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‘Mausam achha hai’, oftentimes, it just takes us a day of pleasant weather to plan the most impromptu road trips, and for Delhites, a lot of these road trips end at ‘Murthal’. Which is ironic because even if you start from Cannaught Place, it would barely take around one hour, fifty minutes to reach Murthal. Driving on the highway road is surely a dream, but for it to qualify as a ‘trip’, this little excursion demands a stronger impetus, don’t you feel? And this is where the iconic ‘Dhabas’ of Murthal come into play.
Dhabas Then...
Dhabas are small, modest eateries that you generally find along the highways. However, they are pretty common inside the cities and districts too. Somewhere in the beginning of twentieth century, when the British were carrying out their masterplan to link the cities through highways, these dhabas sprouted on either side of the roads for those travelling. Truck drivers and passerbys would stop over and perch themselves on the khats and charpoys to relish authentic Indian delights. In North, especially for those coming towards Delhi, the fare was soon to be dominated by Tandoori items, Tandoori chicken, Tandoori roti, Tandoori gobhi, you name it.
It is also interesting to note that these dhabas not only helped serve countless homeless refugees post partition, but also grew in numbers as many decided to set up their own dhabas to support their family in the new nation.
Dhabas Now...
We see a new restaurant being set up every fortnight. We don’t mind waiting 20 minutes outside our favourite restaurant for a seat. ‘Happy Hours’ and ‘Full House’ are terms that have entered our daily vocabulary thanks to the popularity of these restaurants, and yet, none of these developments have steered the crowd away from dhabas in all these years. As a matter of fact, many well-to-do restaurants inspired by dhabas have worked their menus and décor as a tribute to the modest eateries. Dhaba Estd. 1986 and Garam Dharam are a few prominent examples. Even their choice of utensils, like handis to serve dals and curries, baskets for rotis are replete with a certain ‘rustic’ touch. Then there are places like 'Rajinder Da Dhaba' and 'Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba' that have come a long way since their humble beginnings and have transformed into these state-of-the-art restaurarants, but refuse to drop the word 'Dhaba' from their names due to the massive brand recall.
What makes these dhabas work as a charm? The reasons are aplenty. First and foremost, the costing. When you know you can feed your whole family for the amount you paid for that Fettucine pasta at one of these well-to-do cafes, how can you possibly turn your backs to these corners of joy. Not only are Dhabas light on pocket from a customer’s stand point, but even as a business opportunity, gains are sort of guaranteed provided everything goes right...
The Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and curfews sverely imapcted many small time eateries, who can possibly forget the teary-eyed visual of Kanta Prasad, the eighty-year old owner of Baba Ka Dhaba, struggling to make ends meet. The viral video brought several Delhhites to his dingy shop in Malviya Nagar, to relish his Matar Paneer, Palak Paneer, Chawal, Dal, Paratha. It was the day, social media helped restore a Delhi Dhaba at the brink of dying. Foodies 1, Covid 0, we guess?
But if you really come to think about it, you do not need a lavish location to set up a dhaba, the limp chairs are pardonable, the serving etiquette also becomes a non-issue if you have on offer the best Dal Makhani, Shahi Paneer, Butter Chicken, Dal Tadka, Malai Kofta, Butter Naan, Tandoori Naan. These are the standard dishes of almost every dhaba in Delhi, if you are lucky, you may even find some fancy additions like noodles or garlic naan, but largely, these dishes continue to be the crowd-pullers in Delhi. We told you, the Tandoori and Punjabi influence is quite as prominent even till this date.
When Dhabas Entered Our Home
My Bengali father, born and brought up in Central Delhi, often tells us how the food from these dhabas proved to be his first tryst of sorts with ‘Punjabi’ food, especially Dal Tadka and Dal Makhani. Families rarely stepped out to eat in the 60’s, and when they did, they did not quite know how to deal with the ever-so generous portion size. And since, nothing pains Indians more than wastage of food, my grandparents once asked a dhaba owner if they could pack the food in some form of container. They also offered to bring it with them the next time they visit, the Dhaba owner was happy to oblige. Few years later of course, the system of packaging and parceling the food was streamlined in a big way, and just like that, you did not even have to be present at the Dhaba to enjoy Dhaba food, it reached to your homes and hearts.
The interplay of flavours and the gorgeous colours of Dhaba food are entrenched in our heart. These are recipes that have been guarded for generations. Greasy curries, sedulously cooked with masalas brought in from whole sale spice markets, hot breads dripping with ghee, perfectly marinated kebabs, rattling of karchis and gigantic kadhais sizzling with tadkas. These are visuals that are enough to whet anyone’s appetite, any hour of the day.
If you are missing some dhaba food right now, here are two of our favourite dhaba style recipes. Dhaba chicken curry and Dhaba Dal. Try making it at home and let us know if you were able to recreate the same magic.
