Gali Paranthe Wali

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Gali Paranthe Wali, also called Paranthe wali Gali, is a narrow street in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, famous for its paratha shops. Chandni Chowk was created in 1650 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and designed by his daughter Jahanara Begum. The lane used to have silverware shops, and paratha shops began arriving in the 1870s. By the late 1960s there were about 20 paratha shops, all from the same family, but today only three remain: Kanhaiyalal Durgaprasad Dixit (established 1875), Dayanand Shivcharan (1882), and Baburam Devidayal Paranthewale (1886). The area was nicknamed Paranthewali Gali by 1911.

In the years after India’s independence, leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit visited for parathas. The 1980s saw many shops close, but the street is now reviving, with some shops run by the sixth generation of the same family. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar used to live here, and Flight Lieutenant Tapan Kapoor, who died in a 2013 rescue operation, was also a resident.

The dishes are cooked without onion or garlic, as the owners are Brahmins and many customers are Jains. Parathas come with fillings such as cashew, almond, peas, rabri, khoya, cauliflower, and mixed varieties. They are served with sweet tamarind chutney, mint chutney, mixed vegetable pickle, paneer and potato curry, potato with fenugreek, and a sweet pumpkin mash. Sweet lassi in clay cups is a specialty of the area.