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Aroma rises in the East

The small market plaza in my neighbourhood in Mayur Vihar has never been all that alluring. There are the usual shops there selling everything from eggs and bread to shoelaces and umbrellas. But it livens up every evening, for that’s when a won derful aroma of chicken being barbecued wafts up in the air. If you follow the smell, you will find a white-haired gentleman called Subhash right in the middle of the tiny market. And he stands there with his huge tandoor, roasting chicken and mutton — and generally serving humankind in Mayur Vihar Phase II.

I first noticed him when we moved there over 10 years ago. Those days, there were very few restaurants in and around Mayur Vihar, so we relied heavily on Subhash for our non-vegetarian cravings. Subhash, of course, has been there for long — he first set up his tandoor in 1992. And though over the years a great many eateries have sprung up, he is still the mainstay of the neighbourhood. Subhash’s tandoor is called Bhashi — a short form of his name. If you enter Mayur Vihar Phase II from the main Ghaziabad highway, turn right. After passing some temples (no, you can’t miss them), you will find the A block market of Phase II. Bhashi’s chicken counter is right there.

He sits there every evening barring Tuesdays. He skewers tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, chicken seekh kababs and mutton seekh kababs like a master chef. I like his tandoori chicken and his tikkas: for one, he doesn’t overwhelm them with spices or colour, and, secondly, he barbecues them just right. The meat is tender. It’s not rubbery, which is the case with underdone tikkas. Nor is it too dry or charred, which is what happens when you over-grill it.

The prices are reasonable — and standard, really. A full tandoori chicken, for instance, comes for Rs.120. Chicken tikkas are for Rs.70. Both chicken and mutton seekh kababs are for Rs.45. He also makes a seekh kabab roll in a roomali for Rs.25.What’s great is that he is going to — very, very soon, he says — start barbecuing fish. Subhash has done that on some earlier occasion, and says that the response to his fish tikkas was gratifying.

Good fish being expensive, the fish tikka will cost more than the other kinds of tikkas. One plate of five juicy barbecued fish pieces will be for 100 rupees.

I shall be among his first customers the day he gets his first lot of fish.

I must say, these corner shops have been doing a great service to all fish and meat lovers. On those sad days, when you find that your cook has decided that you should eat some ghiya and parmal, and nothing else, all that you have to do is amble up to the nearest tandoor. Bhashi is particularly good, because his stuff is fresh, and the mild spices he uses enhance the taste of a juicy tandoori chicken instead of drowning it with strong flavours.

In the old days, when a good plate of tikka was almost like a mirage in this vast tract of land called East Delhi, Bhashi’s counter was an oasis.

Even now, when the city is teeming with tandoori stalls, it stands out. Three cheers for Subhash!

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