Aug 27, 2013 01:20 AM
8744 Views
(Updated Aug 29, 2013 11:52 PM)
Parathas were not the biggest temptation to me to head for a restaurant, especially when crispy golden brown masala dosas carried at other tables wink at you. But my cousin, who is a foodie himself had built a great image about this place, the food in particular. I still had the least expectations from this since it was "parathas in Bangalore", which is not even as half as average of delicacies that you get in the capital of country. Yet half halfheartedly I headed for this place with him to have parathas.
It was a Saturday and cousin had told that we may have to wait in a big queue to have food there since it may be crowded. With an expectation of huge line followed by pangs of hunger, we reached the destination, of course braving the pathetic traffic at 7:00 PM in the evening in city of Bengaluru (you can understand the kind of traffic I am talking about). To our pleasant surprise, there were no more than 4-5 people in the restaurant, which looked like a dhaba with a proper roof of course and about 10-15 chairs and very very much like college canteen.
We happily "chose" a table for ourselves.
If potato is the king of vegetables all for its versatility and taste with spices, or very delectable combination with oil, can aloo paratha not be the king of parathas? We did not want to miss this, so ordered aloo paratha, methi paratha and onion paratha. Kheer, buttermilk, kadhi and rice followed these( yeah, he have an appetite for sure).
The lassi tasted good, but not extraordinary. There was a subtle hint of spice in it, perhaps ginger juice and jeera, that made it different from what we get at our home. Okay, don't compare it with Amritsari lassi.
Paratha- It wasn't hot. It was piping hot ..., if I could draw well, I would have drawn it with vapor. The roti shaped into perfect circle, with a shiny surface thanks to dollops of butter and thickened with spicy mashed potato inside. It definitely drew some interest. Just tear a piece and you are sure to end up waiting for a few seconds more to cool down or gulp with greed, for heat is invitation enough. Just like the animation movie ratatouille where the critic after eating what the rat has cooked gets transported to the time when his mother serves the dish lovingly, I was transported the school days where me and friends would open our lunch box and share our food, somehow the ghar ka aloo paratha by a punjabi friend's mother superseded every other dish and the paratha with humble achaar was over in no time. Nostalgia makes me like the paratha. I gobbled up every inch of paratha until the plate was clean.
Next came onion paratha.The neatly cut onions evenly stuffed in paratha made it quite a neat onion paratha. I wouldn't give a high rating, but quite a good change if you are bored of potato paratha. Also try methi paratha, although after enjoying the flavours of aloo and onion paratha plus hunger satiated, you may not be too keen on methi paratha's flavours. But it is also a popular dish and can be tried out if you have space in tummy . But if you are too curious, try methi paratha first. You would be able to judge it better.
As your expectations slowly rise when you order more, I with all keenness wanted my cousin to try punjabi kadhi so ordered it. That unfortunately happened to be a major disappointment. Do not go for it if you don't like kadhi. Do not even glance at others' table if you are very fond of kadhi. It is sheer waste and leaves a boring after taste.
When a good meal ends, you generally leave just a bit of area in tummy for dessert. Here, kheer compliments your dessert(ish) desire with that perfect sweetness, a bit creaminess and a tinge of homeliness prepared with interest. In the end you would leave the restaurant atleast with a smile. Pack some parathas to your loved ones or store it in the fridge for next day's breakfast, it wouldn't be all that bad. A good breakfast in the morning will keep you in good spirits all day.
Few things to be kept in mind before going to this restaurant or rather dhaba
1) Go to this place when you crave for parathas and a touch for homely food.
2) Go hungry, the parathas are quite heavy. you need some place for lassi and kheer too which are big fillers
3) Be prepared to wait since you may find a huge crowd. It may get absolutely crowded during weekends.
4) Not a good idea with kids unless you are used to travelling in another small city and eating in a crowded place.
5) We go to restaurants coz we are foodies, like Rocky and Mayur of highway on my plate. Not for ambiance. If you want ambiance, go to 4-5 star hotels. Poor exhaust may cause smoke coming out of kitchen, so not a very good idea for idle chit chat with family and friends.
6) All the people out there who love kitchen, this could be a treat to their eyes, since you can peep at the perfectly spherical rotis all waiting to be cooked into parathas and cooks dilligently working. Well at least better than those restaurants with closed kitchen doors which may be spic and span from outside, but who knows how many roaches would say hi to chapati flour, or end up tasting the filling inside it!!!
7) If as my cousin said, word-of-mouth is making this place popular, then foodies must check it out once. Don't ever compare it with murthal's Vaishnov dhabha in sonepat or parathewali gali in Chandni Chowk, it is not even near it.
Go, enjoy parathas, burp and shop or sleep to your heart's content depending upon the time you visit. If you go with zero expectations, it would be great, high expectations may end up being spoiler.
Address is:
Bobby's Punjabi Dhaba
St John's Road,
Near Lavanya Theatre,
Near Ulosoor
Bangalore
