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On a thali trail
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It's sweet and spicy. Rahul Verma on the Gujarati thali at Suruchi in West Delhi
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Gujarat was in the news, which was why, I suppose, I was dying to eat some good Gujarati food. But in Delhi, that's almost like hoping for some exotic specialities from Burkina Faso. There are all kinds of restaurants and dhabas in Delhi, but few that serve Gujarati food. But few is better than none, so I turned the metaphorical pages of the little black notebook of my memory for a suitable place.
The best place for Gujarati food, of course, is my friend's house in Mall Road, for his mother is an awesome cook. But since I was in another part of town, I decided to go to Suruchi, a restaurant in West Delhi. I was introduced to this place by an old friend a couple of years ago. It was love at first bite at Suruchi. Ever since, I have nurtured fond hopes of going back there for a thali.
So I did just that last week. I went to Ajmal Khan market and walked up to Suruchi in the lane opposite Roopak Store.
It's a quiet little place, air-conditioned and with a neat decor. The food is vegetarian, and the staff is attentive. Waiters in pagdis politely escort you to your table, and, in true Gujarati-style, serve you with an old world courtesy.
I had a thali - which is what you must have in any Gujarati restaurant. You are first urged to eat a small bajra roti stuffed with jaggery. Then come a spate of soft, ghee-smeared rotis, or rice, and little bowls of all kinds of Gujarati delicacies - a lovely, mildly sweet daal, a light kadhi made with curds and besan, and a few vegetable dishes. Gujarat food has a sweet taste, but Suruchi offers this lethal chutney made with garlic and chillies to go with it. It is simply delectable.
Unlimited servings
A thali comes for about Rs.150 and consists of unlimited servings of daal, vegetables, kadhi, snacks, roti, rice and puran poli. You are supposed to eat your main dishes with the dessert. So a Gujarati thali doesn't end with a sweet. Instead, you keep taking a bite of your gulab-jamun or fruit cream (which is what I got) as you eat your papad and dunk your rotis in the dal.
Suruchi is good news. There was a time when I used to go to this Gujarati restaurant opposite Gujarat Samaj near Ludlow Castle for a thali. But the food there was just passable and I haven't been there for long. I have also been to the old Swaminarayan Temple near Tib Monks for Gujarati food. But Suruchi takes the cake. Or do I mean the dhokla?
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