Friday, November 16, 2012

My hopes dashed! An Episode in my life today about 'Murgh Musallam'!


I had an interesting experience at an Indian Restaurant in the Bay Area today.  Permit me to describe it.  I saw "Murgh Musallam" on the menu & my mind went back to Daryaganj, Delhi & a wonderful restaurant called Moti Mahal (which now is a franchise and all over Delhi and elsewhere too, check out the web link I have included in this blog later below). A place often frequented during my Delhi days.  So when I read that on the menu at Paradise Biryani Pointe, I got all super charged & excited....slurp, slurp with rivulets breaking all over my tongue imagining I am going to get to eat that dish after so many decades….Reminiscence is a wonderful thing, until hopes get dashed L!

Well the dish arrived & I kept staring at it!

The prominent egg was missing, no sign of raisins or cashew or the rich chicken gravy & the unique smell & the presence of a Shahi Dish!  Where was all that at what was set before me??? I wondered & blinked!  Not once, but twice & thrice!

Instead I am greeted by what looks like an ordinary South Indian chicken curry with fried Curry Leaves & all the other usual trappings of the ubiquitous South Indian Chicken Curry.
I call the Waiter and ask him, where is the Murgh Musallam & he points at the chicken curry I described and says “here sir”.  I say “No, this is not Murgh Musallam”.
He says, “Yes, sir, this is it.  See sir, Murg means Chicken and Musallam is Curry" and gives me a broad smile and a grin and looks on for my approval.  By now you can imagine my predicament!

Also, the choicest cuss words and pet negative words came to my mind in Hindi & in Urdu....but I bit my tongue hard and did not want to embarrass myself in front of my wife & kid and all the other guests.  So I grinned back at him too!  Its funny how the human mind works.  I never thought I could remember so many Hindi/Urdu choice words for this guy as I did.  Stuff I had forgotten eons back....tells you what a different personality I was once upon a time....:-)

From a High Point of Imagination and taste buds all ready to bite into a chunk of Murgh Musallam, belied I thought to myself…..what kind of a Joke is this?
Well in the Bay Area, eating at an Indian Restaurant can be a surprising and amusing experience too!
What else can I say J Good Night Folks!  Enjoy the humor of this Musallam Blog!
If you ever get to visit Delhi and you are a foody, then the Pilgrimage to Moti Mahal in Daryaganj is worth it!  http://motimahal.in/about/our-story/
                                                                                                                                    
BTW, some of our Bay Area Andhra Cousins are rating Paradise Biryani Pointe a 5, they are doing it for sentimental reasons.  Realistically this place is a 2 in my view.  If for nothing else, lack of Authenticity & the cheek to include many great North Indian dishes on their menu and to bely expectations, of people who visit the place with discernment!  Will I voluntarily visit Paradise Biryani Pointe, Bay Area again?  NO!