Discovering Desi Roots with Zomato

Last week your’s truly received a call from foodies’ hub- Zomato. It entailed a visit to their office, which thankfully was not very far from home .Their office is as buzzy as the website, I  was verified (with a zelfie) and  was also extended an invitation to attend a Zomato-meet at Desi Roots.

 The Restaurant itself is divided into three parts with different kinds of seating.  The first is a cafe like seating which is ideal for families. The second is the gully where we plonked ourselves and lastly, the boisterous bar. Nothing stands out in terms of ambience here or maybe it was the presence of the 4 stunning Zomans and fellow foodies that didn’t allow me to revel in it.
Unfortunately for some of us it was a dry day, although the mocktails did make up for the absence of spritzers. Virgin desi by roots was an interesting concoction; the earthiness of tea combined with citrusy lemongrass resulted in an invigorating drink.

The meal started with zimakand galawati pate which was silky smooth, a bit on saltier side but that was balanced by the sweetness of the sheermal served along-side. Hindustani cappuccino is a fancy name for the soup of the day and what we were presented with was aloo gobhi ka shorba. The fancy presentation is the only reason I would recommend someone to try it. The soup itself was not extraordinary. Warm Samosa deconstruct beaks down the ubiquitous household favourite into its basic constituents which fires up its visual and flavour components. Idli, Deviled Prawns Pinchoes had people joyously licking their jars clean. Main course was Jawdropping  Khichdi ke chaar yaar, which comprises of four types of khichdi viz, quinoa, bajra, juvar and the classic. While it scores very high on presentation, the flavour left me with nothing to rave about, and though it is something one can taste, doesn’t score very high on the value for money scale. The Punjabi winter speciality sarson ka saag and makki di roti was comforting indeed. There was an interesting element of sweetness in the saag. The Dal Baati Churma arrived next. Although the Churma was not quite to my expectations -it lacked of right texture and sweetness- the dal & baati made up for it with their authenticity. This is served with an interesting chilli paste instead of the traditional garlic chutney. Last but not the least was the aloo wadi, which had just the right amount of tanginess.

The dessert comprised of Jamaluddin Ki Kheer which is sourced from the original Jamaluddin. The USP of the kheer is its thickness and the ability to not give in to gravitational pull when placed in an upturned vessel. The piece de resistance for me, however was, Badam Halwa Baklawa. Rich, sweet, and deliciously greasy, the kind of dessert that makes me put calorie-counting on a back burner, happily.

The laughter, banter, and the eating, made me wish the clock would stop ticking that evening. Thank you- Zomato- for a marvellous evening.