JOIN USTucked away in Koramangala 5th Block, near Krishna Temple, is a little restaurant called Challo Amritsar which offers the most filling, delicious food from Punjab.
A meal can cost anything between Rs 50 and Rs 250, depending on how much your stomach can take. One of the highlights of this eatery is the fact that all the spices, papads and wheat are brought from Punjab itself, to give a more local flavour.
“We are most famous for our dal makhani and butter chicken. Our masala papad is also quite a hit. In drinks, people keep coming back for our lassi and jaljira paani, which go well with every dish,” says Govind Singh, the head chef who runs the place.
Prior to this, he was worked in restaurants and hotels in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Goa as well as abroad in Bulgaria, New Zealand and South Korea.
While he can prepare all kinds of cuisines to excellence, his speciality lies in making Punjabi kulchas makkhanwala sabji and malai koftas, among other things.
“In traditional Punjabi food, a lot of anaar daana and black pepper is used. We saw that people here didn’t like that too much and so, we changed it to a more North Indian style,” explains Singh.
“The most popular meal for us is lunch because that is when we get the office crowd, college students and the PG waale,” he adds.
The combo meals cost Rs 50 and are extremely filling and tasty, be it the J & K rajma chawal combo or the one with baingan bharta and two rotis. In desserts, the gulab jamun and gaajar ka halwa are a must.
There seems to be a nice rapport between the customers and the waiters, who are helpful and constantly smiling, making you enjoy your food even more.
“I have been coming here regularly for the last four and a half months. It’s nice to see the same, familiar faces,” says Asif, a young engineer who claims to eat almost every lunch and dinner in the eatery. “My favourite dishes are bhindi masala, mutton curry and the salad,” he adds.
Challo Amritsar is open from 12 noon to 11 pm. One piece of advice though — inform the chef beforehand if you don’t like your food too spicy.For details, call 42005118.