Bang bang, you're fed

A plug for gunpowder...the restaurant, that is. It’s been a while since I’ve come across an eating joint that’s as aptly named as this delightful little place in Hauz Khas Village: the food explodes in your mouth, and I mean that in the best possible way (mirchi-intolerants, desist).

Gunpowder: The Peninsular Kitchen is fast developing an intense following among south Delhi’s cultural set – artists, publishers, authors. I heard about it from four different people in the space of two days (hat tips to Mary Therese Kurkalang of the German Book Office and Chiki Sarkar of Random House India) and one danger is that it may soon have more customers than it can handle (even though it isn't easy to find and you have to walk up three flights of stairs). Much like the Goan eatery Bernardo’s, which sadly moved from C R Park to Gurgaon a couple of years ago, Gunpowder is a small place, run by two people with a little help from friends and volunteers; already the owner Satish Warrier is requesting people to call up and make reservations before dropping in for dinner.

We’ve only been once so far (technically, twice: the first time we didn’t have cash, they didn’t have a card machine and there wasn’t an ATM close enough) but plan to go again very soon. We had pork in Coorg spices (a generous quantity - enough for two people with moderate appetites), the fluffiest Malabar parottas I’ve ever laid teeth on, and Andhra “meen” fish curry with steamed rice. It was all spectacularly hot and spectacularly good. The pepper chicken and beerkai mutton are next on my list, and their daal sounds promising too. The menu is small – and handwritten, in a register – but that isn’t a problem; we aren’t going to tire of this food anytime soon.

Check the Facebook page for details and updates (and dire warnings about lack of kitchen help).