The perks of being a Food Blogger is the diversity and the variants of food that you get to try. Bored of the food and drinks from the regular cafes in and around Delhi, I recently planned to visit the Potbelly Rooftop Cafe in Shahpurjat, South Delhi. Known to serve the Authentic Bihari Food, I just couldn’t resist but go ahead and try out the food there!
About Potbelly:
Potbelly is world of Bihari food, a cuisine with a heritage of influences from the Mauryas, Bengal Nawabs, Buddhists, Jains, Turks and Mughals. Their recipes have been handed down over several generations in our home in Muzzafarpur, characterized by the use of simple ingredients to create dishes that unite smoky aromas with rich rustic flavors.
So! Never tried or tasted the ‘Bihari’ cuisines, I was excited to try the food there!. Located in the Shahpurjat area market, it is a place located on the on the rooftop, just as high till the tree’s top.
I reached to restaurant and felt amazing with the aura of the place. Cute, simplistic, minimally done with pastel walls, handcrafted ceiling hanging bulbs, colorful furniture and the best part- The tall trees as my view.
We got welcomed to a very hospitable staff, and for starters we ordered Baggia Basket , meat Pakora Basket along with some drinks.
Starters:
Baggia Basket
The baggia basket was a basket of balls coated with thick layer of chana daal and a mix of spices. The baggia basket was quite filling and very delicious when had with the mint chutney served alongside.
Meat Pakora Basket
The meat pakora basket had some crispy meat pakoras which had some cashews in it too! The pakoras were very soft from inside and super crunchy from outside! Was a little spicy , but I like it like that 😉 The basket has 4 pieces of meat pakoras and 4 pieces of Chicken pakoras, both were delicious but I liked the Chicken ones better! 🙂
Drinks:
Peanut Butter Shake
The shake was very thick, slurpy and delicious. I got so fascinated while drinking it that i almost finished half of it in one go!
Mirchi Masala Lemonade
This drink was very refreshing. has mirchi in it with equal propotion of sugar, lemon and mint in it. Perfect mood changer! I Loved it!
Main course:
Litti Chokha
The ever famous Bihari cuisine- Litti Chokha was on my mind ever since I decided to visit Potbelly. It came beautifully with the chicken and salads as the sides. I loved the fusion that they gave to the dish with the very unique sides. The litti were balls that had a filling of jawain, mangrail, garlic, red pepper, mustard oil, salt, and ginger. The taste of jawain overpowers the whole palate. The Khada Masala Chicken served was very delish and it reminded me of the Punjabi Chicken Masala we cook at home 😛 Very spicy and super delectable!
Although the meal was amazing, but I felt that the Litti were a little dry from inside.
Mutton Chaamp With Bread:
This was a complete mood changer dish! Felt like it’s first bite gave me a warm hug from inside 🙂
Served with the raita, onion and tomato salad, mutton Chaamp and 2 paranthas, this dish was a win win! 🙂 Although the oil was too much seeping through everywhere on my plate, my bread got all drenched in the thick oil, which was a bit turn-off. The masaledaar chaamp was heavenly, the onions were fresh and the boondi raita was amazing! 🙂
Desserts:
In desserts, the server recommended us to try their apple cinnamon and pineapple cake with their signature custard and vanilla ice cream. The cakes were very soft, spongy, awesomely baked and tasted superb! The custurd had the ‘makhane’ in it, which was a big pleasant surprise and on enquiring the server, got to know that the custard also had bottle guard (gheeya) in it! The perfect blend of cardamom, sugar and milk, this dessert was something I never had before.
I would like to specially mention our server that day: Mr. Manoj. He was very patient, humble, polite and helped us with right advice on picking the perfect dishes from the menu to try!
Overall it was a fabulous experience at the Potbelly, and I totally did enjoy my time binging on the (very) different cuisine, something I had never heard of or tasted before!
Definitely a must recommended place !!
Overall rating: 4/5
