A no-frills place at one end of Wheeler Road, Manjit Da Dhaba’s busy kitchens serve up vegetarian Punjabi fare with flair. The butter-smeared parathas and the lassi, in particular, will make you say ‘Balle! Balle!’. Parked right next to the railway crossing in Cox Town (where the flyover ends), Manjit Da Dhaba has no real ambience to speak off. The busy open kitchen is the only source of entertainment here. The lassi needs to be the first thing you order here. You’ll be promptly brought a steel tumbler filled with chilled lassi that’s thick and has just the right amount of sweetness. We have to say that this is probably one of the best lassis we’ve had in this town. And on a hot summer day, it is nothing short of bliss.
Once you’ve had a few gulps of lassi, take your pick from the list of parathas. They have everything from plain to aloo (potato), gobi (cauliflower), and mixed vegetables. Our paneer and mooli parathas came in a steel plate, topped with melting dollops of butter. In the first, crumbled bits of paneer and slices of chilli came stuffed between the layers of paratha. The speckles of cottage cheese add a lovely creaminess to the bread. On the other, the shreds of fresh mooli gave the paratha a nice crunch.
If you insist on rice, we recommend that you pair it with the Kadi Pakoda. It’s a mellow curry made from curd and it comes with a sprinkling of spices that gives the dish life. Of course, the highlight is the crunchy fritters that bring texture and delish to the curry. At the end of the meal, we point you in the direction of the handmade gulab jamuns that melt in your mouth. Or the subtle sweetness of the sooji kheer. The kheer, in particular, had us impressed since it was creamy yet so light. We could happily mop up bowls of these in a jiffy. We scored a delightful meal for less than INR 300 and if nothing else, that’s going to keep us and you coming back for more. This place is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner that’ll have you recharged in minutes.