Believe it or not'on Gandhi in holland

VADODARA: `Gandhi' has been a durable political brand. But Gandhi as a
gastronomic symbol? Strange but true, Amsterdam has an Indian restaurant
called Gandhi, dishing out fare that could make the Father of the Nation
do a triple vault in his grave. For, the menu card is everything that
Gandhi didn't stand for - a bar full of all kinds of heady stuff, the
most succulent meats (tandoori or otherwise), fish, prawns and what have
you.

And, oh, yes, there's vegetarian too, but almost as an afterthought. The
veggies have been clubbed in the menu under a section titled
Bijgerechten, or `side dishes'. The fare is limited and consists of the
usual stuff - paneer jhalfarezi, cauliflower bhajee, palak paneer, aloo
mutter, Bombay potato, tarka dal and mushroom bhajee.

In contrast, a banquet spread is what best describes the the
non-vegetarian section, according to Sanjay Shah, a local man who went
cycling through the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. He has brought
back the menu card as a priceless memento for all to see.

Sample some: fish pakora, tandoori chicken tikka, sheekh kabab, hot
chicken wings, tandoori chicken, lamb tikka, tandoori king prawns,
chicken curry, chicken korma, lamb meat, saag dopiaza and korma and
special tandoori mixed grill. The exhaustive menu has scores of other
exotic stuff.

But by far the most popular item, at least with Indians who visit the
restaurant, is `Gandhi Special' - a platter of `Mughlai soup, lamb meat
with mushrooms and chicken tandoori with basmati rice'.

Gandhi, the restaurant, is doing roaring business. Run by an
enterprising fellow from Chandigarh, it is usually packed to capacity.
Local Indians, of course, patronise it, but the white clientele is to be
seen to be believed.

The owner, whom Shah quizzed, had no particular reason for calling the
restaurant Gandhi, and no qualms too, it appears. ``He told me that the
name Gandhi hardly mattered to him.'' Nor, it seems, does it matter to
Indians who visit the place. They happily eat `Gandhi' for lunch and
dinner and then wash it down with wine. Around for quite some time, the
restaurant hasn't ever seen a protest against commercialising the Gandhi
brand.

But for Gujaratis in particular, the Amsterdam Gandhi is sheer
sacrilege. After all, half of Gujarat is vegetarian by choice and all of
Gujarat is dry by compulsion - because it is Gandhi land.

ompulsion - because Gandhi was born in this state.