If you are in a mood for having a delicious Punjabi meal then do try Chulha Chowki Da Dhaba (CCDD) in JP Nagar. Close to Ranga Shankara this place will surely catch your attention for its ambience. Set-up with bamboos and mud walls, it’s got a very ‘highway dhaba’ feel to it.  Just do not dismiss it to being some small time eatery.

As you walk by the road, the aroma of their kitchen might just take you by surprise. Don’t think twice. Just park your vehicle and treat your stomach to some delicious food. The restaurant has got a very rustic look to it with not-so high mud walls, open kitchen, a lot of bamboo around, mud flooring, plastic chairs and this huge signboard of a ‘matka’ on firewood – very raw, very urban and surely very tempting.

A friend of mine told me to visit this place. I had gone there a couple years ago when there was another restaurant and had hated it. I was under the impression that they had just changed the nameplate and would still continue to serve atrocious food. But I was wrong. The management had changed and so had the food.  3 of us went in and decided we would play it safe and not order food that can go wrong.

It was a Saturday and we could not find a table to spare. There was a long queue of Hindi speaking people waiting as well. Finally, when we saw the menu we were super hyper by looking at the rates – very reasonable. So there you go. All our idea of playing safe was thrown out of the window. We started ordering and the food started coming.

For starters, we ordered Tandoori Gobi and Babycorn Manchurian. Both were super slurp. To go with what we were eating we had ordered for Lime Soda, Sweet Lassi and Salt Lassi – no complaints about any. I personally was in super awe of the sweet lassi!! Yum!! As I am writing I’m wishing I had this tumbler of lassi with me and I could sip on a little of it; actually I want an entire tumbler now.. The gobi was so delicious and so well marinated that I was wishing I had ordered another plate. I must tell you that by the time we had finished eating the starters if anyone would come by our table they would think that the plates were cleaned and we were yet to have our food.

Our main course – soft, round, tender and just right phulkas!! We had 15 of them in total with Tawa Vegetables and Aloo Palak. You need to eat those phulkas to understand how yummy they were. The aloo was also very delicious. I did not really try the vegetables because I was busy feasting on the aloo. After all this, the bill amount to some 400 odd!!!  I wish I had spent some more time there observing what others were having but then there were people already waiting to take our table. Hence we had to step out.

My friend has always told me that the chicken is good. When I looked up online, reviews also suggested the same. Unfortunately, I was too engrossed in eating and I completely forgot to click pictures. I will do that sometime soon. Just a reminder – Do not go there expecting a fancy meal. It is simple and minimalistic. Steel plates and tumbles, plastic chairs and not particularly well dressed food. Trust me, you will love what they serve.

CCDD get a super thumbs up from me. Everything about that place is good. Service is quick, it’s light on the pocket, the people are courteous and most importantly, the food is tasty.

(P.S: They also have branches in HRBR Layout and Kalyan Nagar.. or so says their menu)