I sat down with brothers, co-owners and chefs Parmjit Singh Ahuja and Gurpreet Singh to talk about their restaurant Divine Darbar. They made me a delicious chai and talked about growing up in New Delhi and how food was a central part of their family but that they had never intended to become chefs. Parmjit has a bachelor's degree in psychology and Gurpreet has a Masters in IT. While studying, they got part-time jobs in kitchens and they felt drawn to hospitality in such an overwhelming way that they embraced it wholeheartedly, opening Divine Darbar in December last year. They want to share the food they grew up with and are passionate about creating a whole experience for diners. Parmjit and Gurpreet were nervous about talking to me, but they had so many great things to say and this was a lovely conversation.
Conversation with a chef: Nice to meet you. And thank you for my tea. How long has Divine Darbar been open?
Parmjit:December. We opened just a week before Christmas.
So quite new.
P: Quite new, yes. This was just an idea that we came up with. We've been working for other people for a really long time, and we just thought that we had to do something of our own, put our brand name out there and that's when Divine Darbar came about.
And so are you friends?
Gurpreet: We are brothers.
Oh, wow. Great. I read on the website that the food here is to do with nostalgia and it'll take you on a culinary journey. Can you just tell me a little bit about what that means?
P: Sure. So see, when you think about Indian food, we think of what we used to have back home, our mother's cooking or when we went out to friends and family and all that. All those great times come in mind. So that's what we wanted to embark on here as well. Once you come in, this doesn't look like a modern Indian restaurant. But once you get that aroma come in and once you taste our food, with one bite, we can actually tell that the customer loved it. That's how we know this is something that we've done right over here and it just takes you back home. Exactly like you'd see mum cooking.
G: I discovered when I came here that many Indian restaurants have very sweet sauces. Indian doesn't need to be sweet. Then we start putting our experience in the food and making Indian food.
Where are you from in India?
P: New Delhi.
I've been there.
P: Have you? When?
2015 and I went around Rajasthan, I flew into Chennai and then went to Mumbai and then around Rajasthan and then New Delhi.
P: So just when you were in Delhi? That's when I came here. 2015.
Food is something we all grew up with. It was a big part of our lives. It is a big part of our culture. When you think, think of any festival you would think of colours, lights and food. Think of any festival in India. Food is something that you just grew up with. It is something that has always been a part of my life. I just didn’t know how big of a contribution it had in my life until I started cooking myself over here and I started doing it professionally.Once you’re doing something good, you know you’re doing something right once you get good feedback from the customer and then I think that’s practically it. It’s not about money, it’s not about fame, it’s about doing something right, making sure that the person loves it.~ Parmjit Singh Ahuja
What brought you here?
P: We came here to pursue our education, becoming a chef was not something that we thought about. It was something that just once you know something, you know something. I think that's what happened. Once we came here, we were just looking for part-time jobs. We started working in the kitchen and I don't know, it's like an adrenalin rush that you get once you're in the kitchen. It just gets you and then if it's a really busy night, we don't even know where the time flies most of the time.
What did you come out here to study?
P: Psychology.
G: I have a Masters in IT.
P: I've got a bachelor in Science, he's got a Masters in Information Technology. And then alongside, we just thought that this is something that this kind of nice as well. So we did our diploma in hospitality as well at the same time.
Oh goodness. You're so busy. What do you love about hospitality?
P: Food is something we all grew up with. It was a big part of our lives. It is a big part of our culture. When you think, think of any festival you would think of colours, lights and food. Think of any festival in India. Food is something that you just grew up with. It is something that has always been a part of my life. I just didn't know how big of a contribution it had in my life until I started cooking myself over here and I started doing it professionally.Once you're doing something good, you know you're doing something right once you get good feedback from the customer and then I think that's practically it. It's not about money, it's not about fame, it's about doing something right, making sure that the person loves it.
Growing up, as you say, food played a large role. What are some memories you have of your family eating together or cooking?
G: Mostly Diwali. We organsze a party and we invite our friends and family. And then we, we cook lots of food, sweets as well.
P: I think that's particularly good when we think about food or family gathering. Everybody came together. We were all having a good time. Everybody's eating, everybody's having fun. That's what I think food is. That's what you're supposed to feel like. Whenever we are about to finish here, most of our friends come at the end of our shift. We all get together, we have dinner and it feels right.
Nice. Are you cooking any specialties from your family? Things that you grew up with?
P: I think for me it would be butter chicken and dahl. That is New Delhi food, butter chicken you can get anywhere, but there are a few places that are great. So that's what I kept when we started making food. It has to be great; authentic Indian, like you can get in the street in New Delhi. Our dahl we cook for 35 to 40 hours. It's a two-day process.
What pulse are you using in that? What is it a lentil or a pea?
It's a mixture of six or seven. It's not just one single one. And of course we use ghee, not oil. Our mum used to do that too. She would start early in the morning when we were eating breakfast.
Did you cook when you were at home?
