When it comes to quality North Indian dhaba food, Rang De Basanti Dhaba (RDBD) has clicked well with the food lovers in Kolkata. The sit-down restaurant, catering fresh dhaba food a la carte style, has been a popular destination for the busy techies in Sector V Salt Lake for five years, now. Having tasted success, it opened its third outlet in heart of South Kolkata on Ballygunge Circular Road this February.
To attract customers, RDBD has come up with a few new dishes that would be featuring in their menu. We were curious to know, whether it was competition from the ever popular Azad Hind Dhaba, diagonally opposite to it, that prompted them to introduce new dishes only two months after opening. “Not at all, on the contrary, we intentionally open our outlets in areas, which already have popular eateries. Besides, ours is not a dhaba in the strict sense of the term. Like traditional dhabas, we don’t serve ready food from handis. We serve dhaba food a la carte style. But apart from the same old dhaba food, we wanted to offer something unique that others don’t serve,” states Raj Dwip Pandey, general manager, operation of the Zing Group that runs Rang De Basanti Dhaba.
The new menu has interesting dishes on offer, such as Dahi ki Kebab, Afghani Murgh, Chicken Chawal, Fried Chicken, Hari Mirch Dhaniya Paneer Tikka and Dhaba Mutton Curryamong others.
The house chef, Siddharth Joardar, a Bengali brought up in Bhopal, says, “What makes our dishes stand out is the use of seasonal and freshly ground spices. We take great care to assimilate new trends with traditional dhaba recipes and come up with something as unique as Dahi ki kebab”.
We couldn’t counter the chef much when we tasted Dahi ki Kebab. Indeed, it was something very unique in taste, texture, and ingredients. Made of hung curd which is bound by sundried and roasted Makhna powder, the kebabs are delicately shallow fried in desi ghee. A single bite melts the kebabs in your mouth and we just couldn’t stop at one. The curd is creamy and not overtly sour with a subtle flavour of ginger and green chillies to tickle your taste buds.
The Afghani Murgh, a succulent, white chicken tandoori, marinated in yoghurt and cashew nut paste, is worth trying with the fenugreek leaves and royal cumin seeds lending a unique flavour to it. The Rang De Basanti Dhaba fried chicken, too, was scrumptious and different from your regular KFC fare. “During my stint as an executive chef of Carvinal Cruise in the US, I wished we had an Indian version of fried chickens. So, I came up with this,” said Joardar. The fried chicken had the right mix of freshly grounded Indian spices and can be a good choice as a starter.
We were disappointed with Chicken Chawal though, which had an overdose of keora water and did not live up to our expectations. The Hari Mirch Dhaniya Paneer Tikka was piquant but not something to die for.
But overall, the new, pocket-friendly menu is a winner along with the bright decor and friendly service of the place. So, it gets a thumbs up from us.
Rang De Basanti Dhaba: A fine-dining outlet serving North Indian Dhaba food
Timings: 11a.m.-1a.m.
A meal for two: Rs 800, including GST