To modify a few lines from Shakespeare, if
you, my friend, demand why I go to Amritsar, this is my answer. It’s not that I
like Amritsar less but I like the food more.
Yes folks the food in Amritsar is really
good. As far as Indian food is concerned, according to me, the finest examples
of Indian food are available in Amritsar, at Karim’s in Jama Masjid in Delhi,
Bukhara and Dum Pukht at the ITC Hotels. Unfortunately, all these are examples
of North Indian food. But then this is my opinion.
On this visit, in chronological order, we ate
at:
The Ista
Surjit Food Plaza
The Langar at the Golden Temple
Ahuja Lassi
Kesar Da Dhaba
Kanha Sweets
Let me assure you that getting to these
places by taxi and then on foot or cycle rickshaw is reasonably easy. Getting back
after dinner is the challenge, unless, you make your transport wait for you
while you eat. To us it seemed that Amritsar shuts down very early. Restaurants
[except Kesar Da Dhaba] do not have the large custom that we in the larger
cities are used to seeing. Things are far more relaxed.
As far as the food is concerned, two aspects
that struck us. First; across all the restaurants the temperature at which the
food was served was amazing. The food was consistently served steaming hot, and
I mean hot. Mind you it was winter so ambient temperatures, were, by Indian
standards, low probably 15C or 60F. Also bear in mind that the food was being
cooked in primitive kitchens with most cooking done on wood and coal fires. No
combi ovens, no microwave ovens, no heat lamps, no salamanders. Just huge
Tandoors and, at times, LPG cylinders. If they could pull this off in such
adverse conditions, our Mumbai restaurateurs should hang their heads in shame
when they serve us tepid, obviously, barely reheated food. I agree that most
curries were premade and therefore easy to heat, but that is the case in Mumbai
too. Consistently Rotis served were so hot that they could not be handled. The
food served at the Langar in the Golden Temple was hot too. That was being
served from buckets to 3000 to 5000 people at a time.
The second aspect, this is slightly more
philosophical, was the sheer generosity that we felt in the food and the
restaurants. The food seemed large hearted, seemed to be made with a feeling of
pride and probably fear of losing one’s reputation and consequently the
business and custom. If a man did not perform he would lose his job. Presumably
with that his reputation. In a small city this would make a difference. In
Mumbai Delhi Bangalore would this make any difference? The line cook would get
another job easily. Restaurants are run by managers who themselves have no real
reputation or business to protect. Maybe I am being simplistic, but the sheer -
that word again - generosity, in the food was touching. We get that feeling
when we eat in many places in Europe too. No its not free food, it’s not really
the chef sending out Amuse Bouches, it’s something more. It’s probably honesty.
Then again it’s probably not. Lets close this by saying the food in Amritsar is
really good.
On landing we wanted to have something quick
so we decided to eat at the Ista itself. We ordered just one dish. Alu Wadiyan with a Roti each. Wadis are dried lentil cakes that are
flavoured with chilli, coriander seeds and other spices. They are shallow
fried, crumbled and added to a Tomato based gravy with green peas and/or
potato. This is a typically Punjabi dish. The Ista served us a good version of this.
Suitably fortified we set out to the walled city.
Alu Wadiyan |
Dinner was to be at Surjit Food Plaza. We had
been here the last time we were in Amritsar. It’s owned by a Sardar Sucha Singh
who sits at the counter overseeing all the activities. The two most famous
dishes on offer were the Tandoori Chicken and the Amritsari fish. We also
ordered a Daal to accompany the food. The Tandoori Chicken was very good. None
of the lurid red colour we are so used to. Juicy hot and spicy. Delicious. The
Fried Fish Amritsari was top class. Crisp batter and once again no red colour.
A strong dose of Ajwain or Carom seed powder was mixed into the batter. The
Daal was decent. The portions are all half plates!!
Amritsari Fried Fish |
Tandoori Chicken |
Black Daal |
After our lunch at the Langar we went to
Ahuja Lassi to try that out. This place is very highly recommended for the
Lassi. The TV programme `Highway On My Plate’ which we quite like, has said
that this is the best Lassi in India. We were underwhelmed. It was perfectly
good Lassi. But to say it’s the best is a long shot. On the other hand let’s
get a bit real. What can you really achieve with a preparation of just 3
ingredients, yogurt, sugar and ice? You could easily give this a miss. The
interesting thing was there were so many people ordering a bowl [and that was a
MAN sized bowl] of Dahi with sugar which they happily ate. I have never seen
this ever in Mumbai. When leaving we bought a half kilo of their pure Desi Ghee
to take back to Mumbai. Hope it’s good.
Ahuja Lassi |
Dinner was at the legendary Kesar Da Dhaba.
This is really difficult to find. Going by car is simply not possible. Our
Bentley was parked at the top of the lane and Vijay the driver walked us to the
restaurant. This Dhaba had 4 units. One was the kitchen, one the takeaway and
two were dining areas. It was 8.45pm, very late by Amritsar standards and there
was not a place to sit, it was packed. We soon got a table and ordered. The
most famous dishes are the Daal Fry
and Channa Fry. Along with this we
got an Aloo Gobi which I really like,
a Lachha Paratha and an Aloo Paratha. Absolutely delicious food.
I have not eaten better vegetarian food ever in my life. Depth of flavour,
seasoning, temperature and quality of ingredients were superlative. This was
the pinnacle of our journey. The Parathas
were flaky, tasty and perfectly cooked. I wholeheartedly recommend that you eat
here. Can you guess how much we paid for all that food? Rs. 300/- Yes friends
USD 6 yes six dollars.
Laccha Paratha |
Alu Paratha |
Channa Fry |
Daal Fry |
Alu Gobi |
Kesar Da Dhaba - Kitchen |
That meal would be difficult to top. But
Amritsar had more in its armoury. Kanha Sweets. This is a place for breakfast.
They serve just one thing for breakfast. A plate with 2 Pooris, unlimited Choley, unlimited Potato vegetable and
unlimited pickled carrots and onions. You know how much that costs? Rs. 45/-
yes folks less than a US Dollar. This was truly the breakfast of champions
priced for paupers. The Choley beat
the Channa Fry at Kesar Da Dhaba hollow.
The potato vegetable was truly delicious. It was sweet, soured with tamarind
and with a lot of bitter undertones brought in by liberal additions of Methi or Fenugreek Seeds. Perfectly
balanced dish which cut thru the rich spices in the Choley. Fantastic. If you like you can have more than 2 Pooris but
then you pay more. You could order Gajar
Ka Halwa or any other sweet from their counter outside too. But this was a
really good breakfast. We were fortified to handle the low cost no food Spice
Jet flight back to Mumbai.
Left - Alu Bhaji Right - Choley |
Breakfast at Kanha Sweets was the last time I
have smiled.
these pics made me hungry IELTS Institute
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