Restaurant Review: Lassi Te Parronthe, Carter Road, Bandra-West

Calling this a 'restaurant' review is, I confess, stretching things too far. A review it certainly is, and a rave review at that, but Lassi Te Parronthe (henceforth christened LTP) is, by no stretch of imagination, a 'restaurant'.
But if you are not too fussy about technical definitions, and have no qualms about sitting in/on your car/rickshaw/scooter/cycle rather than a proper dinner table as you dig into your food, then LTP is much, much more than your average restaurant. 

Simply put, LTP operates out of the tiny 4 ft x 4 ft front yard of a tattoo parlour in the Khau Gully at the end of Carter Road. During lunch hours on a weekday (which was when we visited LTP), it is very easy to conclude that LTP is a figment of the reviewer's (whose rave review made you hunt this place down - like this one here that led me to LTP) imagination. There is no signage, no chef, no kitchen area – nothing than an abandoned-looking platform with 4 induction stoves, each with its own frying pan. A young boy sitting twiddling his thumbs under the sun in the tumble-down looking yard further adds to the air of abandonment and disrepair. But a hesitant question about LTP being shut, changes the scene at once. The youn 'un jumps to his feet, pulls forth a small bench for you to sit on, hands you the menu and says that no, no, the shop isn't closed, isn't he there to cook up the parathas for you?

And so we sit, crammed into the sunlit 'aangan' on the ancient 2-seater bench and assorted stools that the young chef manages to get from the tattoo shop. He takes our orders, fires up the stoves, and soon we are treated to the mouth-watering sight, sounds and scents of parathas sizzling in the pans, generously anointed with pure ghee.

We sample the Alu (potato), Gobhi (cauliflower), Spinach-Corn, Capsicum-Corn-Cheese, and Paneer (cottage cheese) parathas and they all are fabulous- blisteringly hot, served with sides of green chilli pickle, mango pickle and a generous dollop of butter that has melted into a golden pool by the time you take the first bite. No two parathas taste the same - the Gobhi is naughtily spicy, with micro-mini florets (almost a mash) of cauliflower, while the Alu is mild and comforting. The Corn-Capsicum-Cheese is every yuppie's dream with its cheesy goodness and the Spinach is super yummy, with an unexpected cinnamon twist. The Paneer is rich and mild, gently spiced by cloves, pepper, cinnamon- no spicy chilli-ginger-garlic kick here! There are 1-2 more parathas on the menu that we didn't try - Muli (radish) and Methi (Fenugreek), but am sure they have their signature tastes as well.

The parathas are pre-made and pre-semi-cooked at owner/chef Nikhil's home in Santacruz, and are 'finished' at LTP. So one can argue that this is home-made food! ;) Nikhil wasn't around when we were there (he apparently mans the stoves in the evening rush hours) but he seems to be someone with very definite ideas about food and nutrition - the reverse of the laminated menu urges you to stop indulging in 'poisonous' foods like refined salt, sugar and oil, and instead stick to good stuff like rock/mineral salt, jaggery and pure ghee. In living with his beliefs, he uses organic ingredients for the parathas, pure ghee to cook the parathas in, and jaggery to sweeten his lassi. Unfortunately, the lassi and Mint Chhas (buttermilk) wasn't available when we lunched, so we had to make do with Malai Dahi (curds) set in little kulhads (earthenware glasses).But the dahi was so gloriously thick and creamy that it had us in transports of ecstasy.

The LTP menu is quite reasonably-priced, given the swish neighbourhood it operates in. Basic parathas (Alu, Gobhi, Methi, Muli - those without paneer/cheese) cost Rs 80, while the premium parathas cost Rs 100. Dahi costs Rs 20. Four of us ate till we were FULL for the grand sum of Rs 540. Try getting such a deal anywhere else in Bandra West!

And there's something to be said about Nikhil's belief in healthy cooking and eating. Despite the more-than-generous amounts of ghee and butter in/on the parathas and the amount of cream in the dahi, I didn't get that bloated, heavy, GREASY feeling one gets after an indulgent lunch. I gelt sprightly and skippety rather than "Oh God, someone roll me to the nearest couch and let me be". Perhaps its the quality of ingredients more than their basic calorific value that our body reacts to....a dollop of pure ghee (saturated fat) is perhaps better than a spoon of unsaturated oil of dubious origins....or pure dahi albeit creamy is better than processed 'low cal' cream piped onto fruit....at least my tummy seemed to think so!

Go to LTP  (with your own car/bike/collapsible chair) as soon as possible and see if your tummy agrees! :)