Go slow with the 'dal makhani'

Punjabi langar has this unique ability to blur all class distinctions. Singer Raageshwari Loomba says this is one place where she shares a meal with her driver, squatting on the gurdwara floor. 

“People of all castes and creeds are welcome to the langar served at gurdwaras,” the singer adds. Loomba has a pet theory – that the langar reflects perfectly how the Punjabi community perceives food. A meal is an occasion to get together with family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances.

Food is the centre of the Punjabis’ existence. They like their food and they appreciate what goes into making it. This is one reason why authentic Punjabi restaurants, even small ones, have done well for decades.

Of course, a lot of restaurant kitchens offer rajma chawal but the seasoned North Indian palate knows the real from the wannabe.

Saurabh Malhotra, now a 23-year-old analyst at JP Morgan, has been in Mumbai for almost six years now. When he first joined the St Xavier’s hostel, he really missed home-cooked food. By the second year he was so sick of eating the so-called ‘Punjabi cuisine’ offered in general restaurants that he set out on a search for the real thing.

It took time, patience, and a lot of trial-and-error before he found eateries that serve good Punjabi fare. “I found food that was just like ghar ka khana,” he says. “There are some distinct traits in Punjabi cooking. Dal makhani, for instance, is supposed to be cooked on a slow flame. This is time-consuming, so most restaurants don’t bother to do this. Most of them also don’t bother to use desi ghee with its distinct flavour and qualities.”

Like Malhotra – and the countless other Punjabis who’ve moved to the city for work or education – entrepreneur Bhupinder Singh was unhappy with the lack of good homely food in the city. So when he closed down his garage five years ago, he decided to start a Punjabi eatery. The 55-year-old wanted to serve food that was simple and healthy enough for people to eat every day. Today, Downtown Dhaba in Prabhadevi is very popular among both the Punjabis and non-Punjabis who live and work in the area.

One of the oldest Punjabi joints that is still going strong is Crystal on Marine Drive. It started as a snack-joint in 1956 and hasn’t changed at all since its inception. “Except the fans and chairs that broke,” adds Kamal Khanna, the 71-year-old owner, relaxing on one of the new plastic chairs. “One of the reasons we became popular was my wife’s kheer. She still makes the best chawal ki kheer in the city.”

Khanna’s conviction is based on the stream of feedback he has been getting over the years from the college students who hang out at Crystal. “Boys who felt at home here during the years they spent in college some 20 years ago come back with their wives for a nostalgic meal even if they’re staying at a five star hotel down the road,” he says.

Another eatery that Punjabi students and struggling actors bet on is Guru da Dhaba in Lokhandwala, started in 1993. This restaurant’s history goes back to a taunt actually. “It was started by my mother who the family would make fun of for being a buddhu (dud),” says the unassuming and kindly-looking Mandeep Kaur Anand. “But everyone has at least one talent, and in my mother’s case, it was her culinary skills.”

These small restaurants are unpretentious. Their prices and décor are simple too. There is a cultural component to the dhaba-like places, says Gurdish Singh, a commercial pilot. “The langar is free for every devotee. Dhabas too started off by offering food for the less privileged. This hasn’t changed over the years.”

Mandeep Kaur agrees. “We’re happy with what we get. We’re not going to jack up our prices because we’re popular,” she says