P: We used to help our mother out in the kitchen. But this wasn't planned; this was an amazing surprise. You could say that.
What makes the butter chicken that you do different to other people's butter chicken?
P: I could get you to taste it. When I came in 2015, I tried a few places. It was mostly very sweet.
G: Most of the restaurants are serving sweet butter chicken, but it's not meant to be sweet. It should be like a little bit spicy.
P: Like I said, we remember the taste, what we had back home. You remember all that. And that's what we try to bring over here and put it on a plate for our customers as well.
When diners come in here, what's the best experience they can have? Do they eat their way through the menu? Do they share? What's the ideal dining experience?
It's practically heritage on a plate. They come in and they usually ask what's good because it's a new restaurant. We can say everything's good, but we usually say, try this. If you don't like it, don't pay us. Honestly. If you don't like it, then you don't have to pay for the meal. We've got mostly positive response from everybody. We usually stand over there and look at the customer's faces and they are happy. They can come in, they can share. I think Indian food is meant to be shared. You're not supposed to order for yourself, so order a few things, have a family get together type thing.
You've got some starters?
We do have starters. We've got all kind of chats. So you got your basic pani puri you got your Chandni Chowk Ki Aloo Tikki, samosas, papadums. And then we've got a special, the Darbari chat basket.
G: Thats our signature chat.
P: The basket itself is edible. It's made out of potatoes and it's one of our biggest sellers.
Is that your own idea?
P: It originates from India. It's from the streets of Lucknow. That's where the original basket came from. We thought we could bring that taste to Melbourne as well.
What's inside the basket?
G: Indian snacks.
P: It's a huge portion as well. Easily be enough for two people. Its meant to be shared.
Then you've got a butter chicken and what other mains have you got?
P: We have mutton as well. We buy our own meat. I go to the butcher's or he goes to the butcher shop every other day and we make sure that the meat is fresh.
G: The main thing is the size of the meat.
P: It was a very crucial thing for us when we started. We don't want to rip people off if they're paying for something, they should get the quality and the quantity. Our mutton pieces are big pieces, we don't just want them to serve small bony pieces.
How do you cook that? Is that roasted or is it slow cooked?
P: Oh, it is a slow cooked. We cook it for two and a half hours minimum.
G: And the most important thing is we cook all the food in clarified butter, ghee, not in oil.
P: Because if you don't cook mutton in ghee, it doesn't taste that good. So we've got a few starters as well. We got chaap, which is just like a soybean steak. We roast that for vegetarians. We've got a Murgh Reshmi tikka and of course our fresh chicken kebabs as well.
G: We got the hot platter.
P: Yes, the hot platter is a big hit as well and is good for a big group of six to seven. Tou get a taste of everything and people think it is amazing..
We made a policy that if something’s not right, we are not serving it. We believe, if I can’t eat that, I won’t serve it to the customer. If something that doesn’t look presentable, it’s not meant to go out. The diners come in for an experience, it’s not just for the sake of eating, you have to feel it all the way in your body. That’s why every single day, either of us stays in the kitchen to make sure that if everything runs right and up to the standard we want it to be. We are here seven days a week. We make sure the food’s right, the quality’s right, the quantity is right. The rest is rest up to God, I think.~ Parmjit Singh Ahuja
So good. How many days a week are you open?
G: Seven days. From 1.00pm to 2.00am.
They are long days.
P: We are still young. We needed to put our name out there because there are quite a few restaurants in Melbourne that have been around for 15, 20 years. So we have to put that effort into our work. That's what we started doing we have to go an extra mile for now.
Are you busy every day until 2.00 AM?
P: We are new. We do have some regulars, and they come in every day just for the same meal.
G: They finish their job and they come in at or 1.00 AM.
P: Or we get families coming in from Craigieburn, Melton, Packenham, even Tarneit.
That's great. Would that be mainly Indian families?
P: Indian families. But I've got a lovely Italian couple that comes in every second day. They've tried practically all of our menu. They usually come in for lunch and then they stay and have a chat. It is really lovely to see those people supporting Indian food.During the day, of course you've got some tourists coming in. Students, families. Saturday, Saturday would be families with kids, it's a good day out. I think we'll have a few walk-ins today.
I keep reading every day that another restaurant has closed and people are talking about how difficult it is in hospitality at the moment, how are you finding those challenges?
P: It is quite difficult to own a restaurant at this time, but I believe if you're doing something right, you don't have to worry about all those things. That's why we made a policy that if something's not right, we are not serving it. We believe, if I can't eat that, I won't serve it to the customer. If something that doesn't look presentable, it's not meant to go out. The diners come in for an experience, it's not just for the sake of eating, you have to feel it all the way in your body. That's why every single day, either of us stays in the kitchen to make sure that if everything runs right and up to the standard we want it to be. We are here seven days a week. We make sure the food's right, the quality's right, the quantity is right. The rest is rest up to God, I think.
Divine Darbar, 292 Lygon Street, Carlton