A long stay in Himachal Pradesh — decades ago — is still etched in my heart. I had travelled through parts of Kangra and Chamba with a group of friends and had the simplest, yet the most delicious, food in small dhabas, hotels and at homes. At the end of it, I was just a wee bit tired of the region’s khatti (sour)dal, served with an incredibly sour galgal pickle, but this happened so long ago that I was quite looking forward to tasting it again at the Himachal Bhawan canteen a few days ago.
Himachal Bhawan is at Mandi House, facing the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts. The canteen on the first floor has a simple décor and a welcoming staff. The canteen has been celebrating Himachali dhams (traditional festival feasts), but it has other dishes on the menu too — a meat thali for ₹250, chha meat (marinated mutton pieces slowly cooked in gram flour, and yoghurt gravy) for ₹400 and a simple vegetable thali for ₹110. I decided I wanted the special Himachal vegetarian thali (₹220), with anardana (pomegranate) chicken (₹140).
The thali looked quite enticing — a mound of rice occupied the centre of the platter, and surrounding it were several steel bowls, each carrying a typical Himachali dish such as , sepu vadi (split urad dal dumplings) in a thick gravy of ground spinach leaves, rajma madra, a pumpkin dish, kadhi, and meetha bhaat besides a missi roti, a wheat roti, and kheru (a savoury glass of buttermilk).
I can’t recall when I last had such a satisfying meal at such a low price . The warm and soothing kheru whetted the appetite. The dishes were all mildly tart, but delightful in their own ways. The sepu vadi was super; it was soft, and the spinach gave the dish a velvety texture. The pumpkin was sweet and tangy and went well with the missi roti. I liked the thin kadhi, too. The rajma madra, mildly spiced and in a light gravy of curd, added life to the rice.
I also ordered a separate non-veg dish, the chicken anardana and found it to be rather good. The anardana added colour and taste to the chicken, which had been cut into small, palatable pieces. There were some four or five small pieces in one dish. Lastly, I lapped up the dessert — long-grained, sweetened and nutty rice.
The sad part is that the canteen does not have packaging boxes, so I couldn’t take the leftovers home with me. But the manager said if I ever brought my own tiffin boxes, I could always carry food back with me.
Unfortunately, there are very few Himachali food outlets in Delhi. A place called Pahadi Pattal by Nitika Kuthiala (Ph no: 8447674414) offers delightful Himachali dishes including pipli mutton, aloo and matar madra and siddu, a kind of bread made from wheat flour, and stuffed with poppy seeds.
My outing has rekindled my love for Himachali food. I am going back to the canteen, this time with empty tiffin boxes.
(At Himachal Bhawan, 27 Sikandra Road, Mandi House; 8am to 10am (breakfast). 1pm to 3pm (lunch), 8pm to 10pm (dinner); Open all days; For queries call 011-23716124/25)
Published - October 04, 2024 01:03 am IST