It’s true. We men don’t ask for directions.
A couple months back, having heard one too many recommendations for Sitaram Dewan Chand’s Chhole Bhature, I googled their address, found the rough location on an online map, and went down to Paharganj. I reached the street I was looking for, but despite driving as slowly as the traffic behind me allowed, couldn’t spot the shop. I could’ve stopped and asked just about anyone, but no sir, I’m a man.
Then on a cold November afternoon, with humility that came from being utterly famished, I made a second sortie to Paharganj. This time, I pulled over next to an old rickshaw-wallah, and queried him about Sitaram Dewan Chand. His eyes lit up, “Saab, it’s just a few shops ahead, on your right. It’s very good — people come from as far as Ghaziabad to eat Chhole Bhature here!” My 25 km daily commute must have left me looking distinctly underwhelmed at this fulsome praise, for his young friend promptly raised the stakes, “Even people from Pakistan come to eat here!”
Sitaram Dewan Chand’s shop is a small affair, but with the facility of tables on the pavement outside, at which you can stand and eat. Of the three Chhole Bhature places we have as yet reviewed on this site, it is the only one which serves the stuff at the time I landed there — about four o’clock. The odd timing however meant that the bhature came reheated from a pre-fried stack covered by a muslin cloth. I have since been there once more, again at the between-meals hour of 3pm, and again had to make do with the reheated fare. The kulche are actually made in another location they own just a few shops down the street.
The purist would regard serving reheated bhature as sacrilege, and there is no doubt that mine were a little rubbery from the treatment. Hence I am not yet in a position to comment on whether Sitaram’s fresh bhature are quite as soft and fluffy as those at Nagpal’s. But they certainly trump Nagpal in the taste department. For one, the bhature are even more liberally stippled with paneer shreds. But that is not all that makes them so special — it is also the fresh coriander, and the variety of spices (including fennel, pomegranate seeds, and others that I couldn’t unravel) that are mixed into the flour.
Of course, the zesty chhole, served with green chillies and onions, are a favourite in of themselves. I saw several people get platefuls of them bagged to carry home.
Were it not for the inconvenience of plying through Paharganj traffic, Sitaram Dewan Chand would probably be my first choice for Chhole Bhature in Delhi. Until, of course, I find something even more delicious!
Location: The address is 2246, Chuna Mandi, Paharganj. This is on the street (technically, “Rajguru Marg”) which connects The Metropolis and Imperial Cinema to the big Desh Bandhu Gupta Road. The shop is on the ground floor of the building which houses Hotel Chanakya. Approximate Map Location.
[Update: April 21, 2009] They have recently also opened a branch at M.D. 2, DDA Market, Pitampura, New Delhi 88 (near Muni Mayaram Jain Hospital).
Timings: 8am to late afternoon.
Prices: Rs. 24 for a plate of two paneer kulche, with accompanying chhole and pickles. [Updated April 21, 2009]
been there long time back (when eating was not a passion 😀 ) and yeah u r right when u say that we can count it as one of the best chole bhature in town……btw its not that tough to reach……metro is near by 🙂
btw i like the way u started the post, great starting and quite apt also 🙂
Well, you have a lot more to discover in Chhole Bhature Scene of Delhi. I had Bhature at Sitaram once, but I guess that was in Sadar bazaar.
Try Gupta Ji in Main bazaar, couple of good vendors in Dev Nagar as well. Another one is Ramesh OR Aaojee opposite Shadi pur depot..
Keep on eating !! Long way to go before you find the best one.
@shahshank
Ramesh is not that good any more…….it used to be great when we were in college (7-8 yrs back) nowdays the quality has gone down………..but it still dishes out better than other places………
all this talk of chole bhature took me to sitaram again today morning (luckily i was in that area cuz of work)
i saw a guy getting 10 plates packed for his home in ahemdabad…….some following……..
@shashank
sorry for mis spelt name…….if i am not mistaken, you are on indiamike also, right ?
good to see you here 🙂
@hemanshu
forgot to mention……..even at 11:30 am today, they were reheating the bhaturas………they have another place nearby from where they get all the bhaturas and then reheat them at the main shop………
Need to find out when they actually make it right there ………
Nice writeup and a very good blog for food lovers.. first time here
Sitaram is good, though I wont rate it as the best. One might try Chole Bhature @ Odean Sweets, Gole Market (close to the ICICI ATM), which isnt very far from pahar ganj. I would rate them above Sitaram. There is also one Sharma ji at Karol Bagh but sadly i dont rem the address.
