Gali Paranthe Wali is located in Chandni Chowk, which was established in 1650 during the reign of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, and designed by his daughter, Jahanara Begum.[3] Previously, this lane was known only for its silverware shops, before the Parantha shops moved in, starting in the 1870s,[4][5] though many sari and jewellery shops remain.
Of the 20 parantha shops in the late 1960s (all belonging to branches of the same family),[6] three remain: Pt Kanhaiyalal Durgaprasad Dixit (established 1875), Pt Dayanand Shivcharan (established 1882). Pt Baburam Devidayal Paranthewale (established 1886). By 1911, this area, known as Chota Dariba or Dariba Kalan, got the name Paranthewali Gali. In the years just after independence, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit came to take their parantha meals in this gali.[7] In the late 1980s many of them closed shop and moved out, though today the street is experiencing a revival and some shops are being run by the sixth generation of the same family.
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar used to live in the area.[8] Flight lieutenant Tapan Kapoor of the Indian Air Force who martyred in a rescue operation at Uttarakhand on 25 June 2013 was also a resident of Paranthe Wali Galli.[9]
Cooked dishes do not include onion or garlic, since the owners are Brahmins,[clarification needed] and traditionally their clientele has included Jains in the neighborhood. Varieties include exotic fillings like kaju, badam, matar, Mix Paranthas, rabri, khoya parantha, gobhi parantha, and parat parantha.[10] The parantha is always served with sweet tamarind chutney, mint chutney, mixed vegetable pickle, paneer and potato curry, potato and fenugreek curry, and a sauteed mash of sweet pumpkin.
Being there in Northern part of the country for around 6 years has taught me to not to be shocked to see Parantha prepared with anything and everything that is edible! I have had some weirdest and yummiest Parantha over there in Delhi and I am not talking about the parantha from the famous Paranthe wali Gali but the homemade ones. Well, now that I have mentioned the name of the iconic Parantha place; I have to mention that we now have a miniature of the same in the city of joy thanks to Rahul Arora. One fine afternoon (last week in fact) I received a call from Rahul "see I am going to share something confidential"( Errrrr why confidential and why me! I mean I know he can make some damn good cake and I have been there in Bon Appetite several times but that has nothing to do with him! Okey he made Mehebub's birthday cake and we had a riot over the last piece of that obnoxiously good cake at my place but why he wanted to share something confidential with me!). However, what I finally understand from Rahul's call that he has opened a place dedicated to Parantha in Kolkata and that is confidential! Hmmm, what better can you expect from a Punjabi by the way (meanwhile in my mind; total "laddu phuta"). Rahul's call ended with a detail (a very important one in fact) that they will be having 40 types of Parantha there at Paranthe Wali Galli!
One fine afternoon (last week in fact) I received a call from Rahul "see I am going to share something confidential"( Errrrr why confidential and why me! I mean I know he can make some damn good cake and I have been there in Bon Appetite several times but that has nothing to do with him! Okey he made Mehebub's birthday cake and we had a riot over the last piece of that obnoxiously good cake at my place but why he wanted to share something confidential with me!). However, what I finally understand from Rahul's call that he has opened a place dedicated to Parantha in Kolkata and that is confidential! Hmmm, what better can you expect from a Punjabi by the way (meanwhile in my mind; total "laddu phuta"). Rahul's call ended with a detail (a very important one in fact) that they will be having 40 types of Parantha there at Paranthe Wali Galli!
Okay, now let me share the drama part. I lost because I was busy talking to somebody while I was in the cab and ended on calling Rahul several times to get some help with the direction and finally reached at the Paranthe Wali Galli after office and was fully exhausted! Then! the colors, the memes, and those colorful Kettles and the earthen bowl filled with Deshi Kala logence! Well by that time I was charged and that was even without having the Parantha! However, my paranthe wali evening started with Hajmola Tea (I actually had two portions of it) followed by rajma filled Phuchka, The Golgappa Bomb as he named the dish! Then next item served was the Olive Jalapeno Parantha and I damn was happy with the portion a lot but Rahul then came up with two types of sweet parantha! Errrrr but I don't like sweet parantha; I almost told him and that too with Motichoor filling and another one with a feeling of Khowa and Gulkand! But to my surprise, I ended on having both and as much as I remember I was creating some "umm" type sound while having the Gulkand and Khowa filled Parantha.
What I heard from Rahul, the menu is having various types of Lassi, different Golgappa, a spread of Chicken Wing and Paneer as well apart from Parantha. One thing I should mention about the Paranthe Wali Galli and for that matter all the food joint and cafe run by Rahul is the price range. He probably specialized in serving tasty food in the budget range.
I have always wanted to visit this paranthe wali gali, just to eat fresh paranthas there. After seeing how they are fried in ghee, I think I will just stop with seeing the gali, no sampling for me, thanks!
Great pictures!
Hi,
I presume this delicious galli is somewhere in/near Chandni Chowk? I must visit it with my friend when I go to Delhi next.
Have you tried the American Diner on the ground floor of the Habitat Center? Good quantity (has to be if it is Delhi) and the music reminds me of my college days of the 70's.
cheers,
kiran srivastava
mumbai
Super Babe,
Brahmins and Jains avoid onion and garlic as a religious tradition. Jainism is an ancient Indian religion, noted for nonviolence. Ghee is butter with the fat solids removed. It burns at a higher temperature than butter, so it's good for frying.
This title looks very funny
i think , that gali should be filled with a wide number of paranthe walas
i avoid this kind of stuff because acidity problem arises when i eat oily stuff. so i would not like to visit this gali.
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When I visited Chandni Chowk, I was curious to visit the "Paranthe Wali Galli' as it is much sensitized by TV shows.
When I went there, I was dissappointed to see condition of the street. Its stinking all the way. The legendry Paratha shop owners remain busy collecting money and have not bothered to renovate the interrior. Enter any shop (they are scanty hardly 3-4.. and I wonder why the whole street has been named after them..its really missleading)and you will generally find in the front area itself, a dirty man preparing paratha..its all mess around him..You might wish to ask him "when did you take bath last.?" (I couldn't digest the purpose of this exposure)
You Have to virtually make your way to get inside these shops.. the sitting arrangement remains too clumsy. Generally they offer you sticky wooden benches and outlived marble top table.
Beware..if you take time watching menu for another dish, its all likely that you find a cocroch feasting upon your Paratha..!!
One has to suspend here, ones sense of higene etc.
This is surely not a place to visit again.
Frankly speaking, many road-side Dhabas serve better parathas than what you are offered at this place.
As I came out of the Galli, I realized.."Naam Bade aur Darashan Khote..!!"