Sethji Homemade Foods

Aug 30, 2007

Arty Burpy ;)

The board reads “Sethji Home food and Art Gallery”.
So you really don't know what to expect. You enter and find a vertical chart with a list of items, the likes of which warms the cockles of any north-indian-food loving heart. Parantha! Aloo ki subji, Gobi, Mutter ... you already feel at home.

Soon a gangly waiter pops-up near the window and wants to know what you'll order. I’ve only seen one guy take orders all the time. If you are a regular, he’ll know what you'd want. For me it was the “meals”.

One good method of testing a new eating joint is by eating their “meals”. This ensures that you get a fast moving item, something safe and regular, you get a dekko at the variety and get to judge if the specials are really that! I did that here too but stuck to meals largely because I felt it was a wholesome and light meal at the end of a tiring workday.

Order taken, you sit on the plastic chairs and look around and see where or what the art gallery is all about. You can’t miss it. Right there, on each wall there are one or more paintings made by Sethji.

Sethji (Tilak Seth) is a septuagenarian gentleman. He looks like a writer, lost in thought, contemplative, looking at the youngsters lapping up the dishes, which his team has cooked. He makes his presence felt by either walking around the premises or by sitting on his couch kept at a distance from the dining area. No, he is not intrusive.

The art gallery is actually the many number of paintings this man has made in younger times. The quirks don't end here. Each of these paintings has a Sher (Urdu couplet) written on it. Each carries his pen name, "Talab".

There's nothing spectacular in either the paintings or the shers and you begin to wonder what this is all about. Then the aroma and taste of the Mooli Parantha tells you that you are in a place where they ... probably make great Paranthas. While other joints like “Lalitas”, “Bobby Dhaba” make real yummy stuff, I must admit, Sethji’s paranthas are much more homely.

The "meals" is seriously good deal. For 35/- you get 4 phulkas, 2 sabjis, 1 raitha, aam ka achhar and the universal-freebie-throwaway-salad (One slice of onion and two slices of cucumber). The Gajar ka halwa is also great tasting but runs out pretty fast. I’ve only tried one drink, 'the Khus ka sherbet', which was fluorescent green in color but still tasted ok. Singles who don’t know this place, rejoice! Now you do!

When you run into hunger pangs and run out of ideas/ places and still want a ‘garam garam ghar ka khaana’ experience, Sethji’s is a good choice. A no frills place, a max of 20-25 people can sit in the designated room or in the roofed portico. A good meal for two will easily fit in 200/- (Especially if you are the types who workout and will scream if you see butter/ghee).

That’s not all, Sethji organises events like Mehfils and Kavi Sammelans in the same premises. One such event went by the name “Mehfil-e-Husn-eTalab” (I saw a poster near the wash basin). It seems surreal that all this exists outside Lucknow, Radio and Television.

Here is one restaurateur who is in his in his own time-zone and has no pretensions. For his efforts I think I’ll dedicate a light humored sher for this grand old man.

Phulkon kay deewaney hain
Aloo-mutter kay parwaaney hain
aapkay parathon ki khushboo mein zaroor kuch baath hai
hum sab ko khush karney mein Sethji,
aapka homely food ka sach much bada haath hai

Translation [just doesn’t do justice]
We are fans of the Phulkas you make
We are fans of the Peas-potato preparations
Your Paranthas have special aroma
Thanks to you
All of us foodies are real happy

peas.
HD
[My rating for this joint is actually 3.5. Not sure if that makes any difference]

• Share/ Bookmark:
• Email Friends
• Facebook
• Google
• Yahoo
• Digg
• Delicious
• Stumble Upon
• Reddit

• Best of burrp!
• Flag this review
• Permalink