PS: Please add some pics in the post.. about the place the food the people out there. Makes the post even better.. wont u agree?
@Lalit: Thanks for the suggestions. We try and take photos on our EOiD outings whenever we can. Do check out some of the other posts too.
And may I compliment you on the beautiful photographs on your blog? 🙂
Hemanshu Kumar
You did not write about the Alu that Sita Ram Gives with his Chana , which use to be my reason to go there.
Now I am miles away but can still droll thinking about Sita Ram’s Alu and Chana Bhatura.
Hemanshu, great write up. And I’m amazed at the chholey-bhaturologist conference right here on your comment space – everyone seems to be hitting the best possible recommendations for chholey bhaturey in Delhi.
Deepak: Ramesh opposite Shadipur Depot isn’t good anymore? Bummer – I had their chholey bhaturey a while back. Not as good as Sitaram, but definitely worth a try.
Lalit – High five for the Odeon recommendation! I used to work in Gole Market and ate the Odeon chholey bhaturey at least once a month. The aloo with their chholey bhaturey is just amazing.
As for Sitaram, I really liked it when I ate there once, but if I had to rank my favourites, then I’d rank them in the following order –
1. Roshan di Kulfi
2. Chacha’s in Kamla Market
3. Odeon
4. Sitaram
@Thalassa and Lalit: I went to Odeon Sweets yesterday to try out their Chholey Bhature.
They were good — certainly far better than the average, but I don’t know, somehow I wouldn’t put them in the same league as Chacha’s, Nagpal’s, or Sitaram. The Bhature have paneer, yes, but are nowhere near as flavourful as Sitaram’s or Chacha’s, or as soft as Nagpal’s. The Chhole are good, but unexceptional. And the green chutney I found distinctly bad.
The best part though, was finishing off the meal with some piping hot gulab jamuns from the shop 🙂 (even though those too were a little too sweet to be truly great)..
But I guess taste, by definition, is subjective.
Hmm…. interesting. Odeon sweets used to be amongst the more favoured choices for me some five years back,and I still somewhat remember the taste.Sad that they might’ve gone down in taste,as Hemanshu suggests.
Anyway, my vote’s for Om Corner, Karol Bagh. Much better than the more famous Roshan, and surprisingly lighter too. Chacha’s bhaturas, with every passing visit, seem to be getting smaller and smaller, and the Bhaturas anyway have never been his speciality. The Chhole still are lovely though.
Highfive @ Thalassa
@Hemanshu
Well since taste is subjective I wouldnt argue.
About this place in Karol bagh which i mentioned in my earlier comment… I am having doubts whether it is Sharmaji or Om as Shashank Khandelwal mentioned.
I was at Seetaram today and they did not serve Khattey Alu. The alus were in the chana which was lipsmacking as always. The Bhaturas are always served heated here and never straight from the fryer. Should make it a point to ask them. But I guess everyone enjoys themselves so much that they forget to ask anything at all.
I was in Sadar Bazar for some work yesterday. Went to a very famous place called Nand di Hatti. They make Chhole Bhatures in pure ghee. They were decent, not comparable to the rest of the places we’ve discussed here, but a decent option if you’re in that part of town and not going to Ashok Meat Wala…. 🙂
For somebody who has had Sitaram’s bhaturas since childhood, this post was a nice discovery. Though the quality has somewhat declined over the years (esp. in the stuffing section), I guess they still appeal to many.
@Gopal, you are right in saying that the Bhaturas over there are always heated and served.
hehehe@ men don’t ask for directions!!!
The aloo this guy serves are a hot favourite of a little girlie I know… and mine as well 😀 MUST TRY!
I don’t know about the bhaturey, but your writing is just the right kind! Would love to be in touch. cheers.
Thanks so much for the compliments, Madhavan! Do keep checking back and leaving your comments on the site!
@shashank
can you please write the exact location of Nand di hatti…
However Sita ram stands ahead of all the chole bhature i had,surely the aloo with the chhole is outstanding..If someone visits the shop in the morning then you can have soft bhatura’s..
Second i will recommend Om ke bhature..its there in paharganj and one shop in Prashant Vihar,pitampura..its over by 1 in the afternoon and in the mrning you have to stand in a Q for atleast 40 minutes with a token in ur hand..but 25 Rs is worth ( good stuffing ) and aloo also in the chhole..
Subhashish,sorry for replying late.Hadn’t checked the blog for a while.Nand di hatti is very close to Gali Matke Wali.Eeveryone there knows that place.
IF any body passing through karol bagh , don’t forget to visit irresistable om corner.
