Babal da Punjabi Dabha (Very flavourful and tasty khaana (food) Average per person is Rs. 200/$4)
Chennai is not known for anything beyond South Indian foods. There are so many varieties of South Indian food that it can really keep you occupied for years trying them all. Once in a while, you want to venture out to something else. One such meal is Punjabi khaana. Babal da Punjabi Dabha is right across the road from KJ Hospital. Most North Indian places in Chennai are expensive and have a huge amount of cream/sugar added to the dishes. Dabha Express is probably an exception but that is for another day!! North Indian places are also very pretentious. Anytime a friend recommends a nice quiet place, I am always game to try it.
This time it was my dear buddy Manesh Sehgal. I was talking to him about some business ideas that I had. He gave me a good and quick rundown on the entire retail industry. My MBA did not teach me these things and I paid over $60K for the coveted piece of paper from a top-ten school!!
Back to food. This place has absolutely no ambiance. They have soft music, white tablecloth, low lighting and a few photos on the walls. The ambiance is really about who you are with and the type of conversation. In this case, Manesh was it. Manesh has been a food connoisseur since our days together at DB (Don Bosco). Snacks would be the puff at the Cafeteria and paratha kurma lunch at Atlantic Hotel. In between, there would be the munching of the fluffy and flaky samosa at the Travancore Egg Mart. Back to the Dabha, the fact that he knew the place and knew what to order was great.
We started off with Fish Tikka. The fish was firm and soft, the flavors were embedded. It looked like a perfectly cut slice of fish! There was nothing dripping from it. If you wanted more flavor, onions, chillis and a green chutney were provided on the side. Manesh had his with the spicy chutney and mine was more American! To prevent any taste degradation, we decided no juices, lassi or soft drinks. Next we got the palak paneer and butter chicken. The paneer pieces were big and the chicken had butter, but no visible cream. They were a little spicy but not overdone. There were no bones in either the fish or the chicken.
The best part of the meal were the naans. There were fresh, right from the tandoori, and just melted in my mouth. One of the best naans I have ever tasted outside of a home. We had the plain, letcha and garlic naan. The garlic naan was the best of the lot. After we finished the gravy, we ordered a butter naan. It was awesome to just eat the naan.
The waiters were always handy and brought the food/water very quickly. They did not object that we were a party of 2 and had taken a table for six. I would definitely go back with my family. Ambiance would then be my daughter talking!!!!
Chennai is not known for anything beyond South Indian foods. There are so many varieties of South Indian food that it can really keep you occupied for years trying them all. Once in a while, you want to venture out to something else. One such meal is Punjabi khaana. Babal da Punjabi Dabha is right across the road from KJ Hospital. Most North Indian places in Chennai are expensive and have a huge amount of cream/sugar added to the dishes. Dabha Express is probably an exception but that is for another day!! North Indian places are also very pretentious. Anytime a friend recommends a nice quiet place, I am always game to try it.
This time it was my dear buddy Manesh Sehgal. I was talking to him about some business ideas that I had. He gave me a good and quick rundown on the entire retail industry. My MBA did not teach me these things and I paid over $60K for the coveted piece of paper from a top-ten school!!
Back to food. This place has absolutely no ambiance. They have soft music, white tablecloth, low lighting and a few photos on the walls. The ambiance is really about who you are with and the type of conversation. In this case, Manesh was it. Manesh has been a food connoisseur since our days together at DB (Don Bosco). Snacks would be the puff at the Cafeteria and paratha kurma lunch at Atlantic Hotel. In between, there would be the munching of the fluffy and flaky samosa at the Travancore Egg Mart. Back to the Dabha, the fact that he knew the place and knew what to order was great.
We started off with Fish Tikka. The fish was firm and soft, the flavors were embedded. It looked like a perfectly cut slice of fish! There was nothing dripping from it. If you wanted more flavor, onions, chillis and a green chutney were provided on the side. Manesh had his with the spicy chutney and mine was more American! To prevent any taste degradation, we decided no juices, lassi or soft drinks. Next we got the palak paneer and butter chicken. The paneer pieces were big and the chicken had butter, but no visible cream. They were a little spicy but not overdone. There were no bones in either the fish or the chicken.
The best part of the meal were the naans. There were fresh, right from the tandoori, and just melted in my mouth. One of the best naans I have ever tasted outside of a home. We had the plain, letcha and garlic naan. The garlic naan was the best of the lot. After we finished the gravy, we ordered a butter naan. It was awesome to just eat the naan.
The waiters were always handy and brought the food/water very quickly. They did not object that we were a party of 2 and had taken a table for six. I would definitely go back with my family. Ambiance would then be my daughter talking!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment