A definitive street chaat, or snack, of Delhi, papri chaat is called so for the crispy-fried round wafers (papri) that give it its addictive crunch. In the style of typical chaat, the papri is accompanied by boiled potato, chickpeas, chaat masala, a yogurt sauce, and tamarind and coriander chutneys. You might also find it with pomegranate seeds and sev, or fried gram flour. An absolutely perfect marriage of spicy, sweet, tangy, soothing, and crunchy, this is our favorite of all chaats.
Where: The pictured papri chaat is from diner-like Nathu’s Sweets (multiple branches including 23, 24, 25, Bengali Market, map), one of the better options for chaats in central Delhi.
When: Daily, 8:30am-11pm
Order: This papri chaat (53 rupees), made extra spicy by black pepper, didn’t last too long on our table, nor did the gol gappa—which have the benefit of being made with bottled water here—or aloo tikki. It’s savory-snack heaven, rightly followed by some sweet kulfi faluda for dessert.
Alternatively: Popular chaat-and-sweets franchise Haldiram’s (multiple branches including 1454/2, Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi, map) is always a good bet for papri chaat, though if you’re in Old Delhi, you might skip it for the popular Ashok Chaat Bhandar (3611, Chowk Hauz Qazi, Sitaram Bazaar, map), located just across from one of the Chawri Bazaar metro station entrances—he doesn’t have much of a storefront, but there’s often a small crowd gathered.
