Warning: Don’t miss out on these best food items to try in Delhi. Pamper your taste buds with an extravagant culinary treat with dawat-e-dilli.
The city celebrates food, all year round. Party is a regular feature here, owing to its flavorsome famous Delhi food items. Here, I am partaking in the celebration of Delhi’s culinary fare. Welcome to this food extravaganza. It’s Daawat-e-Dilli!
Being a food enthusiast, I follow the mantra – “Eat, savor, crave for more, and repeat.” To add a cherry to the cake, Delhi is the homeland that provides me immense opportunities to pamper my taste buds. No wonder, I have visited almost every nook and corner of this metropolis (I still do) and have gorged upon famous delectable delicacies served here. Enjoying numerous culinary treats that fill this city with their aroma, I am familiar with cuisine variety, adding flavors around. My friends keep asking me about places to eat and I am a food guide to them. So today, I take the opportunity to be your food guide as well.
The Best 15 Food Items to Try in Delhi
Here I am sharing my food fetish with you. Check out spicy street food, drool-worthy desserts, favorites of Delhi-ites, and many more varieties that tickle your flavor tangs. These are the dishes that you must try when you are in Delhi.
1. Delhi Street Food
You can’t resist Delhi street food. If you do, you have missed out on the top flavor delights of this metropolis. The must-includes in your street food of Delhi list are the food items below –
- Golgappas– Puffed, crunchy spheres, stuffed with spicy filling, and brimming with spice-infused flavored water, golgappas can be eaten endlessly. Some hotels also serve vodka-filled golgappas. Quite a fusion! I can’t resist quoting the already famous tagline here, “No one can eat just one”.
- Dilli Chat- An exceptional combination of potatoes, spices, and chutney; this is a mouthwatering delight.
- Chhole kulche/ bhature– Soft, crisp, puffed deep-fried bread is served with delicious chickpeas, cooked in selective spices. Filling and delicious!
- Chinese comestibles- Hailing from the neighborhood, dimsums, thupka, chili potato, noodles, manchurian, and fried rice have become the order of the day. Hungry? Hit a stall nearby to satiate your hunger pangs with these tasty food items.
2. Mughlai Treats
Delhi has been the home to Mughals for centuries. No wonder, the Mughal impact is evident on its food variety that comprises some of the most popular dishes in Delhi, India. Treat the foodie in you with these appetizing food items –
- Rolls – Hungry, but on your toes? Grab a roll. Bread stuffed with grilled chicken, minced meat, omelet, cottage cheese, veggies, and various food items and rolled, serves a delicious and filling pick on the go.
- Kebabs- Ah! Juicy, exotic flattened balls or rolled ones made of minced meat or veggies. These are served with onion rings, chutney, sour cream, or mayonnaise. Irresistible!
- Paratha- Stuffed breads with potato, cottage cheese, cauliflower, egg, chilies, chicken and the list is endless. Think of stuffing and it will be on your platter. Are you visiting Chandni Chowk? Don’t miss the Parathewali Gali to gobble these stuffed breads.
- Biryani- Who can resist the aroma and flavor of basmati rice cooked with handpicked spices, saffron, and clarified butter to create a magical affair? Biryani is one such scrumptious dish that hails from the times of Mughals and has continued to tempt foodies for centuries. Vegetarian or non-vegetarian, this is a symbol of culinary craftsmanship of the Mughal chefs that is celebrated till date with enthusiasm. Truly drool-worthy!
3. Sweet Tidings
If you have a sweet tooth, you would be craving desserts after every meal. Fortunately, the city offers a wide menu of these sweet sinful savories! Try from these Delhi famous sweets.
- Rabdi- Here I fall short of words and go yum! The thick consistency of milk, sweetened with a generous dollop of dry fruits! Have a mouthful and be transported to flavor paradise.
- Jalebi- Concentric circles dipped in sugar syrup to soak it and savored hot! A superb breakfast!
- Kulfi- Sweet lollies blessed with flavors like pista and badam, and sprinkled with dry fruits. Licking a creamy, flavor-enriched stick was never so pleasing.
- Gulab Jamun- Balls of cheese cottage, deep-fried and soaked in sugar syrup can make everyone salivate! Team it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Heaven!
- Gajar Halwa- Carrot grated and cooked with clarified butter, sugar, milk, and dry fruits. A blessing in disguise of a dessert. Two thumbs up!
4. Culinary Fusions
Indian delights presented with a delicious twist from the West. Celebrate food fiesta with these fusions, which are among the top 10 famous dishes of Delhi. By amalgamating traditional Indian flavors with that of the West, chefs treat you to a unique gourmet experience. An innovative initiative to food culture, these fusions spoil you for choices that make their way to the best food items to try in Delhi.
Throughout my food tour in this city, I realized, being ‘India ka dil’, Delhi caters to the palate of every Indian. Apart from the delicacies mentioned above, regional flavors like Bihari, Awadhi, South Indian, Konkani, and the lavish Kashmiri Wazwan are sure to offer a whale of time to the epicureans.
It is next to impossible to wrap up the fine dining of Delhi in a few words. The city also brings culinary fare from across the continents to your platter. It goes without saying that owing to the desires of people to enjoy flavors from different parts of the planet, the city is home to various thematic, ethnic, and specialty restaurants.
Culinary offerings such as Japanese, Italian, American, Oriental, Pan-Asian, Thai, Mexican, French, Mediterranean, and many more make you go slurp and savor. Already drooling? So am I. Signing off this time, so that I can visit more dining outlets of the city and return with more excerpts of revelation regarding tempting Delhi food. Stay tuned!
