The food is simple and unpretentious that keeps you craving for more. It will take you back to the time when you munched on hot parathas and kaali dal sitting on the charpoys with a cold lassi to quench your thirst.
The Dhaba food fest at Utsav restaurant, Gateway Hotel, promises to recreate the dhaba magic till August 1 with spicy and tantalising dishes from the land of five rivers -Punjab. The flavours are rustic and the meal is wholesome.
Traditionally the dhabas cater to the truckers who spend long hours on the highways. But because of the home-cooked flavour of the food, dhabas gradually became popular with the city crowd, says executive chef Amit Ghosh, explaining the theme of the food fest.
Start off your meal with a traditional lassi where you have a choice of anar ka lassi, adraki lassi or the kesaria pista doodh. “Usually the climate in the Punjab is cold and the piping hot kesaria pista dhood is a comfort to the people during the cold season,” Ghosh says.
Move on to the chaat counter where the chef will prepare the chaat of your choice in a jiffy. Choose from the aloo channa chaat, papri chat, dahi bhalle or the every popular spicy-tangy golgappas.
Every day throughout the fest you will have the choice of two shorbas or soups - one chicken based and one veg. “In the non veg section we just have chicken-based dishes as meat and fish are not popular with Punjabis,” says Ghosh.
Though rice and fish are not much preferred by Punjabis dishes made of them are also included in the menu to please the palate of south Indians. Fish amritsari, named after the city it originated, is great as a side dish or the main course.
For the main course try the typical Punjabi dish of sarson ka saag, which goes well with makki ki roti and dollops of fresh butter. You can also try the various stuffed parathas and tandoori rotis with baingan bharta, dhaba ka dal and aloo methi as accompaniments.
No Punjabi meal is complete without a sweet, as the Punjabis have a notorious sweet tooth. The creamy rice flour pudding phirni and the hot kala jamuns topped with ice creams are rich and delicious which are soothing to the taste buds after the spicy main course.
Drop in for this dinner buffet and be prepared to taste food that will leave you lip-smacking and finger-licking.
Keerthi Mohan
keerthimohan@expressbuzz.com