The Top Spots in Delhi for an Indian Breakfast

When it comes to street food, smart travellers follow the crowds into the tangled Medieval lanes of Old Delhi for the city’s best portable feasts. In the Chawri Bazar, famous for brassware, cooking pots and paper, Shyam Sweets is legendary for both its lip-smacking ladoos (Indian sweets) and its bedmi poori (fried, puffed-up bread made with wheat and urad lentil flour, and served with a spicy potato side for dipping). Four generations of chefs have guarded the family recipe, which includes dried red chilli and cumin.

Stuffed parathas – layered flatbreads infused with ghee – are what sets the Punjabis up for the day, and Delhi has a whole street dedicated to this beloved morning feast. Tucked away in the maze-like bazaars south of Chandni Chowk, Paranthe Wali Gali is lined with buzzy eateries specialising in parathas stuffed with everything from green chilli to nuts and bananas. PT Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan at No 34 is a favourite among old-town residents, with a full menu of fillings.

Tucked away in the tangle of lanes linking Old Delhi with the traveller hang-out of Paharganj, Sita Ram Dewan Chand is a one-hit wonder in food terms, but the chole bhature (chickpeas with fried maida-flour bread) here is so good that most people wouldn’t think of ordering anything else. The bhatura (fried leavened bread) is crisp and puffy, and not too oily, and the chole (chickpeas) are carefully spiced, leaving a fresh taste on the palate. There are no chairs, so just order and eat standing up at one of the counters. Ask for a well-prepared lassi (Indian drinking yoghurt) to wash it down.

Legend has it that Mughal armies marched into battle on a breakfast of nihari – a rich lamb stew slow-cooked overnight, with bone marrow adding extra vim to the gravy. It’s the perfect breakfast to set you up for the daily battle with Delhi’s traffic. Delhiites swear by the version served at Karim’s near the Jama Masjid, one of the city’s most old-school Mughlai eateries. The first plate flew out from the kitchen in 1913, using generations-old family recipes, and residents still love to drop in for a plate on the way back from Friday prayers at the city’s most famous mosque.

While haleem is a Hyderabadi dish, Delhiites have taken this rich, meaty stew of lamb and ground pulses and grains to their hearts, particularly in Muslim districts of the city. Traditionally, people eat haleem at the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, but residents now seek it out year-round at hole-in-the-wall canteens such as Purani Dilli on Main Road in Zakir Nagar, south of Nizamuddin. The measure of this centuries-old dish is the consistency, and at Purani Dilli, the haleem is silky smooth and satisfying, with just the right balance of spice and bready wholesomeness.

With Amritsar just down Grand Trunk Road, it should be no surprise that Amritsari kulcha (fluffy, slightly leavened bread) is eaten with gusto in Delhi. Rustic Kulcha Junction, just yards from the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara on Hanuman Road, serves a crowd who demand authenticity. It’s an eat-and-go kind of place, with plastic chairs on the roadside, and the tasty kulchas – crisp on the outside, light on the inside – are slathered with butter and served with curried chickpeas and chutney.