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A heavy duty fare
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On a dhaba hunt, RAHUL VERMA visits the good old Nand Lalji Ka Dhaba in Daryaganj for a wholesome meal
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Every time I pass by a dhaba, I get the strangest of urges. I want to stop my car right there for a quick bout of hot rotis and dal. This, of course, is a mere pipe dream. In the first place, there are not too many dhabas in the city any more. And, second, dhabas are not what they used to be. There was a time when their food was something to die for. But these days, most dhabas serve rich and oily dishes that you wouldn't want to touch with a barge pole.
Still, there are a few dhabas around where the food is wholesome and the prices are affordable. And since I am always on the lookout for a good dhaba, I was ecstatic when I first heard about a place in Central Delhi that served the most delicious of dishes.
A friend told me that he had been to Nand Lalji ka Dhaba and was never the same after that. Since the friend's new image was a greatly improved one, I thought the dhaba deserved a visit.
Nand Lalji ka Dhaba is at Ansari Road in Daryaganj
At Ansari Road
It is located at the spot where the road from Golcha cinema on Daryaganj meets Ansari Road.
The dhaba has an interesting layout. When it has more clients than it can accommodate (and that means every day), it leads would-be diners to the first floor of a building just a few metres away. It is a comfortable room and you can sit there and eat to your heart's content.
Whenever I am there, I order Nand Lal's famous keema kaleji (Rs.90). The hand-chopped mince makes excellent gravy for the soft pieces of liver, cooked in a tomato base.
The malai kofta (Rs.35) consists of soft balls in light gravy and Nand Lal's special dal is cooked with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your lipid profile) helping of butter. I usually have missi paranthas (Rs.10) with my food.
I have had the cream chicken there (Rs.200), too. It's an excellent dish of succulent chicken pieces in gravy that looks light - and is anything but... . Nand Lal ji's huge thali (Rs.60) is a favourite of the regulars there.
I have often wanted to try it out, but never had the guts to do so because it looked like a meal for three famished people and one moderately hungry man. In fact, the helpings are all huge.
The dhaba also delivers to areas around Darya Ganj. I believe that there are some in the newspaper offices on Bahadurshah Zaffar Marg who can't start writing their first copy till they have had a meal delivered from Nandlal Ji's. That, I suppose, would account for some of the juicy stories that you get to read in the newspapers.
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