A roadside kitchen with a clay oven at its heart
On the highways of Punjab a dhaba is where truckers stop for dal, roti and a charpai to lie on. Ours is on Tecumseh Road, the charpai is a booth, and the truck is on the sign. The kitchen is the same idea.
Seven tables, one host
Kake Da Dhaba is small on purpose. There are six or seven tables, and on most nights the man taking your order is the man running the place. Reviewers call him Mr. Vinod, and the word they use most is "welcoming".
We opened on Tecumseh Road East to feed the neighbourhood the way a dhaba does: generous portions, honest prices, a board that runs from pani puri to goat curry to Hakka noodles, and chai on the stove from open to close. Desi ghee in the kitchen, a modern room to eat it in.
Three fires
Every dish on the board comes off one of these.
Tandoor
ਤੰਦੂਰA clay oven fired with charcoal. Naan and kulcha are slapped onto its inside wall; chicken, paneer, soya chaap and fish go in on iron skewers. Nothing else gives that char.
Tawa
ਤਵਾThe flat iron griddle of street food. Aloo tikki, pav bhaji, parathas and the buttery finish on an Amritsari kulcha all happen here.
Kadai and handi
ਕੜਾਹੀHeavy pots for the long cooks. Dal makhani, Pindi chole, goat curry that's done when it falls off the bone, not when the clock says so.
Dhaba rules
Cooked when you order
Breads go into the tandoor after the ticket prints. Chaat is built to order so the puri stays crisp. Gravies are the only thing made ahead, because they have to be.
Veg and non-veg, kept apart
Half the board is vegetarian and it isn't an afterthought. Separate prep, separate pots. The green dot and the red triangle mean what they do back home.
Chai is always on
Come in for a cup and nothing else, any time we're open. Sit as long as you like. It's a dhaba.