Among the fanfare of pan Asian restaurants, breweries, and experimental menus in Bengaluru, family-style restaurants serving good old Indian staples get lost sometimes. Jalebbi is a restaurant that opened its doors on Cunningham Road, in the space where an old favourite Banjara used to be. The restaurant is focussed on North Indian classics, as well as some fun street eats.
A brightly coloured auto greets visitors as they enter the restaurant. The same Indian-style aesthetic continues with the decor that has wall art featuring traditional paintings We visited on a weekday afternoon and seated ourselves on the cosy couch.
Street smarts
The menu begins with a list of some of their lavish signature dishes — Tandoori Lobster, Purani Dilli Ki Nihari and Raan-e-Mussallam — and then moves on to their appetisers. Our first course was everyone’s street food favourite Pani Puri. Served with two different types of pani, one sweet and one spicy, the puris were stuffed with a piquant potato filling. These disappeared from the table very fast!
We also tried another classic chaat, Bhalla Papdi. The fried urad dal fritters were topped with saffron yoghurt, and sweet and savoury chutneys. Since we are chaat lovers, this too was a favourite of ours. The Til Wale Jheenge, our next dish, was grilled farm-fresh prawns marinated in a citrus-forward and sesame flavoured sauce. Some other small eats include Bharwaan Shimla Mirch Tandoor Ki and Bhune Murgh Ki Sooley.
Curry up
For the main course, we kept it classic. The cloudy afternoon called for some pillowy butter naans, so we just had to have that. Paired with that were two curries, Subz Ki Jugalbandi and Murgh Makhan Daryaganj. The former was a melange of vegetables such as babycorn, haricot beans, bell peppers and broccoli cooked in a tomato gravy. The freshly pounded spices gave it an added dimension. The chicken dish takes you straight back to the streets of Daryaganj with its creamy gravy that’s made of kasoori methi. The tandoor-grilled spices of chicken tikka made for a great pairing with the fluffy pulao. Of course we had to have the restaurant’s namesake jalebi as dessert. They were served with a rich and creamy rabdi. A winning combination.The attention to detail and authenticity of the dishes won us over at Jalebbi. A must-try for lovers of North Indian cuisines.
Rs 1,200 for two. At Cunningham Road
anagha@newindianexpress.com
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