Mast Kalandar

It has been a long time since we posted here. This doesn’t mean of course that we have not eaten out since then, quite the contrary. Today, we went out for a quick bite, a short drive away from work for a quick lunch.

Mast Kalandar is a cheerful looking Punjabi eatery on CMH Road. Service is of the help yourself kind. They boast of interesting sounding starters, paratha combos, rice combos and a nice dessert menu. Mast Kalandar also has 500 ml Family Curry packs that are takeaways.

We were four of us and were warned that the portions are pretty large. We had the Biryani with a Twist, The Great Indian Maha Combo and the Spicy Corn paratha combo.

The Biryani was spicy but not overly so, with lot of vegetables and lots of fried onions which I am partial to. The twist in the biryani turned out to be a rolled up papad. The parathas were hot and quite soft, and are served with raita and dal. All combos are accompanied by a raw salad portion. The cucumber was not as fresh as crisp as one would like it to be.

The Great Maha Combo can be easily shared among two ladies, which is what we did. It contained 2 soft tandoori parathas, a cup of biryani and 3 curries. It was followed by a large Jamun, which was a little too sweet for my taste. Among the curries, we had the Chole which was mildly spicy and well cooked, the paneer was average. My favourite was the Dal Makhni. Raitas were spiced with Jeera powder and contained shredded cucumber. I was delighted that the curd used was not sour or watered down.

We finished off with thick sweet Lassis and I tried the Masala Shikanjee (which was like jal jeera).

All in all, Mast Kalandar promises a very filling meal at a very reasonable price. The air-conditioning was not exactly up to the mark, but the rest room was quite clean.
It can get crowded and a bit loud at peak hours.

A meal for four with drinks cost us under Rs500. Mast Kalandar is a vegetarian restaurant.
Service was impressively quick.

Parking poses a bit of a problem, while we were there, a cop imposed a fine on a car parked just outside, be warned. We suggest you park on some of the interior roads and walk up to it. Mast Kalandar is located between Kwality Walls and Bata on CMH Road.