Bol Gappa | Karama

Mixing Bollywood with food, Bol Gappa located in Karama is a quaint and quirky spot serving (and delivering) bits and pieces of nostalgia on a plate. From street side chaat to desi Chinese and even desi Italian, they’ve got a menu that’ll keep you coming back for more.

We were invited at Bol Gappa to try out their winter menu which includes some famous dishes from different parts of India and lucky for us, we dined in at a time when the Dubai weather was actually pretty chilly, so I like to believe that upped our experience.

Before we began our food journey, we ordered a couple of drinks from their extensive mocktail list. I tried the Jalapeno Watermelon Fresca which came with a spicy gritty texture, and my date tried the Guava Chili drink which was creamy and very mildly spicy (loved the chili powder rim though)

We started with Chicken Snowballs. This unique dish came with shredded chicken mixed with sauces and coated with little croutons that made it part crunchy and part creamy. Loved the textures in this starter and the fact that it came with a side of sweet chilli sauce which I absolutely adore. For mains we went totally desi – in the sense we opted for two farm favorite dishes that are an integral part of traditional Indian cuisines and very commonly devoured in the interiors of India. Our first main was the Bihari Litti Chokha, which featured Litti (balls) made of atta or whole wheat flour and stuffed with a spicy pickle flavored mix of gram flour. It was served along with an aloo chokha (potato mash) and a red and green chutney on the side. I loved the combination of litti and chokha and the manner in which it was prepared with such wholesome ingredients. The second main was the ultimate classic Sarson da Saag and Makki di Roti which is essentially and mustard leaf gravy eaten with corn based rotis. The whole platter came along with grated jaggery which is an ideal accompaniment to the hot ghee laden makki rotis as well as a glass of yogurt based chaas, onions and chilies. Apart from the taste, which was exceptional, what I liked the most about this dish was the portion and the little candle it came with to keep the saag warm. I thought the 4 pieces of makki rotis were not enough and asked for a couple more, but in my opinion with that quantity of saag, you would need atleast 8 pieces.

Instead of ending our meal with a typical dessert, we thought of keeping the winter vibes alive and sipped on a glass of chai. If you know me well, you know how much I love chai and this was simply brilliant.

Bol Gappa

Location: Shop 2, Ground Floor, Wasl Opal Building, Opposite Palm Supermarket, Street 24, Al Karama, Dubai
Contact: +971 4 335 5144

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