DESILICIOUS!
A SERIOUSLY HOT PARATHA AND THE BEST TIKKI EVER
The parathas are served with small bowls of yoghurt, pickled onions, dal makhni and papad.
By SUVARNA SHASTRI
There’s the fabled Paranthewali Gali in Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi that draws visitors and tourists to its eateries in the narrow, crowded lanes. Some of these are decades old, run by generations of the same family who zealously guard their recipes.
Then there’s the Paranthewali Gali in Brampton with the fun poster art outside.
On entering, one is confronted with a large fountain at the entrance. The light shades are small wooden crates painted on the inside and brightly painted autorickshaws on the low wall serving as a room divider are a nice touch. Gali – street – autorickshaw... get it?
Shiny tablecloths in different colours are nice, too, I think, until we realize that the glass top slides off these with alarming ease and we grab the edges to prevent food spilling over onto the floor. A bright space, and one offering a bewildering choice of parathas. There are 43 vegetarian options alone! Then you have 25 non-veg parathas, 20 in the category described as Pizza Paranthe and 14 sweet parathas.
As I don’t care much for ‘fusion cuisine’ or for strange combinations – pav bhaji dosa or palak paneer dosa just make me shake my head and ask why would anyone do that? – I skip the last two sections and focus on the vegetarian and meat options.
A note urges one to order something from the snacks menu as orders can take time but the girl who came to take our order said that only applied when they were super busy.
However, by then I had spotted Tawewali alu tikki and had to have some, regardless of how long our parathas took to come.
Totally worth another visit just for the alu tikkis.
I asked for Hotness All Around – Mirchi Wala paratha and Kanta played it safe with Mr Potato Alu Wala paratha.
Her excuse? “It’s not that I am unadventurous – I just happen to believe that a simple alu paratha is a good test. If they can get that right, they can do anything.”
I withheld comment as our tikkis had arrived and I have to say, were the best I have had in a long, long time, with a crisp crust and yummy. Generous dollops of chutneys and garnished with grated radish. Totally worth another visit just for the tikkis.
My mirch paratha was seriously hot. Good to know they don’t dumb it down but perhaps caution diners? Or put chillies on menu to grade spice level? But then, to be fair, I guess a desi like me would scoff at a warning. “Mirch? I was born chomping mirchis!” But this one had me grabbing Kanta’s bowl of dahi too.
She was happy with her alu paratha, offering me a small piece to prove what I was missing.
The parathas are served with small bowls of yoghurt, pickled onions, dal makhni and papad.
Paranthewali Gali is located at 2452 Queen St. E., Brampton (905-458-0048). They have another location at 143 Clarence St., Brampton (365-788-5678).