When was the last time you went to a place that served chicken, mutton and fish, without even a minor faux pas? I recently visited one such place in Pimple Saudagar, and had one of the best north Indian food in Pune.
However, this #invite was different than most other food invites anyone would get, and this is why:
No one from Lal Mirchi team, except the owner knew that ours was a tasting table. Orders were placed for regular items from the menu, no tweaking of portion sizes, no excess play of service, no special attention. It was planned intentionally that way by Nishant Bhai, the owner, because he wanted to seize this opportunity to make his own reality checks. And boy, he passed with flying colours in my opinion!
An absolute #underdog place tucked in the bylanes of Pimple Saudagar, easily missable without your GPS, this #no-frills #restaurant dishes out some fantastic kebabs and tandoors.
With great food, comes great pricing! At as low as Rs 600$$ for an unlimited kebab indulgence, this place is a prize!
Touring you through a glimpse of what we ordered. I urge you to try out this restaurant when you crave for that tandoori chicken or a kebab!
𝗡𝗮𝗴l𝗶 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗱: Papad made out of #Nachani, or finger millet or more popularly known as Nachani. Nachani lends its own taste, to the papad, and it is more crunchy than our regular urad papad. I am a Ragi fan, and needless to mentioned, enjoyed it.
𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗶 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻: After eating tandoori chicken for all these years throughout the city, I re-defined my own standards of a great tandorri chicken in terms of taste and moistness when I ate it at Lal Mirchi. I have, honestly, never a tasted tandoori chicken so soft and moist. My new standard of tandoori chicken is this!! #Unmissable.
Nishant Bhai, Please rename this as “#StellarTandooriChicken”
𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶: As MPW says, “Less is more”. A full baby surmai marinated in basic spices and lemon wedges was a completely new style of grilling a fish #AbsolutelyRecommended
𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗴 𝗜𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗞𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗯: Creamy pieces of chicken kebab blanketed in an omelette. I personally loved it. Low on spices, and gave that smoky flavour I love so much! #Recommended
𝗠𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝗼𝗿𝗶: I don’t know many places across the city that serve a Kakori, and serves it right. I also know places that confuse Kakori kebabs with Seekh Kebabs. While the former are roasted to be melt-in-the mouth, the latter are a bit more granulated to get a bite into. These Mutton Kakori were absolutely melt-in-the-mouth. Full marks there. #Recommended
𝗩𝗲𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶 𝗞𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘀: I tried this because by the look of it knew these would be appetising, and they sure were. Honest confession, the only veg item I ate, and loved it.
Kebabs made with beetroot base and minced vegetables, skewered to perfection.
𝗥𝗼𝘇𝗮𝗹𝗶 𝗞𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗯: This one was a winner due to one main reason - the stuffed mince chicken did not separate from the outer chicken when knived through. Bold spices, with a hint of fresh cream to balance it out, this kebab was instantly wiped out. #HighlyRecommended
𝗗𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗶 𝗞𝘂𝗸𝗸𝗮𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝘆: The quintessential chicken curry, made less spicy on my request. I am personally not a fan of thin gravies, but I understand that that is how it is made in regular Punjabi homes. Taste was great, mildly spiced, and flavours were subtle. Went great with 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.
#Ctrl-C, #Ctrl-V : 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. A 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶 𝗡𝗮’𝗮𝗻 as they named it - A fruity buttered naan topped with bell peppers, cashew nuts, raisins and apple. Leave your typical roti - na’an - paratha inhibitions aside, and try this! It paired well with our curies, and was great to bite into by itself!
𝗥𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗶: Not your regular dum or matka biryani. A quick biryani, made on the pan, with ample chicken chunks and masala adjusted to our liking. I liked this new avatar of biryani - a fresh take on the regular stereotypical biryani.
I kicked myself because it took me 3 years to end up at this place, but I have vowed to go back and try all their dishes. They keep getting better and better!!
Irrespective of whether Pimple Saudagar is within your reach or not, Lal Mirchi needs to go on your bucket list.
There are a handful of people in the industry whom I call #Sir or #Bhai out of sheer respect of who they are. Nishant Bhai has earned the title from me long long ago! A more down to earth person than you can imagine, with humility at its best, and a lot of us can take tips from him on how to be so cool in the head!
#Coming_back_for_more
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes