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This restaurant in Lahore is big on desi ghee and cheap on the pocket

This restaurant in Lahore is big on desi ghee and cheap on the pocket

Roti's individual servings are generous, and its desi fast food reminds you of homecooked meals
Updated 27 Jan, 2019

How many of us would step out of our houses and end up at a restaurant that serves food that has a very homelike, comforting feel to it -- reminds us of our own homecooked meals? The daal, pasanday, chicken curry etc, all served with a tawa-wali chappati exactly the way we get at home?

This was the question that drew me towards this newly opened restaurant that claims to serve desi fast food -- local, traditional food served in around five minutes and at fairly economical prices (a little over Rs300 is the average price, inclusive of taxes) -- something the owners claim has not been paid attention to much by almost all restaurants offering desi food.

Also, considering the price range and the quick service, they say their primary target market is the working individual who can grab a quick meal during their lunch breaks. But they seem to be getting more customers for dinner.

Aptly called Roti, this new eatery has opened up at the iconic spot -- and if you grew up in Lahore in the ‘90s you’d know for sure -- that was once Copper Kettle in the basement of Empire Centre on Gulberg’s Main Boulevard.

Roti interior - Photo:Facebook/Roti Restaurant
Roti interior - Photo:Facebook/Roti Restaurant

As my four friends and I walked in, we realised the place is unassuming, unpretentious and quite basic in terms of its interior: wooden tables and benches, a pillar in the middle adorned with glass jars filled and labelled with local spices and ingredients and a wall painted with the name of the restaurant.

Paratha made in desi ghee - Photo: Facebook/ Roti Restaurant
Paratha made in desi ghee - Photo: Facebook/ Roti Restaurant

All five of us ordered different dishes with an assortment of paratha and tandori and tawa roti, as the serving size of each dish caters to an individual person only. But, of course, we managed to nibble on each other’s food. The Channay ki Daal was cooked in desi ghee with nigella seeds (kalonji) and garnished with a slice of lemon, whole red chilli and julienned ginger. Definitely the most delicious out of everything we ordered: it was fresh, had a balanced flavour and packed a punch.

Butter Chicken - Photo: Facebok/ Roti Restaurant
Butter Chicken - Photo: Facebok/ Roti Restaurant

Then they have their own version of a classic Butter Chicken. Boneless tender chicken cubes were cooked in aromatic spices, cream, tomatoes and topped with a dollop of desi butter. The chicken was cooked really well and the gravy sweet and slightly tangy, while that butter added a new twist to this global favourite. A little char on the chicken would have just elevated the whole thing altogether.

The Bhunna Gosht, to me, seemed like a refined version of a qorma, but retaining the homeliness of the flavour. Succulent pieces of mutton were cooked to perfection in generous amount of desi ghee, a blend of spices in a thick tomato gravy. It made for a delicious, hearty, flavoursome meal – whether you have it with a paratha or a chappati.

Dum Qeema - Photo: Facebook/ Roti Restaurant
Dum Qeema - Photo: Facebook/ Roti Restaurant

The Dum Qeema was another mouthwatering item on the menu. Minced beef cooked in desi ghee with ginger, garlic and spring onion with a hint of charcoal flavour gave the humble minced meat dish a new meaning. The Pasanday – a special that day – reminded me of the version we make at home. The beef fillets were marinated and cooked well, making it easy to pull off and chew. The desi ghee, green and red chilli and a blend of spices make it comforting and fulfilling.

On the side, we had their spicy mint and imli ki chutneys and fried green chilies that blended well with each dish.

Even their breakfast is not one to miss. Photo - Facebook/Roti Restaurant
Even their breakfast is not one to miss. Photo - Facebook/Roti Restaurant

To top off the meal, we had the warm, soft and delectable gulab jaman; gurr walay chawal; and a fancy meethi roti that not only looked appetising, but was crisp and sprinkled with an assortment of desi butter, fennel seeds and gurr (jaggery). The perfect end to a traditional, gratifying meal that doesn’t leave you uneasy in the tummy.

The good thing about the food at Roti is that the individual servings are generous, almost everything cooked in desi ghee, which adds its own flavour to the food, and extremely easy on the pocket. This could also be among the very few restaurants that serves both Shezan mango and lemon barley as well as Pakola. On Sundays, they serve a wholesome halwa puri breakfast also, which I’m definitely going to give a shot to.


