Punjab in excess

Mulund gets a Punjabi restaurant with interiors that make it look like au00a0garish Bhatinda village set. The food is tasty, but you will only getu00a0a taste of it if you manage to catch the harrowed staff's attention

There was a time when Eastern suburbanites would have to tread all the way to Dadar's Pritam da Dhaba, if they craved wholesome Punjabi fare. Worse, they had to settle for the south Indiansed vegetarian avatar of this cuisine dished out at several Udipis that graciously expanded their menus in the '80s and '90s. The mall invasion changed this, several region-specific restaurants set up shop. Pind Balluchi seems to have
snugly fit into this bracket.u00a0



The garish fau00e7ade, with village home walls and a life-size Punjabi villager in terracotta seated on a charpai, is sure to grab eyeballs. Book a table in advance if you intend to drop by on a weekend; its location (Nirmal Lifestyle) and choice of cuisine seems to have worked in its favour. Walk in and you could be at a Punjabi wedding or a north Indian village film set -- the visual assault could catch you off guard. It's almost as if the interior designer was briefed to throw in as many elements from a village in Bhatinda. We hoped the food would upstage the fanfare.

Without allowing the tutaris, the giant dhol and charkha prototypes to distract us, we plumbed for their specialty -- the Chicken Gilafi Sheekh Kabab (Rs 170). Trying hard to ignore the forced rustic feel with traditional brass tableware on laminated wooden tables, we dug into the kababs. The meat was tender and delicately flavoured, without a spice overkill. The melt-in-your-mouth character was the litmus test, which it won. The tall glasses of refreshing, mint-kissed Jal Jeera (Rs 50) played perfect foil. But by now, the task to catch the waiter's attention was turning out to be an arduous one.

Our main course order included Dhaba Meat (160) with plain rice (Rs 85), Dal Makhni (Rs 125), Pind Chhole (Rs 125) and Chicken Kheema Paratha (Rs 135); the only oddity on an otherwise populist menu. First to show up was the Chicken Paratha. Versions of shredded chicken rolled into a paratha have been attempted elsewhere; this one left a lot to be desired. The accompanying peanut-based chutney was the saving grace. The Dhaba Meat was the star of the show. Large chunks of boned mutton in a reddish-brown gravy slowly cooked on a flame to ensure the juices from the meat weren't lost. While the Pind Chhole got our vote for its tangy, fiery character, the Dal Makhni lacked punch, considering it came with a reco from the staff. By now, the blaring Punjabi music and non-stop Sunday chatter didn't matter. Sadly, the service continued to. By the time the well-done Gulab Jamun (Rs 50) arrived, we had spent two hours in this mini version of Punjab on a tableau.u00a0u00a0

Clearly, Pind Baluchi isn't equipped to handle the weekend crowds. The support staff was unable to handle queries from unsure customers and were woefully slack in attending to tables. Settling our bill took over 15 minutes because the computer billing system had crashed.

At: 242/243, 2nd floor, Nirmal Lifestyle, Mulund (W).
Call: 67253100

Pind Balluchi didn't know we were there.
The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals