Dhaba culture thriving due to demand for authentic taste

The Raikhy Cinema and the railway station roads are famous for their “dhaba” culture. The authentic taste served at these dhabas, has not changed for decades. Times have changed and so has the ambience of many dhabas — as per the taste of the new generation. But what remains the same is the authentic taste. It is the fourth or the fifth generation of many of these dhaba owners into the business, taking the legacy forward.

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A visit by The Tribune team revealed that on these particular two roads, there were about 40-50 dhabas, catering to different clientele in the city. Starting from the daily wagers to rickshaw pullers to the elite strata from the city, the dhabas are serving several favourites among customers — which mostly include dal makhni, dal tadka (with desi ghee), paneer bhurji, paneer pasanda, shahi paneer, baingan bharta, malai kofta, mixed vegetable etc with laccha parantha, missi, tandoori and rumali roti.

Shivander, owner of one of the leading dhabas on Raikhy Cinema road, Royal Pursharthi Dhaba, said it was their fourth generation in the business. “We cannot afford innovations in this traditional taste because people will not like it. Though we are adding more dishes but the spices, ghee, and other ingredients remain the same. The foodies relish the taste, which has continued to tickle their taste buds for over three decades. Our dhaba was started in 1949,” he said.

Parvesh Arora from Lark Dhaba-cum-restaurant here said it had been 65 years now into the business. “Our father, grandfather was also in this business. We try to stick to the traditional way of serving to food-lovers and perhaps this is the reason that we are sustaining in the era of competition. There were few joints in early times but now more and more dhabas are coming up. There is set clientele, who wants the similar taste. These customers do not like any change in the food as far as the taste is concerned,” said Arora.

Dal, which was for Rs 30-40 per plate about 15 years back, was now over Rs 200 or even more due to rising prices and inflation. There are dhabas, which are providing meals at reasonable prices as they cater to the lower strata but the leading dhabas, which serve the elite class, offer food at much higher prices as they use desi-ghee to prepare the dishes. A couple from South City, who drove all the way to have food at Shekhupurian Dhaba, said that once in every 10 days, they come here to relish the spicy food. “There is no change in the taste for the last 25 years,” said the wife.

Some of the leading dhabas on these roads include Friends, Shekhupurian, Lark, Royal Pursharthi, Lucky Dhaba, Gulhati Dhaba etc.