I find happiness when I eat good food, when I cook good food, and when my friends compliment the food I cooked. I also find immense happiness when my friends love the food of a place I suggest. I smile widely when they go "Mmmm!" while biting into a scrumptious sandwich when just a few minutes ago they probably were wondering if the place was worth going to. Even if it's the first time for me at that place, a collective appreciation of good food doubles my happiness.
Sardarji Chaat was one such place. Living in Hitech city makes us frequents to the Gachibowli's growing food scene. But I hadn't heard of this chaat place until recently. So when the Foodies of Hyderabad group talked a lot about this place, I had been trying to find company to go taste their chaat. After 3 weekends and multiple failed plans, we finally went last weekend. Located in a hole in a the wall compared to the multi-squarefeet shops around, it's very easy to miss the place while driving past. We reached at 5.30 when the place had just opened which was a good thing considering it got crowded by the end of our meal 20 minutes later. Let's see what makes this place click:
These small rounds of papdi topped with spiced potatoes and buried under a massive shower of tiny, super thin sev. There is a burst of flavour when you pop one of these into your mouth. It has the right amount of the green mint chutney and the sweet tamarind chutney without making the snack too soggy. The tomatoes, cucumbers and onions add a fresh texture to the chaat. Only thing I would have changed is maybe making the sev slight thicker. They are so thin that you can't taste them as much.
If you miss the ghee laden, crispy aloo tikki found easily anywhere in Delhi, then Sardarji Chaat is your place to satisfy that craving. We got ours dunked under homely chole (chick pea gravy) which was a total win! The aloo tikkis are not too thick, but are savoury patties well-fried in rich ghee. Next time I go, I'm gonna eat them plain! The chole was a dish by itself. It's the homely chole and not the heavy ghee laden chole. The chick peas are boiled to perfection and the masalas are spot on, not being heavy on any of the spices like garam masala or red chilli powder. The simplicity of the chole helped cut the heaviness of the ghee laden tikkis. The green and the sweet chutney added the chaat flavour to the dish.
Bite into one these and you will definitely go "Mmmm!". They have two sandwiches: a vegetable chutney cheese sandwich and a samosa cheese vegetable sandwich. I ordered the samosa one. A smashed samosa is sandwiched with a generous filling of onions, capsicum and tomato and cheese! It is then smothered with butter and grilled. The cheese is not fully melted which doesn't matter as it adds a nice, tart, creamy cheese texture. The vegetables are crunchy and the green mint chutney is provides the prefect minty freshness. The samosa has an ajwain flour covering with a savoury potato filling. Honestly, it's just an accessory in this sandwich instead of the star. It just provides an added texture of deep fried dough and savoury potatoes. But more the starch and carbs, tastier the dish, right?
The chole kulche is one of their specialities with the savoury chole served with soft, fluffy, ghee roasted kulche. The same chole is served here as in the aloo tikki-chole. The kulcha is unlike the ones we find at a restaurant for dinner. These have a bread-like texture and Sardarji Chaat makes them amazingly soft. They just break with the least amount of pressure. And these are roasted with a generous dallop on ghee. Sardarji is probably one of the few places in Hyderabad serving chole-kulche like these.
Even after ordering all of the above dishes, I still made my friends try the pav-bhaji despite the risk of being extremely full by the time we got the dish. We didn't regret it. One of my friends from Mumbai loved it! And that is saying something for someone from the birthplace of pav-bhaji. Sardarji's pav is spot on - it's not the sweet store bought ones but has a salty, crusty outer layer with soft insides. I liked the bhaji at Maharaja Chaat better but Sardarji's bhaji does not completely disappoint. The vegetables are not completely mashed and the pav bhaji masala is closer to a Mumbai Pav bhaji. We got ours with tons of cheese on it!
We also had pani puri. The pani was spicy and minty. You could taste the green chillies and the mint leaves enhanced by the addition of pani puri spices added to it. What I liked about the pani puri is that it's very homely and all flavours of the water come through.
This visit has guaranteed 3 more regular customers to Sardarji's adding to the already crowded evening they have. A smart move would be to go there as soon as they open. It seriously does get super crowded within half an hour of opening! And try the aloo tikki plain! :)
Cost for 2: Rs. 200 - for 4 dishes
Taste: 8/10
Service: 8/10 - we got our sev puri within a minute of ordering
Ambience: 7/10 - pretty neat and clean for a hole-in-the-wall place
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