Off the streets of India

The Indian Dhaba has a wide variety of delicacies from Northern India on its menu one is spoilt for choice. Photo by Ismail Kezaala

At the entrance, there is a part of an old Leyland truck that majestically greets one as they enter; quite novel. Inside is a huge al fresco area with a bar and kitchen along with dining area.
Several years ago, cognoscenti of Indian food were rare in Uganda. Their absence in numbers was exacerbated by the generally less than stellar standards of Indian food to which we had become accustomed in Uganda.

Nowadays, there must be at least a dozen joints serving this exotic fare and with competition comes better standards and service all round.

The soul of Indian delicacies
Masalas are the unquestioned heart, and wherein the genius of Indian cooking lies. These are intricate mixtures of ground or whole spices, mild or strong, in some cases so bland as to be almost imperceptible or sharp enough to scald one’s palate. The Great Indian Dhaba, the chef has no fewer than two hundred from which to choose!!

It goes without saying that cream, butter, yogurt are very much part of this great Indian cuisine from the North, I should urge you to throw all caution to the wind as you go about partaking of this rather rich and calorie filled diet.

This is far from what one would call a cuisine of necessity; the food of Northern India was created and evolved around the courts of many royal homes in the great sub-continent.

Purity of the mind
“If the diet is pure the mind will be pure,” thus wrote Manu, the great Hindu lawgiver, “and if the mind is pure the intellect will be pure.” For many millions of Indians purity of the mind and spirit demands a diet of strict vegetarianism that as a result of this deeply held tradition is that India has produced one of the most varied and imaginative vegetarian cuisines in the world.

While many of you are all too familiar with non-vegetarian fare on offer at this place and indeed it is splendid and exciting, in my mind vegetarian dishes such as their reshmi mushrooms subtly spiced and then laced in butter and then cream with a final garnish of cilantro are always a favourite to be highly recommended any day.

Who can ever complain about the memorable Dal Makhani, black lentils and red kidney beans flavoured with garlic, onions and garam masala and then garnished with fresh cream and cilantro and finally cooked in a clay pot; seems to get better every time we order this dish.

The perfect tools
Of course we used no cutlery because in the usual Indian manner of dining one always uses one’s fingers.

The Baganda and Somalis do likewise and it may seem like a messy habit, but once you are accustomed to it, you are bound to feel much as connoisseurs of Japanese and Chinese food feel about using chopsticks. The food, for no discernable reason, just tastes better.

I am reminded of a story told about the late Shah of Iran while on a visit to India, was so taken by the custom that he remarked that to eat with a spoon and fork was like making love through an interpreter!

carry the overtones of the hygienic observance or caste consciousness. To offer your jutha food to someone else would be either a gesture of extreme intimacy ---a mother to her child, a husband to his wife--- or an unpardonable social faux pas.

As a rule, only untouchables can eat jutha food, and in the South the feeling about it is so intense that it would even be exchanged among family members.

If you go…
Our Rating: WPlace: The Great Indian Dhaba
Address: Plot 3 Wampewo Avenue
Smoke-Free Zone: Not allowed indoors however one can freely do so outdoors
Recommended items: Tandoori vegetable platter, mini thali
Service: Good
Ambience: Relaxed with a great al fresco setting
Open: Daily and reservations recommended on Friday and Saturday
Menu: The best of Northern and Southern Indian fare
Our Rating: Not to be missed
The Space: Very colorful and spacious
The Crowd: Mainly Asians The Bar: A good selection of beer, sodas, and soft drinks and wine
The damage: Allow at least shs 80’000 for a couple including drinks
Sound level: soft and unobtrusive
Parking: Available
If you go: Daily