Now, if like us you were excited to try lots of Indian food but terrified of Delhi belly then I would recommend nothing more than a Delhi food tour. We just felt so much more content with trying food recommended to us by a Delhi expert!
We were invited to take the Old Delhi Food Crawl & Spice Market Tour with A Chefs Tour and it was honestly the best thing we did during our time in the city. After food poisoning early in to our trip in Thailand I was super nervy about eating any street food and had pretty much avoided doing so for a good three months. So you know, why not dive in at the deep end with Delhi food tour.
Delhi is an immense assault on the senses. One that we perhaps didn’t find as daunting as we could have, as we landed in Kolkata and travelled through Varanasi before hitting up the capital. I mean don’t get me wrong, it was still crazy full on but the initial culture shock had already started to wane.
Like I said, I’m so glad we did the food tour, our guide Gajendra and his younger brother were so lovely and so informative not only about the food but they answered all our questions about the city and were just genuinely great company. There’s no way we could have navigated Old Delhi without them though, those alleys are a maze. We’d have just gone straight back to our hostel and watched Netflix. Doing the tour meant that we got to try so many foods that we wouldn’t have otherwise. Not only did we learn so much about so many tasty dishes but we also knew where to find them again on our own!
So, how does the tour work? Well, we arranged to meet Gajendra just outside of Chandni Chowk metro station in Old Delhi. We were in contact via WhatsApp so this was super easy. You then spend 4 hours navigating the labyrinth of Old Delhi hitting up the best food joints. I heartily recommend a very small breakfast before the tour as you will be trying 12+ dishes and will need rolling back to your bed afterwards.
From the best paneer butter masala and pani puris to obligatory cups of lassi and the most delicious jalebi, you will get to try soooo many dishes. All whilst learning about the cities history and culture. If all that food isn’t enough, you’ll also stop at a beautiful Sikh temple – Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, where you have the chance to see the most impressively efficient chapatti making operation and discover how the community of volunteers feed 30,000 people for free every single day. Your tour will end with a climb up to the top of the old spice market where you can grab a cup of chai and take in the views over Delhi.
If I remember correctly, we got to try 11 different dishes as one of them was not available, as we were in Delhi during a religious holiday. We got to try a variety of dishes that were both sweet, savoury and some a little spicy. Oh and just so you know all of the dishes were vegetarian friendly! So now for the food, I’ve put some photos below of some of the dishes we sampled with a little description for a taster of what you can sample on the tour. What was also great was that there was no pressure if we didn’t like something there was no problem and for the things we loved, Gajendra ordered more and more until we were done.
Dahi Vadas (I hope all of my descriptions are accurate here) but these were a batter made from lentils soaked in yogurt topped with pomegranate and tamarind sauce. I was very apprehensive about the sweet/savoury combo here but it was actually really good!
Lassi, a staple yogurt drink served in traditional clay pots to enhance the flavour.
Jalebi, deep fried batter dipped in sugar syrup – my favourite!
Dolat Ki Chaat, a super light and fluffy dish infused with saffron.
Paratha, unleavened flatbreads stuffed with a variety of fillings, we went for the mixed veg and paneer, they also come with lots of dips and sides as you can see Gajendra explaining to Josh here.
Green chilli pakora, deep fried chilli served with a coriander dip – I thought this was super hot but Josh was adamant it wasn’t!
Genuinely the best Paneer Butter Masala we had during our two months in India and equally the best Naan we have ever eaten!
We also tried Carrot Halwa a sweet milk soaked carrot dish and finished the tour with Paan which is a betel leaf filled with cherry syrup and spices.
If you are heading to India and are keen to try street food then I would 100% recommend booking a Delhi food tour with A Chefs Tour, you won’t regret it. They also have other India tours operating in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Want to read more India content, then read all about our Homestay Experience in Rural Rajasthan, or if you are heading to Agra to see the infamous Taj Mahal then I have all the tips in this post.
Thanks as ever for reading, Abbie xx
Awww! This all looks so yummy. I would definitely prefer to have a guide to navigator the food scene in such city.