Gol Gappe Ahoy!
Love makes the world go round. So do Gol Gappe.~ Issmael Bhai
चाट — just the sound of it can divert your attention instantly. Whether it’s papri chaat, aloo tikki, gol gappe or bhelpuri — everyone has a favorite. They’re light on the wallet and you don’t really need a partner to order one. And more often than not you will find popular chaat places in every Indian city.
We’ve scouted around for good chaat vendors all around Delhi. Some of the best ones can be found in Old Delhi, with Natraj Bhalle Wala & Ashok Chaat Bhandar leading the pack. However, not all can take a trip down that road very often. So the hunt for a good chaat place closer to home was on.
One fine day (as with most magical discoveries), a tweet showed us the way. An alley extending off Shahjahan Road brings you to UPSC Lane (adjoining UPSC office). Right there, in all its glory, is the abode of Shri Prabhu Chaat Bhandar. This establishment has been around for nearly 80 years and they claim to prepare each of their offerings entirely by themselves. Over these years it has been manned by four generations of the same family.
I’ve visited this place four times in the last month and each time I’ve found their gol gappe to be consistently good. I’ve always preferred the atta ones (over the suji ones) as they’re crispier and lighter allowing you to have more of them. In addition, the atta ones here are surprisingly big in size — more fun! The suji ones are slightly smaller but are equally good. The gols are stuffed with generous quantities of potato and the paani is chilled along with the right composition of spices. With all this priced pretty nominally, we’re left with no option but to declare their gol gappe to be the best we’ve had in Delhi.
It is easy to be tempted to try the bhalla papri chaat and aloo tikki owing to their popularity among the crowd. However we’d rate them to be average. If you happen to try the former, we suggest avoiding the black coloured masala owing to its weird after-taste. We already have a favourite for these two things and it will be tough to find a good match for them - Ashok Chaat Bhandaar for chaats and Bittoo Tikki Wala for aloo tikkis.
Finally, a recent addition to their offering is the kulfi-falooda. The kulfi is low on sweet and has a pale flavour of pista. However the final dash of flavouring syrups (Kewra water and Rooh Afza - rosewater) does the trick and makes an otherwise ordinary kulfi taste a lot better.
So next time you’re in Central Delhi, do drop by and do a few rounds of these lip-smacking water balls!
Closest Metro Station: Khan Market
Timings: 12 noon — 8:30pm during summers (7pm during winters). Avoid going too late as they usually run out of stock and the quality degrades.
Damages: Rs 50-100 depending on your appetite. Gol gappe are priced Rs 15/- for 5 pieces.
