Delhi Food Guide : More Spices Please!

I have to admit that I’m more excited about the cuisine than the places to see and what to do in a city. Especially if this cuisine is a world-renowned cuisine where you can find the restaurant wherever you go in the world… Since Indian cuisine is one of these cuisines, I couldn’t wait to try Indian food in its homeland. This article contains a very personal Delhi food guide, both the places where I decided to try as a result of my researches before, and places where we had to sit randomly out of hunger and necessity. Here’s extra spicy Delhi food guide!

Moti Mahal

I was overly relieved when we saved ourselves from the hustle and bustle of Daryaganj into Moti Mahal’s green entrance. Since we went in the afternoon, it was kinda empty. Moti Mahal is pretty old inside, the walls are pink, chairs are like your grandparents’ house. 🙂 The staff are very nice, they set our table quickly.

Moti Mahal is the first restaurant in the world which cooks butter chicken. There are restaurants in the city with the same name, but I suggest you to see the one in Daryaganj. We ordered butter chicken, basmati rice and garlic naan and requested no spices so that it doesn’t get too spicy! Even if you specify, the food is extremely spicy. Warm naan bread with butter chicken made me forgot the fork while I was eating. I can tell you now why the Indians eat with their hands. Don’t forget to try naan bread with the green coriander sauce. After dinner we ordered chai masala, and this was my first one in India. I really love this tea. ❤

We paid 530 rupees for two and left with a very happy tummy.

Address: 3704, Netaji Subhash Marg, Old Dariya Ganges, Daryaganj, New Delhi

Tamasha

At the end of the first day, I went back to Connaught Place and met my friends here. CP is the heart of nightlife in Delhi. Tamasha is a large place including both pub and restaurant. I didn’t eat anything special here, just an English classic fish& chips and other snacks. What made Tamasha beautiful was watching people dance with their own dance moves later in the night with Indian pop music. Then I joined them, learned a few dance moves and had a lot of fun!

Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters

Fresh coffee and yummy breakfast, best way to start the day. When we arrived to Saket after a long uber ride , I didn’t find what i expected. Uber driver left us in a place with ruined houses. I was walking nervously and suddenly I saw graffiti. Then cozy cafes started to appear. And we finally saw it! I couldn’t get enough of taking pictures at Saket. If I go back to Delhi one day, I’ll definitely come to Saket.

Let’s talk about breakfast. We ordered classic omelette and pancake. Omelette is served with sautéed mushrooms and toast, and pancakes with bananas and chocolate. They’re all delicious… When I ordered my cappuccino, I did something I would never do and told it to be sugar-free because my Indian friends insisted that coffee in India was just sugary and syrupy coffee. And then I was embarrassed because these guys really know how to make coffee, and we’re talking about a place where they’re brewing V60s, chemex, etc. We paid 485 rupees for breakfast and coffee and we left with a happy tummy again!

Naturals Ice Cream

The one I can’t forget about Delhi. It’s number one on the list of my favorite ice cream spots in the world! I tried ice creams that grow in a tropical climate and make ice cream from fruits that are not in Turkey. I’ve tried two branches of Naturals but it has many branches in the city. I still can’t forget the ice cream from the kala jamun fruit. Make sure that you try Naturals Ice Cream.

Yeti – The Himalayan Kitchen

That’s where I met real Indian spices. We ordered tomato soup and vegetable momo at Yeti on Hauz Khas. The soup was a different dimension of pain, I couldn’t continue after a spoon… Momo wasn’t bad, but not like Turkish manti! I left a little bit hungry from Yeti and learned to think twice before trying Himalayan food again…

Hauz Khas Social

Hauz Khas Social is where we spent the evening. You pay a fee for entry and it includes a drink. It’s not a concept I love very much, but it was fun to watch people dance with Indian music. I was wearing local Indian clothes that day, and since no one came to have fun at night in those clothes, I was looking kinda strange but now it’s a good memory 🙂

Chaayos

After my culture shock in Old Delhi, when we threw ourselves into CP, we went to Chaayos for a quick breakfast. I ordered scrambled eggs with buns and chai tea.

Ardor

On my last night in India, we went to this restaurant at Connaught Place for a nice farewell. We ordered a vegetarian thali, where different dishes are served in tiny portions. I loved the different interpretation of the legumes and vegetables we always ate with spices and sauces, everything was delicious. That was an unforgettable farewell to Indian food.

This is the end of my Delhi food guide. If you go to Delhi and eat& drink through this guide, I’m sure you’ll come back with very positive thoughts about Indian cuisine. Enjoy it!

Click here for my first impressions from Delhi.

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