Sitaram is one of the oldest Chhole Bhature place in Delhi. It has been more than 50 years that I have been eating at his place. His bhatura’s are made differently and so are heated before serving. I remenber having a plate of bhatura for 10 paise.
Other bhatura’s cannot be reheated. Anyway there is one more shop in the vicinity called Radheyshyam bhaturewala. This is in Amritkaur market opposite New Delhi railway station. Radheyshyam is no more but his sons are carrying on the family business.
Odeon sweets is equally good. I do not think any other place in delhi compares with these three. I tried Nagpal but was not impressed with his chhole. Gole hatti was once very good but not anymore.
I accidently stumbled upon this site and am really impressed with the foodies around. Keep it up.
Hey foodies
try out the Kwality restaurant at CP for his simply mindblowing Chholas while bhaturas are just ok..he loses out by not stuffing in paneer into bhaturas..
Another rocking place is just behind Videocon towers,Jhandewalan…amazing stuff….keep oiling those arteries man…hee hee !!
sitaram dewanchand are the grand daddys of chholey bhature. as everybody has pointed out, they re heat the bhaturas…umm never good for the purists…but the chholey is lipsmacking…have tried nand di hatti, nagpal, haldiram and sitaram to name a few…sitaram scores very high…incidentally, my driver also gets to taste these chholey bhaturas and he also feels that sitaram is the best . he did says there was another place in rana pratap road…need to check that one soon. hopefully.
cheers!!!
ANOTHER GREAT CHOLE BHATURE WALE
There is a family (3-4 people) serving chole bhature and kulche on bicycles in Chawri Bazar & Nai sarak Area…..they are in the market between 12-5 pm….they carry a large container of chole on the front of cycle….and a small live tawa on the back carrier….bhature/kulche are in a large bag on the handle……piping hot…..what distinguishes them from the rest of chole bhature walas is the simplicity in taste of their chole……its hard to describe….they are spicy, yet mild in taste….little garam masala unlike others, but a predominant flavour of cinnamon…..appearance is different…comes with a thick carrot pickle……very nice…..but tough to catch them…..
I think you all are not aware that sitaram’s bhaure are always reheated and never served fresh. They are good but i thing chole bhature of Radhey shyam chole bhature are the best as they are served fresh and hot. You should try them sometime…shop no.7 Amrit kaur market, Near new delhi railway station
Hi,
I am visiting Delhi very soon…I spent my whole childhood there and crave for chhole Bhature from Om can someone please give me the complete postal address of this place as I have forgotten how to get there and now that Delhi has developed so much to get there I would have to rely on taxi/metro.
The most awful Chole Bhature that I have had. The owner and the staff highly arrogant. Bhature prepared hours before and reheated before being served. The chole too oily to put in any class but disgusting. Even after asking the owner and staff doesn’t provide paper napkin. Better have Chole Bhature from any roadside vendor.
I’d rather have chole bhature piping hot than this cold , rubbery tasteless version. I think the better Chole Bhature person is Nand’s in Sadar Bazaar. Haven’t eaten it recently but I bet it’s still better than anything Paharganj can ever offer.
Paneer bhature is something you’ll find very easily in almost every part of delhi and trust me they’re all delicious alike. Paneer bhature with dark spicy aaloo chhole and carrot pickle and raw onions. Best I’ve had so far were corner sweets, ramesh nagar opp post office. This is one place which serves fresh chhole bhature throughout the day, you’ll never have to eat reheated ones. If you happen to drop by, do try their lassi and hot gulab-jamuns as well. You won’t be disappointed. You can find some really good stuff throughout the moti nagar area as well.
Well…if its abt eating good quality chole bhature you can also visit om bhature wala.its very near to manas mandir karol bagh in ragar pura.they are the best
wth their quality and test with allmost 30 year of experience..
the best chole bhature in Delhi are served by Sharmaji Chole Bhature . . . very close to the very famous. . . Moolchand Paranthe waala. . .they dont use onions / garlic in the preparation & neither is it served alongside…instead they give u a fresh doze of tangy sliced carrot, ginger & green chillies . . . the best part is that of all the bhature waalas in Delhi…i found their bhatura’s have the least & at times no oil dipping out…one unbelievable fact is that they are up by 5 – 5.30 am & start serving the chole bhaturas by 6am every day…on weekdays they are there till noon . . .on weekends sometimes they pack up by 10 – 11 am. must try for you all cb lovers.
TRY GOPAL JEE CHOLE BHATURE IN SECTOR 2 ROHINI (POCKET 7).