Dhaba in Delhi– a place for chai, parantha and more…

Anyone who has spent the college life living alone in Delhi will know the importance of Dhabas in our lives.

For those who don’t know, Dhaba is the Hindi term for road side restaurant that sell anything from a light snack to a midday meal to cigarettes to hearty meals. At times they have a place to sit, they home deliver, car-deliver and you can take food on the go. They are economic, fresh and quickest option available. These are the places which Google doesn’t tell you about or Zomato doesn’t rate. However, these are the places where a good portion of youth of Delhi spends their evenings, having their meals and bonding with friends.

Having spent eight years in Delhi, I have had my share of Dhaba food that has helped me survive on the days and nights when PG food was bad, maid didn’t turn up, didn’t feel like cooking, no money to party big, alone and hungry, didn’t want to get out of the car to eat, wanted to eat Indian, watching diet but some too hungry, late night hunger pangs, etc. (my reasons to have food from Dhaba are endless)

 There are several preferences of Dhaba too. There are a few that deliver at my current place, there was one near my PG when I shifted when I came to Delhi first and there are few where I like to re-visit every now and then.

Dhaba opposite IIFT campus is one of them. It provides us one of the best dal and roti when my roomie and I are hungry and have no mood to cook. Add a chai to the meal and we are happy people. It also serves Maggie and other things but the dal and roti is our favorite.

Rajma-rice, Chole-rice, kadhi-rice are the part of staple diet for many Delhites. My favorite stop when I crave for these is the dhaba near Shivaji Stadium in Connaught place. Especially since this place is open till late night it is one of the best hang-out joint post parties.

Paranthas at a sudden plan, a dhaba near Nizamuddin Railway station or Moolchand metro station are the destination. These places serve one of the tastiest paranthas in town.

If you have got time and you want to go for a long drive (consider it really long), try to go to Sukhdev dhaba at Murthal. It is beyond the borders of Delhi in Haryana and is a famous spot for Delhi.

There is a long list of my Dhabas (I am a foodie), but these are my favorite. Feel free to add to the list by commenting.

(Posted under UBC-Day 5)