Gramin

Nov 27, 2007

"Look Ma, Bhindi Masala!"

I'm the last person around to sing paeans to an institution that thrives on its reputation as the place for the best vegetarian food in town. But credit needs to be given where it's due and Grameen (why am I always tempted to finish every utterance of that with a 'Swasthya Seva Mission'?) honestly does a good job of dishing out some genuinely tasty veggie fare.

If you're a first-time visitor and want to check out how well they do across the ‘roti-dal-subzi-chawal’ quadrant, then it'd do you well to try their ‘thali’ which is made up of a couple of tandoori rotis, a dal, 2 vegetable preparations, raita, papad and a sweet (anyone wanting to start a signature campaign that would urge Indian restaurants to think beyond the done-to-death gulab jamun, let me know). Which reminds me, I'd really like to see one of these places surprise me with their ‘thali’ one of these days. If not in terms of taste, then in terms of variety atleast, all these darned vegetarian thalis that I've been trying at different places (Aangan, Dal Roti to name a couple) have started to blur into one another. But I guess the familiarity of the standard North Indian vegetarian thali is, after all, its biggest selling point.

If you like the way the thali tastes and find yourself drawn to the place a second time, then dive into the a la carte menu this time around and get a little adventurous. My mum would be doing cartwheels in the living room if she ever heard that I, her most carnivorous of offspring, actually ordered a 'bhindi' dish at a restaurant, but that it in itself is a tribute to the men (Ladies, I looked...the cooks are all male) in the aprons here. They make the 'bhindi masala' taste wickedly good - bite-sized pieces of ladies finger are tossed around in a thick brown gravy of roasted spices with just the right bit of tang and salt.

[Did I just spend more than two lines in praise of a dish that didn't have any meat in it? Sigh, the state things have come to. Someone please point me in the direction of Bangalore's first all-you-can-eat steakhouse!]

Moving on, on multiple visits here, I've sampled stuff from the offbeat to the tried-and-tested, from the Sukki Sabzi to the Dal Fry, from the stuffed kulcha to the tandoori roti. And have had very little to complain about. Their (soft) drinks menu is exhaustive as well. I second, third and fourth every other endorsement here of their 'shikanji' and have also been told that their 'gulkand' milkshake is a must-try. I'm pretty sure there will be a next time, so I guess I know what I'm having for dessert when I'm there again.

Never really had to wait or fight to be seated or served, but I guess since these last few reviews here were written, they have extended the restaurant to include a mezzanine kind of place inside. Service is quick and unobtrusive. The decor is simple and earthy - with the rough edges intentionally left in to give you that genuinely 'grameen' feel. The place is not air conditioned but is situated just off a breezy corridor in a high-roofed commercial complex, so cross ventilation is aplenty and keeps you cool.

Definitely give this joint a shot if you're a vegetarian by choice. And even if you aren't, stop by this place on your occasional ‘no-meat’ day and you should walk away pleasantly surprised.

• Best of burrp!
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