Good news for all dhaba food lovers. Now there is no need to go on long drives on highways in search of the overnight cooked dal makhni or the tandoori dishes. Rang De Basanti Dhaba (RDBD), a plush restaurant modelled on a dhaba, evoking the taste of dhaba food and ambience is located in South Extension II market.
RDBD combines the rusticity of a roadside dhaba with the modern comforts of any expensive restaurant to offer a complete package to its guests.
The menu is extensive and full of surprises. Not only the food even the mocktails’ section is brimming with variety like the the tangy imli ka amlana and tadke wali lassi. Among the starters Amritsari fish is a tasty, spicy appetiser. Fish tikka, chunks of marinated sole fish is cooked in mustard oil in the spit grill just the way it is done in an actual dhaba. Achari chicken tikka has succulent boneless pieces of chicken pickled with traditional Indian spices. There are not-so-well-known dishes too like mutton boti din raat, which is minced pieces of spicy mutton stuffed in the boiled eggs after removing the yolk. Mutton blended well with the boiled egg. In the vegetarian section bhutte ki seekh was a bit let down as it was very dry and needed a drink to swallow it down.
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The main course was full of curries and had some nice dishes to offer. I grew up eating baigan ka bharta but never came across something like the chicken bharta. An in-house specialty made by shredded tandoori chicken cooked in onion and tomato gravy. I enjoyed every morsel of it. Kadhai chicken, a must-find in every dhaba, was made authentically in an iron pot so that it derives its real colour and flavour from it but the best of the lot was the trademark dhaba dish, the overnight cooked dal makhni. I enjoyed it with the butter naan. Desserts were even more tempting. Shahi tukda made of fried bread soaked in hot milk with cardamom syrup was a delight to have. Another unique dessert was the khubani ka meetha made from dried apricots had unique flavours. To conclude your journey, try the dish from our traditional repertoire, hot gulab jamun and pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it.
(Rang De Basanti Dhaba is located in South Extension Part II)