It was the ‘fist-smashed onion', the ‘mukka pyaz' that had me all curious. One had heard of this typical raw, crude, popular onion salad, which is a must on the truck driver's plate in the dhaba. A whole raw onion, boxed down, flattened in one shot, slathered by the squashed, pungent juices. One can use a mallet I guess but that's being too refined for a dhaba experience. Dhaba food is rustic; it is strong and in-the-face.
With nothing subtle or gentle about it, Chef Shibiraj Saha who has laid out a huge, huge dhaba menu at the ongoing fest at The Gateway Hotel was up against some limitations. He had to present street fare in the elegant interiors of the Utsav restaurant which is all theme-dressed to the hilt. So you alight from your imagined rickety bus, bumping along a dusty highway and make a roadside stopover, where hot food is being cooked ‘live', then you are at Utsav.
A lassi bar, live chaat counter and glassfuls of kesari pista doodh (milk flavoured with saffron and garnished with pista) sets you on the culinary melodrama that unfolds on the highways. Move on to the tawa kababs (meats made on the griddle) and paratha (bread) counters that furnish you with the starters.
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A choice of two shorbas or soups ready you for the main course, which is largesse of delectable food. Try the Birbali shorba, named after the clever Birbal of Akbar fame. It has lentil stock as broth, which not only gives it a refreshingly unusual taste but is very healthy.
Hearty
Hearty is the word that takes you along the dishes. Savour the typical fare from Punjab, the famed sarson ka saag with makki di roti. It comes with a dollop of unsalted butter and a mound of jaggery. It's village fare, pure and rustic in taste. The meat platter is more than wholesome with popular dishes like ‘rara gosht', chicken bhatti ka murg and mahi palak changzi (a fish dish).
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Try the chef's signature dish, kukkad Makhmali, which is spring chicken cooked on slow fire garnished with fried spinach. Mutton liver masala, chicken champ are just some of the other gastronomic highlights.
The chef tells you that Punjabis relish their meats with the bones and dhaba food is a tasty excess of onions, tomatoes, curd and whole garam masalas.
If the meat eaters have such a lavish spread can there be less for the veggies? The veg platter is wholesome and hearty too! Here the chef's special is shahi mooli do pyazza translated as kingly radish in onions. Badal Jam is another of the chef's innovations. It is roasted brinjals topped with a concasse of onions and tomato sauce, in turn topped with hung curd and garnished with green coriander- tasty and eye-catching.
Mushrooms, Dal Amritsari and Punjabi kadai (a must) are all there to indulge in. Anokhee subzi or ‘Enchanting vegetables' is a mix of soya chunks with diced vegetables in yoghurt curry. Choose from the Sarangi pulao and the corn rice.
All things sweet
Coming to the sweet finale of this colourful food mela try each of the desserts because they are so authentic and so true to the theme. Gajar ka halwa, moong dal halwa, khattai ( a peda made from flours, milk, sugar and baked), doodh ka burfi, dhaba ka kheer, which is made from broken wheat, matka kulfi and shahi tukde.
Besides all this are the regular all-time favourites: Chole batura, pao bhaji and a range of breads from kulcha, naans and tandoori roti.
This hearty meal (dinner) comes at Rs. 750 plus taxes and the menu changes everyday in rotation of three days each.