Straight from the streets

Get set to put your bellies on Fire as this restaurant brings about 40 of the choicest street food items from all four Indian metros

Whatu00a0do you do if you feel like having Prawn Koliwada or Pessaretu? Or when you yearn for Radhaballabi with aloor dum or Gilawati kebab? Head to the food stalls of Dilli Haat perhaps? Or make do with whatever's available nearby? Drop by at the Walled City?


Radha ballabi with aloo dum, Kal dosai with meen kozambu, Gilawati
kebab, Haleem

Here is what I did when I had a craving for Phulkopir Shingara recently post a shopping binge at nearby Connaught Place. I walked straight into Fire at The Park which is currently hosting a streetfood festival.

The chef has put together about 40 dishes from the four metros across the country. And the guests are served all of them, one after the other, resulting in a problem of plenty. So even though you might be tempted to have as many dishes as possible (even if you are a large eater), I would advise go slow on the starters and then binge on the main course and the desserts.

What I also liked was that the servers were aware of the dishes, and would give you an idea of the dish before serving it. However, one of the most interesting things about this food promotion is the menu card. Designed like a newspaper, it has names of all the dishes which have been put under the regions from where they are along with several articles on the food as the backdrop.

Quite a spread
The lavish meal starts with Golgappas (north), Phuchka (east) and Panipuri (west), placed on small glasses that has the 'special' water. While the Golgappas and Panipuri were fine, I had a problem with the Phuchka. This popular dish from Calcutta, no matter how much anyone would try to convince me, is never made from sooji.
We moved on to Delhi's favourite Aloo tikki, Sundal, a tangy chickpea salad from Tamil Nadu, Fish fry and Fish roll from Calcutta. The dishes were well made and quite authentic. I especially liked the Pessaretu -- dosa made from moong dal which is quite a hit in Andhra Pradesh.

The starters were extremely filling, so I went very slow on the main course. The Haleem and the Gilawati kebabs were extremely well made and the kebabs simply melted in my mouth. The Paneer 65 and Chicken 65 (both from Hyderabad) were nothing extraordinary though. The Fish Koliwada was so good that its prawn version quite paled in comparison.

In between the starters and the main course came the relievers -- the very sought after Gola and Aam ras -- fresh mango pulp with cream. Very very tasty. Desserts seemed a torture after this. But the chef tempted me to try his version of Shahi Tukda -- much like a pastry -- and Shrikhand poori. the perfect way to end the meal.

At: Fire, The Park, 15, Parliament Street
On till: July 31
Timings: 12.30 to 3.30 (lunch) & 7.30 to 11.30 (dinner)
Ring: 23743000
Price: Rs 999 + taxes per person