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What’s in a name?
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This week, Rahul Verma learns a lesson – never judge a restaurant by its name
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It’s hard to tell now, but there was a time when Gole Market was quite the hub of Delhi. Long before Chittaranjan Park became a pocket-sized Kolkata, Delhi’s Bengalis went to Gole Market for their fish. Much before Bengali sweet shops spr
ung up in different parts of Delhi, there was a small place called Bengal Sweet Home in Gole Market where you could eat all the sweets that you liked – from roshogollahs to sandeshes – along with Bengali samosas and chops. My relationship with Gole Market is an old one.
We used to get our fish and meat from there when we were living in Central Delhi, and I continued to go there later to a favourite place of mine called Shreedharan’s. This, again, was rare in the ’80s, for you could eat some great Malayali food there – from meat fry to stews. But the old man who ran the place went away to the big sky of chefs, and the place changed its profile over the years.
Carnivore’s delight
Then, very recently, a friend told me about Sagar Barbeque. I had seen it earlier, but had shown little interest in it because I thought anything that was called Sagar was bound to be all vegetarian. But the friend recommended the place, and said it was quite a carnivore’s delight.
So, one day when we were suitably hungry at lunch time, we went to Sagar to try out its food. It is in the central roundabout at Gole Market, where all the butcher and fish shops are.
Sagar is quite a big place and is run by two brothers, Faiz and Farid. You can sit there comfortably and eat. There are two counters for semi-cooked food – seekh kababs, burras, chicken drum sticks and so on.
My friend, Madhu, asked for a plate of bhuna mutton (Rs.75) and tandoori rotis (Rs.3 a piece). The mutton was good – spicy but not hot or overdone.
The quality of mutton was really good – and I suppose that’s because they have their own butcher’s shop next door. Faiz, a suave young man, told me that the place has been around for ten years.
But there is a looming fear that the shops may be moved out for they are placed in a heritage building. The mutton was good, so I decided to take some home. I asked for a plate of mutton masala (Rs.75) and some roomali rotis (Rs.3) – and was happy to find that the dish, again, was rather tasty. It was rich and spicy, but not the kind that left you with an acidity problem.
The mutton dishes – rogan josh, kadhai mutton, do pyaza, korma and keema mutton – are for Rs.75 a plate. But a plate is enough for two people, as I found out. A grilled chicken (full) is for Rs.130. Chicken masala and chicken do-pyaza are for Rs.70. Sagar sells a plate of mutton biryani and chicken biryani (with gravy) for Rs.80. And they have a range of tava dishes – tava chicken is for Rs.70, tava keema kalejee for Rs.65 and tava seekh (chicken) for Rs.70. Sagar is indeed a discovery.
Remember the man who said never judge a book by its cover? To that, I humbly add: and never judge a restaurant by its name.
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