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Where to Get Best Kebabs in Delhi - Best Kebab Shops in Old Delhi
A couple of weeks ago, me and some of my friends decided to eat out some kebabs in Old Delhi, which were recommended to us by one of our friends. We started our travel by taking the metro to the Chawri Bazar Metro Station. Getting down there, we walked towards Jama Masjid which was hardly a 5-minute walk from Chawri Bazar Metro Station. Walking in the backlanes of Jama Masjid on the right side, we found a lane which goes to Chitli Qabar Road. Chitli Qabar Road is famous for various types of small food shops including the famous food joint Karim Restaurant of Old Delhi. Also as you enter that road, there is a restaurant which comes on the left by the name of Jawahar Restaurant. Right after this restaurant is a small street that comes turning left from the main lane. When you will peep in this small street, you will see the complex of famous Karim Restaurant’s. At that time, we all decided to give Karim's a miss and instead try out other delicacies of Jama Masjid. A few steps ahead of this lane were lots of milk shops, good for a glass of excellent lassi (yogurt based drink). Walking a few steps ahead, approximately 300 to 400 yards from the beginning of the lane, we came to a masjid on the left side with signs for Dujana House. Right next to this masjid sits a Kebab-Farosh (a small kebab shop with a sign in Urdu). This kebab seller (Kebab-Farosh) sells 3 to 4 types of kebabs, but you must ask for the special sutli kabab (Rs. 6 each). Sutli kebabs are so succulent and soft that they need to be held together by wrapping a thread, i.e., a sutli. But you must be beware of the sauce he serves with the kebab as it is too spicy and hot. Then again, this gives you a great excuse to eat some delicious good phirni (sweet recipe) at just Rs. 10 from one of the many small shops in the lane on your way back.
We now left Jama Masjid and headed back towards Chawri Bazaar Metro Station from we came to this place. From the Hauz Qazi Chowk (where the Chawri Bazaar Metro Station is located), a road connects to Lal Kuan Bazar (market). Just walk down this road for about 200 yards and you will come to a huge building on the left with signs for Hamdard Dawakhana (medicine store). Right opposite Hamdard Medicine Store, i.e., on the right, opens up a small street by the name of Gali Qasim Jan. This is the street where the famous shayar (poet) Mirza Ghalib used to have lived for approximately 10 years. You will need to go another 300 yards into the street to reach the haveli of Mirza Ghalib which has been taken over by government of Delhi since 1999 and renovated as a memorial to this great poet.
If you need fortification before heading to Ghalib’s manzil (place of Ghalib), you MUST stop right opposite to Hamdard Dawakhana. Just on the left of the entrance to Gali Qasim Jan, there sits Ustad Moinuddin selling deliciously yummy kabaabs for a meager Rs. 6 each. Just miss them to your own loss!
On your way back to the Chawri Bazaar Metro Station from Gali Qasim Jan, stop as soon as you come across an Old Cinema Hall. A few steps ahead you will find the shop of Bade Mian who is a maker of delectable kheer for just Rs. 25. Everyone around this place knows Bade Mian’s Kheer Shop though it is very small and is usually missed. What is the better way to end a gastronomic travel than to savor some truly great rice pudding (chawal ki kheer), caramelized to light brown perfection.
We all went on a Sunday and at night. Going in the evening or night is best because the Kebab Farosh mostly opens his shop only at night and at a time when most other shops are closed, tiny food joints like Bade Mian's and Kebab Farosh are easier to spot.