Guides ·Food & drink

Old Delhi: the densest cheap eating in India

Start at Chandni Chowk Metro station on the Yellow Line and eat your way west. Natraj Dahi Bhalle Wala does lentil dumplings in whipped yoghurt for about ₹80 and equally good aloo tikki. Shree Balaji Chaat Bhandar nearby serves kulle chaat and papdi chaat at ₹70–₹120. Paranthe Wali Gali's surviving stalls, chiefly Pt. Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan, plate a stuffed paratha with four accompaniments for ₹80–₹150. Jalebi Wala at the Dariba Kalan corner fries thick ghee jalebi at ₹60–₹100 for a portion.

Behind Jama Masjid the food turns Mughlai and stays cheap. Aslam Chicken on Matia Mahal sells a half plate of butter chicken tikka for around ₹300, enough for two with roti. Qureshi Kabab Corner does seekh kebabs at ₹40–₹60 a piece. Karim's, the famous name in Gali Kababian, has plates from ₹250 and a mutton stew that is the best value on the menu. Winter mornings bring nihari at ₹150–₹250 from Matia Mahal counters, served with khameeri roti from 07:00. Two people can eat across all of this for ₹500.

The chole bhature circuit

Delhi's most efficient calorie-to-rupee ratio is chole bhature, and Sita Ram Diwan Chand on Chuna Mandi in Paharganj is the benchmark: ₹90–₹130 for two enormous bhature and a bowl of spiced chickpeas, served from about 08:00 until it sells out, often by mid-afternoon. There is no ceremony, seating is cramped, and the queue moves fast. It is a five-minute walk from Ramakrishna Ashram Marg station on the Blue Line and the single best breakfast in Delhi for the money.

Alternatives worth the trip: Bengali Sweet House in Bengali Market near Mandi House does a lighter version at ₹150–₹200 alongside excellent sweets and a good chaat counter. Chache Di Hatti near Kamla Nagar, in the university district, serves the student-scale portion for ₹120. Nand Di Hatti and Kwality in Connaught Place both plate a restaurant version at ₹250–₹350. Order lassi at ₹60–₹100 rather than a soft drink, eat the pickled carrots, and write off any plan for lunch.

State bhavan canteens: unlimited thalis under ₹350

The government guesthouse canteens are the best-value sit-down meals in the city. Andhra Bhavan on Ashoka Road serves an unlimited vegetarian thali at around ₹250 — rice, sambar, rasam, three vegetables, pickle, curd, papad — with chicken or mutton curry added for ₹150–₹200. Turn up at 12:00 rather than 13:00 unless you enjoy queues. Kerala House on Jantar Mantar Road does appam and stew, fish curry and beef fry for ₹120–₹250 in a plain dining hall a short walk from Connaught Place.

Karnataka Food Centre in Sector 4, RK Puram, is the insiders' pick: idli, vada, kesari bath and bisi bele bath at ₹60–₹150, served until the pot is empty. Bihar Niwas plates litti chokha, Sikkim House does thukpa and momos, and Nagaland House serves smoked pork with bamboo shoot to those who can arrange entry. These are canteens — steel plates, shared tables, cash preferred, no alcohol, and often no English menu. Weekday lunch is the reliable window; many close by 15:00 and reopen briefly at 19:30.

Momos, Tibetan food and Majnu ka Tilla

Momos are Delhi's default street snack, sold from carts everywhere at ₹50–₹100 for a plate of six with fiery red chutney. The good versions are found where the Tibetan community lives. Majnu ka Tilla, the Tibetan colony north of Civil Lines, is a warren of narrow lanes with restaurants doing thukpa, thenthuk, laphing and steamed and fried momos for ₹100–₹250 a dish, plus butter tea for the curious. Ama Restaurant and Rigo are the usual recommendations. Reach it via Vidhan Sabha station on the Yellow Line, then an e-rickshaw for ₹20–₹30.

For a Delhi-hybrid version, Dolma Aunty Momos in Lajpat Nagar has been frying momos from a roadside counter for decades at ₹60–₹120 a plate, and the queue on a winter evening runs down the pavement. Hunger Strike in Satya Niketan and the momo stalls around North Campus feed students at similar prices. Order the chutney separately if you are heat-sensitive; Delhi momo chutney is genuinely fierce and is the entire point of the dish for regulars.

Rolls, kebabs and cheap South Delhi standbys

The kathi roll is the great Delhi walking dinner. Al-Kauser on Kautilya Marg in Chanakyapuri sells kakori and galouti rolls from a roadside counter for around ₹250, no seating, and it is arguably the finest ₹250 in the city. Khan Chacha in Khan Market charges ₹250–₹400 for a mutton seekh roll; Nizam's Kathi Kabab in CP's H Block runs ₹200–₹350. Rajinder Da Dhaba in Safdarjung Enclave does mutton seekh, fish tikka and chicken malai at ₹250–₹450 a plate to a permanently packed pavement crowd.

For vegetarians, Sagar Ratna in Defence Colony plates a masala dosa for ₹180–₹280, and Saravana Bhavan on Janpath does the same. Bille Di Hatti and Kake Di Hatti in Old Delhi serve enormous naan and paneer dishes for ₹200–₹350. Wenger's in Connaught Place sells patties, quiches and chicken puffs over the counter for ₹60–₹150 — the cheapest possible way to eat in CP standing up. Indian Coffee House on the terrace of Mohan Singh Place still charges under ₹150 for a dosa and coffee with a rooftop view.

Sweets, drinks and the ₹100 afternoon

Delhi's sweet shops are cheap and enormously varied. Old Famous Jalebi Wala at the Dariba corner, Ghantewala's successors, Kaleva near Bengali Market and Bikanervala across the city sell rasmalai, gulab jamun, sohan halwa and barfi at ₹300–₹700 a kilo, which means ₹40–₹80 buys a couple of pieces. In winter, gajar ka halwa appears everywhere at ₹80–₹150 a portion, and Chandni Chowk trays sell daulat ki chaat, a saffron milk foam whisked overnight in the dew, for ₹60–₹100.

Drinks: a cutting chai from a street stall is ₹10–₹20, a lassi ₹60–₹100, fresh sugarcane juice ₹30–₹50, a nimbu pani ₹20–₹40, and a bottle of water ₹20. Filter coffee at Indian Coffee House is under ₹50. That means an entire afternoon of grazing — chai, chaat, a sweet and a lassi — costs under ₹250 a person and is the most enjoyable way to spend an unstructured Delhi day. Carry ₹10, ₹20 and ₹50 notes, because nobody at these prices can change ₹500.

Eating cheaply without getting ill

Turnover is the only hygiene rule that matters. A stall with a queue is cooking fresh and serving hot; an idle stall with food sitting out is not. Prefer anything fried, griddled or simmered in front of you over pre-cut fruit, standing chutneys and salads washed in tap water. Eat at the busiest hours — 08:00 to 11:00 for breakfast food, 12:30 to 14:30 for thalis, 19:00 to 22:00 for kebabs — which is also when the food is best. Watch what the person ahead of you orders.

Drink only sealed bottled water at ₹20 a litre and skip ice from street carts, though ice in established restaurants and hotels is made from filtered water and is fine. Carry hand sanitiser and oral rehydration salts, sold at any chemist for around ₹20 a sachet. Build up gradually rather than starting your first afternoon with the fieriest chaat in Chandni Chowk. And carry small notes and use UPI QR codes where they are displayed; increasingly even ₹20 chai stalls accept them.

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