Locomotoring

Taka-tak aloo at Pindi restaurant

It is Sunday, the day of rest. Rest from the kitchen, that is. I am at Pindi, a popular establishment in Delhi frequented by visitors and locals alike. It is devilishly hot outside. I can smell grilled meat a good hundred feet from Pindi. It is late for lunch but the joint is crowded. People are tearing apart tandoori chicken with gusto and hungrily sopping up creamy curries with naans. All accompanied by cheerful faces, animated conversations, and sounds of laughter. Very Punjabi indeed.

Half order of tandoori chicken at Pindi

Fish tikka at Pindi

The restaurant is clearly divided into two sections. One side is upscale-ish whereas the other side is occupied by the chauffeurs of the upscale lot. Rather than wait in the heat, we decide to take the available table and rub elbows with the latter crowd. The upscale crowd is varied – tourists, hip student crowd, business men and families.

We ask for basics – “taka-tak-aloo” (pan fried potatoes stuffed with paneer), daal, tandoori chicken, fish tikka, garlic naan and tandoori roti. The potatoes are promptly declared significantly inferior to mom’s. But the rest are perfectly acceptable. Chicken is smoky crisp on the outside and moist inside. Fish tikka may be the best to be had in Delhi – crisp batter on the outside and flaky on the inside. Daal is surprisingly delicious with a creamy tomato base. We argue if it is better than the famous daal at restaurant Dum Pukht. Food finishes quickly. It is too early in the day to go for a “Patiala peg” – a large shot of whisky, but at least one can think about it.  It would go well with the fried liver dish I spot on the menu.