Tiger belongs to Punjab, has traveled the NH1 since childhood, has eaten at most of the Dhaba's and has used the loo at most of the Haryana Tourism resorts hehehehe.. To me a dhaba is (Close your eyes and visualize post reading this ) Charpouys,brass Pateelas,chotu with a duster on his shoulder, music thru a radio,the tandoor made in mud , the choolah also made with hand ... onions hanging in a basket , no menu , trucks with beautiful decorations parked outside , the truckies in their kurta and dhoti hanging around twirling the muchhas , some dhabas also have massage wala pahlwan available ,on the side a bumbi (tube well) with fresh cold water running ..... Thats what a highway Dhaba is for Tiger .
Anyway to Murthal, the land of the Dhabas ..............
Anxiety Eagerness excitement desperation all of it pulls me
to Murthal the land of the Paranthas . Enroute to Chandigarh for a big fat punjabi
wedding .. I insisted on driving down rather the shatabdai train . NH1 is the
bestest, smooth as silk highway to drive on . The day chosen was holi, everyone
around me was like don’t go etc etc but my driver Deva and me took off at 12.30 for
Chandigarh and to my surprise the roads
were stark nude right from home . Reached murthal in exactly one hour and
slowed the speed to check out the dhabas – starts with Pahlwan and ends with
the gigantic Sukhdev .. in between is the recommended dhaba No1 Ahuja … and others of equivalent fame.
By the way post to the decision to go to No 1 Ahuja – I put
up a post on a food forum to do a opinion poll and majority of the people recommended this dhaba . Anyways it was quite empty due to Holi , good for me
but was a bit apprehensive about the food being available .. the security guard navigated our car to a
stall bang inside .. difficult to describe a high way dhaba – not the same as before – simple rustic , now they
are more like departmental stores selling imported food stuff , children s play
area etc etc sad .
We knew what we wanted to eat – Deva orders Chai I order
Lassi and for the parathas – Aloo and Paneer is recommended . Post the ordering
came the attack of accompaniments , salads etc .. Mind you the menu has Chinese / Chaats / and a full range of food but all veggy .
Fancy mithi kee handi for the achaar , pickled onions ,
freshly cut onions with nimboo hari mirchi and the next best thingy was Burnt Chilies’
– very unusual for a dhabba – served with salt . Tried the achaar – ok ok
typical , the pickled onions good with artificial coloring .. chalega
This was something new for me , green chillies burnt on the stove and served with salt .. a very north eastern culture . They normally do this to kill the excess chilly factor in them .Tasted great with the tandoori rotis and pyaaz a very gaonwala scene from the movies.
Lassi arrived a bit disappointed by the size .. saala chota sa gilass .. small glass ,was expecting a huge dhaba style tumbler . Well it was nothing to die for /.... thick ok .. have a strange feeling it was straight out of the fridge hence doubted its freshness . Peelo yaar kya nakhre dikhane hehehehehehe.. dhaba hai .
The Parantha - The most awaited drooled about thingy at that moment ... Plus point made with Atta and not maida hence does not make you feel bloated . The white butter is divine .. just divine .. i added some salt in it to make it more like amul .. my partner Deva put chutney in it and relished it . Infact he told me in his village they put garlic and red chilly powder to make it rocking , a must try . The Tandoori roti is great perfectly cooked in the tandoor but the filling is a question i prefer mine with good solid stuffing unlike what they served . I have seen two ways people use the filling On eis the make a roll and stuff it in between and the other is they mix it with the dough .. both are good . But this was ceratinly a Stuffed Tandoori Roti and not a parantha .
The Daal actually did surprise me = definitely cooked over night ... kaadi hui . Tasted awesome , didn need the butter to do the magic for sure . The perfect amount of masala , timatar , pyaaz but the fact is that it was slow cooked overnight which made it divine. Mr ahuja recommended it and yes it was a good choice - shud have ordered a plain tandoori roti with it.
The Farewell Thaali .. Guud , Sweetened Sauf ,Sugar etc etc - i could see people going mad about this thaali specially the kids .... it is delightful to see all these goodies infront of you .
Here comes the sad part .. i was munching through the paneer parantha and was wondering why i cudn taste the paneer .. said to my self lemme check and below is what i saw .. a few grains of paneer thats it ... checked another piece and found the same .. was disgusted . Called the waiter and asked him Bhai ye kya hua .. he looked at it very quizingly and said sir check karta hun maybe the cook is on leave and i go, what the hell my bad luck .. he comes back and says sir can i get u another one .. by that time the owner is beaming around me also .. personality hee kuch aisee hai .. i showed him the same and he was speechless .... yes they did want to cover up but seeing me one other customer too opened his aloo wala parantah and found the same problem now they were cornered and had no anwer . Basically they are living and enjoying the hype of murthal thats it .. Sad very sad and disheartening .
I prefer my Stuffed rotis with good substantial fillings and not just an eye wash , maal bhara hona chaiye.
Tigers Overall Experience : The Dhaba Legacy is over . The Hype is false and not worth it . The Paranthas are actually Tandoori Stuffed Rotis . Stick to aloo pyaaz and be delighted . The journey on NH1 is the bestest you can ask for on a hgh way - the entire stretch is filled with color full modern dhabas and also vendors selling kinoo juice every 10 yds . People have made mansions of restaurants like Savoy , Sukhdev etc etc it is amazing to see the cars parked outside them . The traditional dhabas are over where the chullah used to be mad eof mud , a water tube well on the side ,charpouys to laze around in , truckers hanging around , the beating of bartans to make daal fry , the claps of roti making all have gone missing .
We made it to Chandigarh in 4 hrs flat which usually take 5 hrs .
Dont expect much out of the Murthal Dhabas - treat them like a nice outing .
All dhabas are vegetarian or rather eggtarian on the Highway and it makes sense - they do it essentially to serve fresh food .
Teh Oasis after or before karnal has been rubbished only the Tourism buses stop there now , this used to be theonly good place earlier .. yet another sad story .
