What can be a better treat for food lovers other than paranthas, especially in winters….Well sometimes, love for these paranthas can make you travel miles, even on a chilly wintery morning. And when it comes to famous Murthal ke paraanthe, you will actually have to cover the distance of 80 km from Delhi to taste those magical and mouthwatering paranthas served with delicious white makkhan (butter).
“The kind of food that we get here is something exclusive. We are completely in love with this place and come here every week to have these paranthas,” says Manjeet Singh, a Delhi resident.
Murthal is a village in Haryana that falls on national highway-1, linking Delhi to Punjab. As you enter the village boundary from Delhi, you will see clusters of around 40 dhabas on your left, while some can be seen on the other side too.
But when we say word ‘dhaba’, you actually start imagining charpoys set-up under open sky, with a boy telling you the menu in a well recited manner. However, these dhabas are quite different, where they have a tin-sheet cover, fans, well laminated seating arrangement, tissues and waiters dressed in uniforms always ready with printed food menu.
You can get all kinds of paranthas here to treat your taste buds, be it aloo parantha, gobhi paranthaa, mixed parantha, paneer parantha, mooli parantha or you name it and you get it. Apart from this, other winter delicacies such as Sarso-da-saag with makke di roti and amritsari kulcha with chole are also served that too on affordable prices. Moreover, the paranthas are not the typical ghee fried ones and have been made on tandoor.
“Nothing can be more fulfilling on a chilly day than having an aloo ka parantha. Today we have so many variety in food, but nothing can be more satisfying than these delicious paranthas,” says Ranjeet Singh, a tourist.
Some of the famous names are Gulshan ka Dhaba, Ahuja Dhaba, Pahelwan Dhaba, Jhilmil, Mannat Dhaba, Sanjha Chuhla to name a few. But the one that steals the show is the famous Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba, which is more on restaurant lines.
These dhabas originally started to cater to truck drivers. But due to limited options, this stop at Murthal became popular, as they served throughout the day. However one thing that caught the fancy of passer-by was the typical Punjabi staple breakfast, hot and crisp paranthas with lassi and dahi (curd).