Yummy Shummy delicacies from Baba Da Dhaba..

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. And if your food is Punjabi, then he is yours to keep. Now, that was my addition to the existential saying. The Central Business District of Bangalore has been blessed with the best Punjabi Food delivery in town courtesy Baba Da Dhaba for over a few months now. Been in existence for almost 9 months, Baba Da Dhaba operates out of Residency Road and caters to adjacent areas including Lavelle road, Shantinagar, Richmond Road, Ulsoor to name a few. The philosophy of BDD is simple and earthy- comfort food from the soils of Punjab delivered fresh to your household. Orders are taken over phone or their website (www.babadadhaba.com) and within minutes freshly made home cooked food is on its way.

On the auspicious day of Ugadi, I decided to have North Indian delicacies for a change of palate. And who better than BDD to get to me the soonest? I ordered the Veg Tikkis, Mutton Sheekh Kabab as starters, a Naan and some Plain Rice to go with my Main Courses- Paneer Saagwala and Chicken Makhanwala. Now who can forget their ever popular and ethereal Dal Makhani? So I took the liberty of ordering that also. To add to my dessert, I decided to go with the Phirni instead of the usual Black and White cake, a BDD/Sanctum invention.

I started my progressive lunch session owing to the unbearable heat outside in phases. So I started my course with the Vegetarian Tikkis served with Beet Sauce and Mint Chutney. To be honest, the tikkis are so fresh and soft, you would not require any sauce to go along with them. Taste their authenticity without any accompaniments. The Non Vegetarian equivalent of my progressive luncheon was the popular Mutton Sheekh Kabab made of succulent minced lamb and cooked to perfection. They simply melt in your mouth and being a seeker of true taste, I prefer them without any sauce or added condiments.

I resorted to a little bit of Am Panna before moving on to my Mains to deal with the onslaught of the heat wave that Bangalore is experiencing the last couple of weeks. It also helped in neutralizing my taste buds and set me ready for the delicacies appearing next in my menu. I started with the soft and tasty Naan along with a very generous portion of Dal Makhani. I have said it before, and I am telling you again- finding the right Dal Makhani in Bangalore can be quite a challenge. But Baba Da Dhaba knows how to make the perfect Dal Makhani and I swear by it all the time. As I indulged in my late afternoon soiree with myself and my stomach, I took a few more bites of the Sheekh Kabab before I moved on to the Saagwala Paneer. The Saagwala curry comprising mostly of spinach is so tasty that one gets lost in its flavours. The curry takes a precedence over the cottage cheese and makes a foodie wonder if they can simply embellish in the gravy without paying too much attention to the Paneer. I served myself some boiled white rice with the Chicken Makhanwala which is ideally pre-marinated boneless chunks of Chicken cooked in Butter in a Tomato gravy. This is a dish on the slightly sweeter side and appeals to us who have a sweet tooth. I like my meat sweet and tangy. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the slight tanginess of the gravy interspersed with a sweeter base added to the diversity of my progressive meal.

It is 1600 hours, and I am yet to finish my luncheon. Sow without further ado, I took out the Phirni from my refrigerator. I always prefer my Phirni served cold. The integrity of this north western dish is amplified when served cold. The composition of its ingredients were perfect and the authenticity of this dish is maintained brilliantly. I ended my lunch with another serving of Am Panna just to make sure that my stomach can deal with this illustrious gastronomic adventure that I have indulged in for the last 3 hours or so. My heartfelt thanks to BDD and their team including Grishma and headed by Baba Chandok for making my Ugadi extra-special. A true Gastronomic Indulgence!! BALLE BALLE !! YUMMY SHUMMY HO JAAYE !!

Baba Da Dhaba is currently available in the CBD mostly, but if you want your area enlisted you can do so by visiting their website www.babadadhaba.com. They are expanding and will be in your area soon.