Well.. my radar caught a new Punjabi restaurant in Koramangala. Baba da Dhaba has expanded to my part of town, with some delicious food. And I was here, for a tasting of the already famous delicious food.
It’s a small cosy outlet, with lesser seating. I like the outside seating more, because the weather of our lovely city. But the place is more about food that it’s ambience.
For beverages, you have the usual Punjabi choices. Shikhanji (lemon water) was very nice and flavourful. Lassi was quite delicious as well. Both are a good choice.
Starters
Amongst vegetarian starters, Paneer tikka was just divine. It was probably the best Paneer tikka I have had in a long time. The paneer was so soft and the marinade was delicious. The assortment of veg Tikki, which included, corn. beetroot and peas Tikki was quite delicious too. The masala on top gave a brilliant punch to it.
Non-vegetarian starters were equally fabulous, if not more. Malai chicken kebab was so juicy and packed with flavours. I loved the marinade on chicken tikka as well. It was very palatable. Mutton sheekh kebab was another star appetizer. Very delectable and a must try dish here.
Kathi Rolls
Both chicken and mutton Kathi rolls were toothsome and filling. The mutton Kathi roll’s fillings were very similar to the sheekh kebab.
Main Course
Partly because the paneer was so soft, the Paneer makhanwala was amazing. Another main course item, which reminds me of a Punjabi kitchen was the aloo matar. It was nostalgia.! I was disappointed with the Baingan ka bharta though. It lacked the smokiness and the flavours. Since I am almost never impressed with dal makhani, the tradition continued. The dal was very creamy, which was good, but I like a good tadka in the dal, which was missing.
Moving on to non-vegetarian options, Chicken Kaali mirch was really flavoursome. A brilliant chicken preparation you should try. Chicken lababdar on the other hand, I felt was too sweet for my taste. Apart from the sweetness, I loved the flavours in it. Mutton rogan josh was good as well.
We had our main course with Paneer parathas. They were even filled with flavourful filling, making it a good choice.
Desserts
We tried Kheer and black and white chocolate cake. The kheer was another piece of nostalgia. Not too thick in consistency (I like it that way) and packed with flavours!! MUST TRY!
I hear the phirni is even better here, but it wasn’t available, so I’ll try that next time.
Overall, it is a lovely casual dining food joint with really good food.!
My rating: 4.5
Must try dishes
Paneer tikka, malai chicken kebab, mutton sheekh kebab, Paneer lababdar, chicken kali mirch and kheer
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