The last time Bella, Veronika and I went to the Gurudwara in Bangalore, we suddenly felt all Punjabi. So when we saw this small, paint peeling off, shanty-like structure a few yards right to the Gurudwara, our stomachs grumbled.
What we entered into was a big room divided in the middle. The first half of the room served as the reception. A Sardarji, who I presumed was Bobby, greeted us in no-nonsense Hindi, calling us ‘Maharaj’ and handed us a small paper. (I did hear him break into perfect English with non-Hindi speaking customers. Yeah! Bangalore does that to you.) We were instructed to go through the menu on the wall and write down the order in the paper. The menu, by the way, was a long list of various parathas; muli, alu, gobi, paneer, matar. All priced at Rs. 25.00. Apart from parathas, there were dal makhani, baingan ka bharta, alu gobi etc.
I chose a muli paratha with curd on the side. Bella had an alu paratha, while Veronika had paneer. We had to wait for a few minutes before a table was empty. Finally, we descended two rickety steps to the other half of the room, where we were to lunch. All tables had a bowlful of mixed vegetable pickle along with the standard jug of water.
The parathas were full of spice, setting our tongues on fire, but had us begging for more. However, sadly, our tummies were too full; one paratha was more than enough. Still, we couldn’t say no to a glass of lassi. No meal in a Punjabi dhaba would be complete without that. Besides, we were sure we could have some more. And so came the lassi.
It came, it saw, it conquered. The glasses were a foot tall (no exaggeration, you can verify with Bella and Veronika). And they were generous, so that the froth was hanging over the rim. And it was delicious. It was worth every rupee of the seventeen bucks that it cost us. We couldn’t leave a drop behind. Yeah, it was pure torture. Arrest Bobby!
For desserts, they had kheer. It sounded pretty nice, but none of us had the courage to try it. The bill was something rarely seen in Bangalore, meagre. A smile never left our faces, as we stepped out into the sun. Our stomachs were heavy and our wallets weren’t. What else could a Bangalorean ask for in times of recession?
Location: Near Gurudwara, Kensington Road, Bangalore
Phone: 984416378
-Jo
3 of Spades 