who can tell you the tales while walking along & showing some marks of history. 

I would certainly recommend a visit to this street and try the food by not considering these breads as paranthas & enjoy the flavours.