Russell Punjabi Dhaba- THE king of Chicken bharta

Let me be honest- I love chicken bharta. Primarily, because, there’s no bone in it and secondly, though less spicy, it tastes good- everywhere, or at least that’s what I used to think. But, let me tell you something. Unless and until you’ve visited a small eatery tucked inside the busy little russell street, you’ve been living your life with a myth- YOU HAVEN’T TASTED CHICKEN BHARTA. Now, warning: once you’ve tasted the dish here, you’ll be biased for your entire life for this dish atleast, and if its ok, please go ahead.

So, how to reach ?

Let’s say, you’re moving from chowringhee towards little russell st and taken the road beside the famous Jeevan Deep building. On the first crossing, take a left, and you reach this place- the Russell Dhaba.

You can check the location on Google map here

Enter the place and don’t bother checking out their menu card. Out of all the items in the menu card, select the Anda(egg)-tarka butter fry and Chicken Bharta. Next, you’ll ask for tandoori roti and be surprised to know that they have only chapati- but ok, there’s nothing called pure pleasure in life….. Even rose has thorns and hilsa has those devilish bones.

And the food …

The tarka here is topped with a thick layer of homemade butter tastes quite good (even on the verge of being great). But, you’ll find, along with it, some strange yellow colored creamy gravy will be served- don’t worry, you’ve come down to this place for this only. Rotis will be served one at a time, so don’t worry. And, just as you dig in the gravy, with the first spoon, you’ll find that whatever you’ve tasted, knowing as chicken bharta, was a lie. The shredded chicken is dipped in a super-creamy gravy with lots (and I mean lots of cream and ghee) and that has made all the difference. Its mild to core, however its ensured that the chicken shreds don’t lose their texture. Its not melt-in-mouth feelings, but like the foreplay before the actual session, which makes way for a perfect love-making session.

Finally …

But but but, the ambience is nothing so great and for family, I personally prefer to parcel it back rather than a dine-in session. But, who cares, when you have a spoon of heaven served, you can have it at home also. Price is quite decent, so nothing to worry about. And, I should be clear, other items in the menu (except their palak cream and palak paneer) are not worth and can easily be avoided.

So, if you’d like to know what a real bharta should taste like, come, enjoy Russell Punjabi Dhaba.

Bon apetite !!!

I can be reached at 9903528225 / indrajit.lahiri@ymail.com