Come With My Tour to India to the Spice Market in Old Delhi

Khari Baoli-Gali Batasha-The Spice Market (Gadodia Market) –

Delhi Spice Market Tour is chef’s delight as it takes you on a fabulous journey through the wholesale spice, pickles, preserved fruit shops and much more. The colors and the smell will capture your imagination, your camera will work non-stop. It is a short but delightful walk. One can take it any time of the day after 10 am on a weekday and Saturdays. We mention 10 am as the shops open after that time. The market is closed on a Sunday so it will be a bit pointless to go then.

Timing of the Walks and Parking at the Red Fort

If you are coming by a car, the Parking can be done in the Red Fort Car Park, Parade Ground or Esplanade Road near Meena Bazar. Both Car Parks are very busy though one has better chance of finding a space before 9:30 am. Although the Walk itself isn’t long enough please allow fifteen minutes to reach the starting point of the walk and another ten minutes to return to your car. Otherwise Chandni Chowk is well connected by the Metro Network.

The starting point of the walk is Kharii Baoli at the western end of the Chandani Chowk. This is a well-known market also known as Garodia Market.

Khari Baoli

Khari Baoli is said to be Asia’s largest wholesale spice market. The streets and the lanes are busy and colorful, truly a photographer’s delight. Khari Baoli was an important street in the Shah Jahan’s time. There used to be fortified gateway at the westerly end of the place, through which a road led straight to Lahore.

The Walk to the Gali Batasha and the Contents of the Spice Shops

Tucked inside Khari Baoli is a lane called Gali Batasha. As you walk along, you can see wonderful displays of spices, dry fruits and other condiments. The shops do both retail and wholesale business. They are both the retail and whole and wholesale. You can shop around if anything catches your fancy. Khari Baoli has a reputation for being the best spice market in Delhi. The owners of the shops generally speak English but their assistants may not.

Things to Buy at Khari Baoli

Nuts: Almonds (Badam), Cashew nuts (Kajoo), Coconuts (Nariyal), Whole Nutmegs (Jaifer), Pea Nuts (Moong-phali), Pistachios (Pista),Walnuts (Akhrot), Beetel Nut(Supari) among many others.

Dried Fruits: Raisins (Kishmish), Sultana (Munakka), Dried Dates (Chuhara), Dried Figs (Anjeer)

Ground Spices:Some of the most common spices piled up into pyramids are-

Red
Smooth Chilli Powder (Bookanee Lal Mirch)
Finely Chopped Chilies (Mota Lal Mirch)

Yellow

Ground Turmeric (Haldi Powder)

Khaki

Ground Coriander (Dhania Powder)

Off White

Ground Dried Mango (Aamchur)

Beige

Ground Ginger (Adrak)

Brown

A mixture for adding to fruit salad (Fruit Chat)

Spices in Sacks, Boxes and Bottles

Aniseed (Sauf), Cardemom (Elaichi), Cinnamon Sticks (Dalchini), Saffron (Kesar), Black Pepper (Kali Mirch)

The Spice Market (Garodia Market)

Garodia Market is an old building with will take you back in time. It is a covered arcade that eventually leads into an open square lined with wholesale spices store rooms. Large weighing scale takes pride of place at front of each store rooms. You can keep climbing up in the building and eventually reach the open rooftop and get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding areas.

This is a fascinating place with three stories of offices and flats above the wholesalers are brightly painted and ornately decorated. It was built around 75 years ago by a merchant, Seth Lakshmi Narayan Garodia. At the noon time the area can get congested with porters struggling to get their long barrows piled high with sacks to their destination. You might find it a bit difficult to walk then, but it is part of the experience. The whole area is extremely photogenic with piles of reds of the chilies vying for attention with the yellow of turmeric and black of the slats! The air in the courtyard is thick with spices that everyone ends up sneezing a bit. But that is part of the charm of the place.

mytourtoindia@gmail.com ; Mobile : 9811911823

mytourtoindia@gmail.com ; Mobile : 9811911823