Every cuisine video worth watching in Delhi — in one place

What Delhi cuisine looks like

Delhi eating splits across three tiers that creators converge on. At the top is the white-tablecloth Mughlai tradition — Bukhara at the ITC Maurya serves Northwest Frontier food and is the restaurant where Bill Clinton and others have eaten, with bills running around 6,000 rupees for two [via India Travel Planning]. The cause-and-effect here matters: Moti Mahal, also in Delhi, is where butter chicken and dal makhani were invented in the 1950s, which is why the city sets the global template for what travellers call “Indian food” [via Gordon’s Best Moments]. The middle tier is the Old Delhi institutions — Karim’s near Jama Masjid, the galouti kebab shops of Zakir Nagar around Eid, and the multi-generational paratha alley off Chandni Chowk [via Trying Delhi’s Best]. The bottom tier is street food: chole bhature, pani puri, jalebis and lentil dumplings, eaten standing up with clay cups of chai.

The “Gordon’s Best Moments In India” segment is the most useful single video for understanding why Delhi food matters — food critic Sema Chandra walks Gordon Ramsay through Moti Mahal and is blunt that what’s served as “Indian food” abroad bears almost no resemblance to what’s cooked here, a corrective worth watching before the restaurant videos. Combine it with the “INDIA’S GOLDEN TRIANGLE” food-tour video, which walks the Old Delhi street stalls with a guide who’s pre-vetted them — the safer way for first-timers to try the unfamiliar end of the menu. Ramsay for the framing, the food tour for the practical eating order.