CHENNAI: Making time for yourself while schedules burst at the seams is a potion of luxury. Sitting down for a relaxed lunch and focusing on yourself is uber luxury. And that’s exactly what a mid-week hearty meal at Delhi Dhaba by Shyam’s Hospitality can do to pulp you out of fatigue.
Like me, if you are a Bollywood fan, you’ll instantly grin looking at the caricatures of a buttoned-down Shah Rukh Khan, a brooding Sanjay Dutt and a smiling Aishwarya Rai that adorn the walls here, upon entry. After this very filmy welcome, it’s the rusticness of wooden tables and seating with mini auto rickshaw models for company that offers me the promise of pampering my senses. It was precisely this thought that coaxed Ravikumar Reddy and Nina Reddy to start their fourth branch in a prime spot opposite The Music Academy and above the famous Amaravathi.
Kabul to Delhi Dhaba
The first Delhi Dhaba outlet was opened in 2007. “Delhi Dhaba was started by my father-in-law (late Vijaykumar Reddy). There used to be a brand called Kabul that served North West Frontier, Peshawari-style food; it shut down. As the Chennai market grew, we realised a requirement for North Indian-style food with an Indian-Tandoor-Chinese concept. So when the dhaba concept emerged, we thought of doing it on the ECR, OMR highways, and call it a dhaba, as dhabas are always found on the highways,” shares Bheeshma Kumar, head of operations.
While other brands are serving similar cuisine, the team felt the need to set up their trademark in Mylapore. “Chennaiites love their sapaadu for lunch and (opt for) rotis for dinner. Since we have a good following for our brand in Akkarai, a lot of clients said it would be nice if there was something in the city. We thought we have the space so why not look at launching a branch here. We have modernised this a lot by not doing it up too much, and adding a lot of quirky things. We are also trying to do an open kitchen where people can see what is happening,” he shares.
Delhi Dhaba, according to Bheeshma, is a combination of things. “Our USP is the unique dishes with traditional recipes that we have been doing for over 20 years,” he says. On the menu are items that are not specific to Punjab or Delhi as one would expect. They have delicacies from Hyderabad, Lucknow and other cities, adding variation, and focussing on some of their old recipes.
The team is also taking all steps to ensure a good balance of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. “Usually when you hear of a dhaba, you associate it with butter chicken. We try to replicate everything from a non-vegetarian dish into a vegetarian dish. We don’t believe that just because something is done in a particular meat format it cannot be replicated in vegetarian (dishes). We are trying to bring particular vegetarian dishes too,” he shares.
One challenge that Bheeshma has tasked himself with is to get the city crowd to take to North Indian food at their property that houses Amaravathi, which boasts a huge fan base. “We are showcasing the dhaba experience where you walk in and get roti and Indian food but also get noodles and fried rice. As a family, when you come here, everyone can choose their own thing and not be forced to have one kind of food,” he adds.
Behind the scenes
Bheeshma believes Chennaiites are aware of and nostalgic about food. “We still have customers who come to any of our restaurants and ask for seekh kebab from Kabul. It is tricky getting them to try new things as we have those nostalgic values. But I think they are open to it. It’s more challenging for me to keep up with the customer because the demands have gone up. If I do butter chicken they want authentic butter chicken. Twenty-thirty years back I could have served anything as butter chicken and no one would have told me anything. Today if it doesn’t taste like butter chicken everybody will tell me.
The focus is on authenticity. As a restaurateur that is my responsibility,” he explains. To serve authentic dishes here, the chefs were trained by an expert from Delhi, when the first branch opened. Bheeshma credits this to his father-in-law, who was a stickler for authenticity. “He would try the dishes till we got the recipe right. For every 50 dishes on the menu, there are 100 that are not. All these recipes have been made into a book. This training was given 15-20 years ago, and these chefs have been retained. Our retention rate is 95%,” he says.
Menu makers
We are seated below the caricature of Bollywood film Ram-Leela’s Ranveer Singh and Coolie’s Amitabh Bachchan staring down at us, besides the outdoor seating that has dhaba-style arrangements looking over the buzzing Cathedral Road flyover.
The restaurant was launched on March 3, and the team is still refining the menu with suggestions from customers. On the menu for us were all their specialities, starting with the mango lassi. The team is focussing on presenting a variety of flavours in lassi and we cannot wait to try them out. While they work on that, we have an expansive menu laid in front of us.
For appetisers, there is Tiranga Paneer, Veg Galouti Kebab, Murgh Kadak Sheek Kebab and Pathar Ka Gosht. The hariyali, malai and tikka flavours of the paneer are the kind of protein generosity you can afford to your palate to start your meal. Coated with masalas and smoked in the tandoor, the spongy paneer is an ideal tender, melt-in-your-mouth. Next up is Galouti Kebab, prepared with a melange of vegetables with a potato base. Bheeshma is quick to acknowledge our feedback that this one tastes more like a cutlet, and he promises to rework the recipe.
If fried food is prized for you, the Murgh Kadak Sheek Kebab is not to be missed. The crispy exterior and juicy interior assures your taste buds have a darn good time! Besides this, the team takes pride in Pathar ka Gosht, an almost Hyderabadi-style lamb delicacy cooked technically on a stone.
Then there are the typical dhaba delicacies — sarson ka saag, butter chicken and dal makhni. Making a daring choice, we opted for the chilli cheese naan and methi paratha, instead of the usual tandoori roti. Our favourite pairing was the mildly spicy naan and the green goodness of the saag. We finish the main course with a helping of chicken biryani prepared in the Awadhi style. Though it includes a lot of spices, the subtlety enhances the tasting experience. While Punjabi-Delhi delicacies are touted to be heavy on the belly for their liberal use of butter, ghee and malai, at Delhi Dhaba, the dishes taste homely and do not play havoc in your stomach.
It’s no easy feat to finish the last course of the meal, but no one ever said no to a gulab jamun. Here, this sugar ball finds its companion in rabdi — a match made in heaven. Bheeshma reveals that since they have their own ice-cream and sweet shops, the plan is to create several dessert options. “We are making a Parle-G ice-cream, calling it the Desi Biscoff. Everyone is so enamoured by it, but Parle-G is the original. We are also doing Chai-Biskut, a masala chai flavoured ice-cream with Marie biscuit mixed in. The ice-creams are all made from scratch and not just biscuit bits added to vanilla ice-cream,” he elaborates.
As we listen to the sweet details, ice-cream is served in a goblet glass, with a Parle-G biscuit topping and some crumbs. One scoop of the Desi Biscoff and we are sure that Chennai is going to fall in love with this dessert just like we did.
This family of restaurateurs is known for their hospitality and we leave with a full stomach and even fuller heart, with the taste of authenticity lingering for hours on end.
We are making a Parle-G ice-cream, calling it the Desi Biscoff. Everyone is so enamoured by it, but Parle-G is the original. We are also doing Chai-Biskut, a masala chai flavoured ice-cream with Marie biscuit mixed in.
Bheeshma Kumar, head of operations