If you are looking for paranthas...

If paranthas are what you are looking to try when you are making your way through the narrow bylanes of Chandni Chowk, it’s a must to keep in mind that the small food outlets that are hidden aw­ay, is wh­ere best food is often found.

As you make your way through the Gali  Paranthe Wali, the variety of parantha shops engulf you and before you know it, you are in love. Metrolife visited the famous Pt Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan paranthe wala and spoke to its owner Manish Sharma who claims that his shop is the oldest parantha shop there. “The history of paranthe wali gali goes back 140 years. We started our business in 1872 and we are the sixth generation in this line,” says the proud owner.

The list of the visitors to the shop counts amongst its customers the likes of late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, whose pictures are displayed in the shop. Not only that, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar also has tasted the famous shop’s wares. Besides, the continous stream of customers proves the shop’s popularity which actually has long queues of people waiting their turn patiently.

While the shops serves regular stuffed paranthas of Aloo, Gobhi, Green Chilli and Mixed which are hugely popular, a must try is the delici­o­us rabri parantha which is the latest addition to. “We put dry fruits like kaju and ki­s­hmish and then deep-fry the parantha,” shares Manish.

“During my grandfather’s time, there used to be only five types that were served – mainly dal, besan, methi, aloo and saada or plain parantha. But now, we have around 20-25 types, which include rabri, papad, badam and hari-mir­ch,” shares Manish. You can also enjoy the kela parantha, nimbu parantha, pudina parantha and tangy tomato parantha.

They are all are served piping hot in a thali with chutneys, pickles, kele ki saunth, and aloo-mutter ki subzi. “We easily sell around 400-500 paranthas every day and earn about Rs 10-15,000 on an average, per day,” discloses Man­ish. The range starts from a very basic Rs. 40 and goes up to Rs 55, a pretty good reason to gather huge crowds.