A touch of Punjab

The place is known as Bobby Da Dhaba and is famous for its authentic Punjabi food. This small dhaba has been here for the past 36 years and is situated next to the gurudwara near Ulsoor Lake.

Though the ambience is not great and lacks certain basic amenities, the food is exceptional. As you wait for your table, you write your order on a small piece of paper handed over to you. The parathas are simply delicious and is served with a blob of butter on them. Mooli, onion, paneer and aloo paratha are the most sought-after ones. The parathas are dashed off with some rajma masala, dal tadka, dal makhni or aloo jeera. It makes you lick your finger tips as you gorge the food.

As one is busy enjoying the food, one also listens to Bobby, the owner, giving instructions to his staff in Punjabi. And that transports you to the land of five rivers. The menu is quite simple and vegetarian. Some of the popular dishes are paratha, channa masala, rajma masala, shahi paneer, jeera rice, aloo mutter, aloo gobi etc.

Two other items, which most people don’t miss, are butter milk and kheer. Butter milk is served in a large stainless steel tumbler, which is frothy and too much for one. Ragini H, who has been a loyal customer for the past eight years, says, “I simply love the food here. Paneer paratha with rajma masala is my favourite along with butter milk. I don’t leave without having kheer. I bring my friends here and we have great time. As we wait for outside for our turn to come, we keep chatting and once we are in, the number of parathas we order keep increasing.”

All the dishes are served along with a bowl of pickles, onions, bright green chillies and sliced cucumber with masala sprinkled over it. Everything is served piping hot in a very simple and plain manner.

Reema Sethi, another customer, says “When I came to Bangalore, some of my colleagues told me about Bobby’s and I went with a bunch of them. I fell in love with the food and found the taste very much like the food in North India. Aloo paratha, along with dal makhni, is my all-time favourite here. The food is prepared very well.”

The sabzi they serve is ample enough for two and makes a filling meal along with some parathas and jeera rice. Fortunately, the price of food here does not create a big hole in your pocket.