Originally published in Dawn, January 27th, 2019

Comments

Riaz Jan 27, 2019 12:42pm
How about the cost of stenting arteries with all that ghee, food may be cheap, but at tremendous health cost
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subh Jan 27, 2019 04:46pm
@Riaz Ghee is not bad for health. Please do your research. FAT does not make you fat. Carb does !!! so i will be worried about Puri, Roti or sweet and not ghee
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AB Jan 27, 2019 05:19pm
Enjoy the delicious food and be ready for high cholesterol at the same time.
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Pak Jan 27, 2019 05:33pm
@Riaz desk ghee if really pure will not hurt the arteries as compared to artificial things But again too much of everything is bad in short don’t go there every day
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Asim Jan 27, 2019 07:07pm
@Riaz Well, Desi Ghee is more healthy than cooking oil and Dalda ghee.
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Amir Shah Jan 27, 2019 08:45pm
@Riaz Once in a while, it’s no harm eating such wonderful food, don’t be such a spoil spoil. It sounds wonderful.
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Janjua Jan 27, 2019 09:00pm
Desi ghee is not bad for health..
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Anil Jan 27, 2019 10:15pm
Once in 15 days is ok to have such food.
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Chandra Shekhar Jan 27, 2019 10:16pm
Pic of halwa, puri and chhole is bang on...mouth watering
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M. Emad Jan 28, 2019 12:00am
Unhealthy food.
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harry Jan 28, 2019 12:26am
Whatever you eat, eat less. You will live longer and can eat more.
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Dr. Farooq Jan 28, 2019 02:10am
The canard that saturated fat/ghee is bad for your arteries was spread by the corn oil industry to mass market their products after the first world war. (The vaunted "Canola" oil is an acrostic for Canadian corn oil). Prior to that time, heart attacks from clogged arteries were an uncommon cause of death in postmortem studies. Heard this from a retired medical school professor who spent 40 years in teaching and research in the US at the NIH. In terms of science, arterial plaque cholesterol comes from platelets sticking to irritated or inflamed areas of blood vessel lining. Normally the endothelial lining as well as platelets and the natural lubricant in the blood, heparin, have negative electrostatic charges which mutually repel. Saturated fats are electrically neutral. Unsaturated vegetable oils have a net positive charge due to shared electrons in the "unsaturated" double bonds, and cause increased stickiness of platelets. Ghee is good for you: read the book by Dean Ornish MD.
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nur Jan 28, 2019 02:46am
Are these meals not heart artery blockers?
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UHD Jan 28, 2019 03:09am
Good for taste
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hussain Jan 28, 2019 06:02am
looks heavenly.it's all about moderation and exercise, enjoy natural ghee rather than man made.
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Amir Jan 28, 2019 08:59am
what is the location of resturant
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JawAd Jan 28, 2019 09:42am
Desi Ghee combined with carbohydrates like rice is known to lower the glycemic index and its better to have rice with ghee than without ghee as it slows down the sugar release from the carbohydrates .Now the main reason for clogged arteries is often due to excessive unhealthy fat and sugar . Moderate amounts of desi ghee can help the heart.
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Talha Jan 28, 2019 10:17am
@Riaz No one criticizes French food for being unhealthy. Desi food cooked in desi ghee is not that much of a health risk.
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khurram Jan 28, 2019 10:32am
@subh ...Very truly said...!! But if the Ghee is pure not adulterated Ghee with dirty oils of all sorts...! Pure Ghee indeed is healthy...but rare in Pakistan..and could be expensive..!! Good vegetable ghee is all the Pakistani restaurants can afford if they are even honest..to use that.
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Jawaid Islam Jan 28, 2019 11:21am
Some very good items reviewed.
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Hassan Munawar Jan 28, 2019 12:33pm
Nice article sir. I am your fan of your articles.
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Tariq, Lahore Jan 28, 2019 04:56pm
@Riaz - Actually desi ghee used in 'moderation' is all the rage at the moment in the West as is 'pure' and has good health benefits over other alternatives! The offerings at Roti would do well if more 'greens' and vegetarian were included?
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Dr Amir Khan Jan 28, 2019 05:49pm
No. Not looking clean and hygienic.
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Jamil Soomro, New York City Jan 28, 2019 06:16pm
@Riaz Perfect comment on Ghee.
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ash Jan 29, 2019 03:32pm
@subh - Ghee contains more saturated fat than butter, this is a contributory factor in heart disease. One reason why Pakistan is facing an epidemic is heart disease and diabetes.
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Kashif Jan 29, 2019 07:24pm
Pakistan is beautiful click here
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Sahira Jan 30, 2019 12:09pm
Can't wait to try the food at this place.. Desi food zindabad!...
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Imtiaz Ali Khan Jan 30, 2019 12:19pm
Once a month it's OK to eat it. Yummy! Exercise and eat healthy in general and allow yourself to splurge once a month.
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PS Jan 30, 2019 01:30pm
The food looks delicious. Small note: the Poorie on the top is badly done and probably fried at the wrong temperature. A better phot would have been one with just the one at the bottom. But wow.
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