SAHAKARA NAGAR:When one hears of a tawa, a tandoor or tadka, blurred images of a Punjabi dhaba on a highway with funky lights and fake embellishments pop up. Certain areas on Bengaluru's outskirts have a few versions of the dhaba culture but there is an actual restaurant too that goes by the name of Tawa Tandoor Aur Tadka in the city. And it offers some authentic Punjabi food at affordable prices.
The tiny restaurant located between towering buildings on the 60 Ft Sahakara Nagar Road goes unnoticed at times but it is a quintessential example of a place that offers soulfood without burning a hole in your pocket.
The ambience is decent and homely and you are greeted by a traditional Punjabi setting and soothing cadences of Bollywood music. The walls are filled with tiny mirrors and Rajastani puppets and have lamps hanging all over the place.
With the capacity of about 20-30 people, the restaurant has an indoor and a courtyard seating area which is not very favourable since the monsoon season has begun in earnest.
The cuisine includes various kebabs, curries and the usual North-Indian bread basket. Some interesting appetisers include Pankudhi Chatpati which represents deep fried chicken winglets marinated in Indian spices and Hara Bhara Kebabs which are all about green leafy vegetables with a mashed potato garnish.
After ordering Creamy Tomato Soup (that lived upto its name) and Aloo Corn Tikki, we asked for Murgh Patiala and Garlic Naan. The only irritant in the proceedings was that it took us 15 minutes to just converse with the servers, as they were unsure of the dishes they had. The menu tempted us by saying that Murgh Patiala was a dish of boneless chunks of chicken cooked in a saffron based gravy and the gravy served in a copper vessel certainly met our expectations.
The Rabadi, Phirni or Gajar Halwa were all an excellent way to finish the meal.
Despite the rocky communication where we mostly received nodes, smiles and confused looks, the service was not impersonal and unfriendly and they were quick in serving our food.
It was a pleasant dinner, but it could have done with some fiery tadka.
Meal for two: Rs 600
Address: No.507, 60th Ft Road , F block, SahakarNagar near Bellary Road.
