Punjab is a land of milk, ghee and makhhan. Some even call it a kukkad (chicken) nation whose sale hits a peak during evenings when people enjoy their whisky and that even turns the population to turn their native language to English (pun intended) 
On my recent trip to Amritsar I had a few hits (from unexpected outlets) and a few misses from a few well known places.
Starting with Murthal where we had the first halt.
Amrik Sukhdev: A place where I love the tandoori Paratha with soft white butter. Even though it was 1am in the morning, this huge space was so full and buzzing that we had to wait for 20 minutes. I won’t say that we had to stand in the queue as there is no queue. Guests are left on their own to search for the table making them stand next to someone else’s table who is still eating, giving them glances to get up early. What a spoiler. Wonder why they can’t have a token system?
Plus this time the paranthas were thick and tasteless as if the main cooks have already left and helpers doing the job. Lastly, the soft fresh white butter was hard.
No taste in the chowmien and serving hot milk instead of kada hua (thickened) milk only strengthened my resolve to not go back there anytime soon.
Kesar da Dhaba, Amritsar: This has been one of my favourite joint for dal makhani along with crisp tandoori parantha. But this outlet has also got more touristy over the years. I skipped my breakfast to enjoy my lunch here. And after the meal, I even had to skip my dinner apart from getting acidic burps.
Dal Makhani has loads of ghee on top but the only taste one can get in the dal is yes, of course, of ghee. I had two paranthas with my meal, not because it was delicious but because I was hungry. First parantha was overly crisp and second a tad undercooked. Not everything is bad at Kesar. Kadi was delicious with one of the softest pakodas I have had, bharta was decent without being exceptional. However paneer in palak paneer was chewy and the water bottle was served to us with a broken seal that we thankfully noticed as even the water was slightly less than what is normally there in a sealed bottle.
So would I go back to Kesar? I still might if I am on that side but making a special visit that side is totally unnecessary. Pains of taking a rickshaw or walking in those narrow lanes with a waiting of at least 30 minutes is not worth it.
Lassi: We tried lassi at Ahuja which is again average.
However we were pleasantly surprised with the lassi at Rang Panjab, a restaurant. It’s thick lassi with peda and malai on top is so good that it can beat any popular joints hand down.
Fruit Cream: If you like fruit cream then you must try at Rana Fruit Cream. Though the temperature at which it is served is not correct and it is more like fruit ice cream, it is still so tasty that one can easily ask for a repeat.
Infact I got a kilo of this fruit cream packed for hotel and put it in the mini bar. As soon as the cream melted while it was still chilled, it tasted even better. This is a must eat.
Kulcha: There are many recommendations for Kulcha in the city. Almost 10 years ago I did a kulcha trail and even gave certificate to Ashok Kulchewala but this time I was in no mood to explore so much.
However the chef at WelcomHotel by ITC served some delicious kulchas in our breakfast that was included in the room pricing.
I wanted to try so much more. But given the overdose of ghee, makkhan etc, I ate just 5 meals including breakfast instead of 10 meals that I could have had in the duration that I was there. Just adding more and more fat doesn’t make the meal tasty. It has to be the right proportions of everything, including love.
For a detailed list of eateries, check out www.indianfoodfreak.com/amritsar
– Pawan Soni
