A Bhangra dinner

What happens when a restaurant has 15 chefs? Easy - each one of them specialises in one or maybe 2 dishes on the menu. That's certainly a good sign in my book.

Bhangra is a Punjabi restaurant that's situated after the Uthandi toll gate. Actually, it's located within the Mayajaal complex. Invited to review what a true blue Punjabi meal should taste like, we landed up there on a Wednesday night. The entrance to the restaurant is behind the complex and is opposite a large carpark.

The charpoy

We were welcomed by our gregarious host and Bhangra's director, Navtej. In the foyer, there are life-size cutouts of a Punjabi lass and lad with a moustache. Stick your head in the hole and a staff member would be only too willing to click your pic. There's also a charpoy with 2 hand fans. Why a charpoy I wondered.



Its a 50-seater restaurant and thankfully, lots of space between tables. On the walls, there are framed pictures of Bhangra dancers, glass bangles and famous Punjabi quotes like the ones above.

Lassi ; sugarcane juice

As soon as we're seated, we were served sweet lassi. It's thick, has just the right amount of sweetness and is topped with red squiggles. Do find out what it is but it does add to the flavour. Halfway through dinner, we're served freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. Navtej tells us he's so fond of the drink that he went and got himself a sugarcane juice extractor just so he could indulge not just himself but also his customers!

Papads & onion with kulcha chutney, pachranga & mint chutney

A plate of papads and sliced onions, pickle and 2 chutneys are served. The mint chutney is very nice but the kulcha chutney, great with naan and the pachranga, with its mustard-y overtones, are delicious.

Tandoori paneer

Amritsari fish tikka

Chicken malai tikka

Mutton seekh kabab

Starters were all served hot, each one had a bit of char and lovely smoky flavours that went all the way to the core. Mutton seekh kababs were the best, the meat was springy and moist. Each dish was plated simply - a mound of sliced onions, a lime wedge and a sprinkling of coriander leaves.

Lochha naan

Another interesting starter was the lochha naan, a naan stuffed with cottage cheese, peas, onions, garlic, chillies and I'm sure a lot more ingredients. A wedge of it and some pachranga - yummm!

Fried green chillies that go best with channa bhatura

Lochha naan; Pindi channa bhatura; tandoori  roti; lachha paratha

Each of the breads is wholesome and rather substantial in size. Made with whole wheat flour, they are good to eat without any accompaniment too, or maybe with the kulcha chutney. The peas pulao we sampled was fragrant and was so good with all the gravies.

Dal makhani

There are two kinds of paneer that come out of the kitchens of Bhangra. The slightly firmer kind is used when cooking in the tandoor and the softer one in the gravies. The mutton rogan josh is so tender but it's the dal makhni that has us raving. The reddish gravy is thick, rich, creamy and redolent with the flavour of butter. If I could go into raptures about any one dish, it has to be this.

Butter chicken, paneer makhani and mirch paratha

Food is served on steel plates and everything that comes to the table is fresh off the tandoor, tawa or kadai. Each of the gravies is different, every one of them tastes superb. It's comfort food at its best and with peppy bhangra music playing in the background, it's so easy to overeat. I guess I finally figured out why there's a charpoy out front!

Moong dal halwa (top); kheer

There are 2 desserts on the menu - a hot moong dal halwa and a cold kheer. Both were topped with fried cashewnuts, such an unfussy presentation.

Bhangra even has a small Jain menu that can be had with their breads or rice.

The restaurant is open from noon to midnight on all the days of the week. A meal for two should cost about 1200/++.