Every region of India cooks differently, and you could spend a lifetime eating your way around the country. On a volunteer trip, you don’t have to. Delhi draws cooks and recipes from every corner of India, and Jaipur has a kitchen all its own, so between the two you can taste a remarkable range without leaving your project city.
Our volunteer meals are vegetarian, and so are most of the dishes below, or they come in a vegetarian version. Here are eight to look for.
1. Chole bhature, Delhi
A Punjabi favorite that Delhi has made its own: spicy chickpea curry (chole) with puffed, deep-fried bread (bhature), sliced onion, pickle and a green chili on the side. It is a filling breakfast or lunch, and every Delhiite has an opinion about where to find the best. Share a plate the first time.
2. Parathas in Old Delhi
In Chandni Chowk, a narrow lane called Paranthe Wali Gali has been making parathas for generations. Here the flatbreads are stuffed with potato, paneer, cauliflower, radish or even sweet fillings, deep-fried in ghee and served with chutneys, pickle and a potato curry. Away from Old Delhi, a hot aloo paratha with a pat of butter and a bowl of yogurt is the classic North Indian breakfast, and host families in Jaipur often make them.
3. Chaat, Delhi
Chaat is the family of tangy, crunchy, spicy snacks that Delhi eats on the street. Try papdi chaat (crisp wafers topped with potato, chickpeas, yogurt and sweet and sour chutneys), aloo tikki (fried potato patties), dahi bhalla (soft lentil dumplings in yogurt) and golgappe, hollow shells you fill with spiced water and eat in one bite. Every neighborhood swears by its own stall.
4. Momos
These Tibetan and Nepali dumplings have become one of Delhi’s favorite street snacks. Order them steamed or fried, filled with vegetables, paneer or chicken, and dip them in a fiery red chili sauce. For momos in a Tibetan setting, head to the colony at Majnu ka Tilla in north Delhi.
5. Biryani, Old Delhi
The lanes around the Jama Masjid are known for the rich cooking that grew up around the Mughal court: biryani, with rice and spiced meat layered and slow-cooked in a sealed pot, kebabs straight off the grill, and nihari, a slow-simmered stew traditionally eaten in the morning. Vegetarians can find vegetable biryani all over the city, along with dal makhani, black lentils cooked slowly with butter and cream.
6. Dal baati churma, Jaipur
Rajasthan’s signature meal: hard wheat rolls (baati) baked until crisp and dipped in ghee, served with a thick mixed-lentil dal and churma, crushed baati sweetened with sugar or jaggery. Break the baati into the dal and eat with your hands. Order gatte ki sabzi, gram-flour dumplings in a yogurt curry, and ker sangri, a tangy dish of desert beans and berries, alongside it.
7. Pyaaz kachori, Jaipur
Jaipur starts its day with pyaaz kachori, a flaky, deep-fried pastry stuffed with spiced onion and eaten with tamarind and mint chutneys. Its partner on the menu is the mirchi vada, a large green chili stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in gram-flour batter and fried. Follow the queues to the busiest sweet shops in the old city in the morning. During the monsoon, look out for ghewar, a honeycombed disc of fried batter soaked in syrup.
8. Lassi and masala chai
Cool down with a lassi, yogurt whipped with sugar or salt and often topped with a thick layer of cream; the lassi shops on Jaipur’s MI Road serve it in clay cups. And everywhere, all day long, there is masala chai, tea brewed with milk, sugar, ginger and cardamom and sold for small change from roadside stalls.
Eating street food safely
- Choose busy stalls where food is cooked fresh in front of you and served hot.
- Drink bottled or filtered water, and skip ice and raw salads from street stalls.
- Give your stomach a few days to adjust before you try everything at once.
- Eat with your right hand, as people do here.
For more advice, read our tips on staying healthy in India. In Delhi, the hostel serves no meals on Sundays, so that is the perfect day for a food walk through Old Delhi; in Jaipur, your three meals a day are included, and there is still plenty of free time for kachori and lassi. Questions? Email info@volunteeringindia.com.