Quintessentially Indian Dishes and Where To Eat Them in New Delhi

A classic North Indian breakfast dish, paranthas are layered, fried flatbread, often stuffed with potatoes, cauliflower, or other hearty veggies and served with yogurt. Try the deep-fried version at the Paranthe Wali Gali in Old Delhi.

Another popular way to start your day in Delhi is with a hearty serving of chole bhature, spiced chickpeas (chole) served with a type of airy, deep-fried flatbread called bhature that’s best enjoyed straight from the fryer. Another variation of the dish, chole kulcha, is also a popular snack; the key difference between the two is that the latter trades out the bhature for kulcha, a soft leavened flatbread made from white flour.

Where to try chole bhature in Delhi: Chole bhature is easy to find at breakfast restaurants and street food stalls across the city, but one of the most famous places to try it out is at Bhogal Chat Bhandar in Central Delhi’s Janpath neighborhood.

If you want a quick and easy snack while you’re out and about exploring Delhi, aloo tikki is the answer. This classic street food is made of shredded potato patties that are deep fried and then doused with spiced chickpeas and heavy helpings of both tamarind and cilantro-mint chutneys.

Where to try aloo tikki in Delhi: While you can find this savory snack all over Delhi, one of the most famous spots to sample it is BTW in Kamla Nagar.

Also commonly known as golgappa, pani puri is a popular street food consisting of crisp, bite-sized, thinner-than-paper puffed balls made from whole wheat (atta) or semolina (suji) flour. These balls are stuffed with spiced potatoes and pulses and then filled with spiced water and a bit of sweet tamarind chutney—to eat them, you pop the whole thing in your mouth at once.

Pani puri are widely available at street food carts across the city, but be careful about where you buy them; some vendors use water of questionable origin. (If you’re interested in exploring Delhi’s street food scene but are worried about finding places that are safe to try, consider joining an Old Delhi food tour.)

Where to try pani puri in Delhi: Your safest bet is to get them from a brick-and-mortar snack shop or a restaurant like Adyar Ananda Bhavan in South Delhi's Green Park Market.

While many of Delhi’s culinary delights are vegetarian, there are also plenty of meat-based specialties available across the city. Kebabs—meat skewers that are generally coated in spices and, sometimes, yogurt before being roasted over a coal fire—are extremely popular among Delhi’s meat-eating residents. Chicken and mutton (which usually means goat meat, not sheep, in India) are the most popular base ingredients. But most kebab shops also roast up paneer (soft Indian cheese) kebabs for vegetarian diners.

Where to try kebabs in Delhi: For an authentic kebab experience, head to Ghalib Kabab Corner in the Nizamuddin West neighborhood.

If you've been to an Indian restaurant anywhere in the world, chances are high that you've seen samosas on the menu. These triangular pastries consist of wheat flour stuffed with a savory filling (more often than not is a mix of peas and spiced potatoes) and fried until crisp. You can dip them in tamarind or cilantro-mint chutney or crack them open and douse them with chutney and chickpeas.

Where to try samosas in Delhi: Samosas are another ubiquitous snack, but one of the most famous places to source them is from Bangla Sweet House in Central Delhi’s Gole Market.

Perhaps Delhi’s most celebrated contribution to Indian cuisine, butter chicken is a heavy dish consisting of chicken that’s been marinated and then roasted or baked (often in a type of oven known as a tandoor). The cooked meat is served in a rich gravy made from butter, cream, tomatoes, and lots of fragrant spices. This dish is so popular that it’s made in Indian restaurants and homes all over the world; if you want to learn to make it for yourself, sign up for a cooking class, one of the best Indian food experiences available.

Where to try butter chicken in Delhi: This is a mainstay on menus across the Indian capital, but the best place to try it is at the Moti Mahal Restaurant in Old Delhi’s Daryaganj neighborhood, where it was invented.

Popular across India, biryani is a fragrant blend of rice and spices slow-cooked with meat and/or vegetables. Although biryani is more commonly associated with the South Indian city of Hyderabad, this quintessential Indian dish is also well-loved in Delhi.

Where to try biryani in Delhi: One of the best places to try it is at Karim’s near Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid; they’ve been dishing out this fragrant delight for over a century.

Kulfi falooda is a sugary dish that combines two sweet elements: The base is kulfi, an extra-creamy style of Indian ice cream that is often flavored with pistachio or saffron. This is topped with falooda, gelatinous vermicelli noodles that are often soaked in rose syrup.

Where to try kulfi falooda in Delhi: Try this sweet treat for yourself at Krishna Di Kulfi in Central Delhi's Pandara Market, a few blocks from India Gate.