Giving dhaba fare an ‘angrezi’ makeover

Gurjant Pannu

What comes to your mind when you hear of an ‘English Dhaba’? Do you envisage a simple place serving the good old dal-panir and butter chicken or do you picture a better ‘English’ restaurant?

English Dhaba, the restaurant of Golden Plaza Hotel in Zirakpur, is a fusion of both scenarios. It serves traditional Punjabi dishes blended with English flavours. Take their signature dish English murga. It is the typical Indian tandoori chicken with an ‘angrezi’ twist. That twist comes with the coating of egg on the bird and a smear of cheese and pepper. The result is a lively combo flavour.

Opened in December, 2016, the English Dhaba Café (ED Café) aims to give a spin to the ordinary dishes.

Chef Manjit Thakur, who has worked in the hotel industry for years, says he wanted to experiment with the traditional fare and give it an international makeover.

With both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine, the restaurant has many fusion dishes on offer. Mahi-e-kesar—fish marinated with creamy saffron and wrapped in hot chilli— is one delectable item. So is panwari paneer tikka which, as the name suggests, is cottage cheese wrapped in betel leaves and marinated in spices.

The chef recommends chilli milli murgh tikka, dahakta jhinga, dhaba mutton, dahi ke kebab and honey chilli lychee.

And, khumb reenuman has an interesting nomenclature. The chef has named the dish after his wife Reenu. It is mushrooms stuffed with a seasoned cheese-khoya concoction.

Nikhil Thakur, manager of the restaurant, shares that the idea behind English Dhaba was to have a place which serves Indian food with some zingy new flavours.

“We have given a makeover to even our regular dishes commonly savoured in every Indian kitchen. We have even experimented with mom’s recipe of the simple yellow dal. Our dal golden is a blend of arhar and roasted moong dal. Then there is pizza paratha, another of our food experiments which has become popular,” he said.

“We have managed to build a loyal following of foodies through their stomach,” he adds.

A meal for two costs around Rs 1,500. The restaurant can be reached through the Paras Downtown Square Mall, too.