Owner-chef, Pravinabahen Manoj Kumar aka Preetiben, conceptualizes all the menu items at her restaurant. Born in Surat, Gujarat, she sought to bring traditional Gujarati dishes from her birthplace to Penang. Her son, Vishaal Manoj Kumar, a 100% true-blue Penangite, manages the restaurant.
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ช ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช - crisp-fried ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช spheres filled with spiced potatoes and chickpeas, served with mint-coriander water and tamarind-jaggery liquid.
๐๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ข๐ต - crisp, hard-shelled ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ด with spiced green pea stuffing, topped with sev crisp noodles, spicy dal relish, yoghurt, chutneys and chopped tomatoes, onion and fresh coriander.
๐๐ข๐ท ๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ช - spicy mรฉlange of green peas, potatoes, cauliflower and vegetables, served with soft buns and chopped onion relish.
๐๐ถ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช ๐ด๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ข๐ด - crisp-fried pastries with spiced ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ (chickpea) filling, served with a tamarind-jaggery dip.
Decided to go back to Preetiโs Farsan for lunch today, and had the good sense to call ahead and reserve a serving of dhoklas - just to make sure we donโt miss out this time.
Gosh, they are good - reminds me why Iโd always loved dhoklas. Freshly made a la minute - these were spongey-soft and utterly delish. Tempered mustard seeds, crisped curry leaves, and freshly grated coconut provide the piquancy. To-die for.
Besides those, we also had: Vada pav - the quintessential Mumbai snack. These were good, exquisitely assembled as only a mom-and-son set-up can. Everything here seemed so pristine, with so much care put into their preparation.
Punjabi samosas - we had the house special Gujarati samosas the last time, but didnโt quite take to the lentil-pea filling. So, we decided to revert back to the more familiar spiced potato Punjabi ones this time. Gosh, these were good!! As good as those from Penangโs foremost Punjabi eatery, the Michelin-listed Sardaarji - Flavours of Punjab itself.
Papdi chaat - canโt resist having this again - absolutely addictive, a typical mixture of differing flavors and textures which came together beautifully.
Ask her to make you Khatta / Safed dhokla (sour / white) as well โ those are the everyday home ones, and I think youโll love them if you liked the khaman dhokla (pictured).
Khandvi is my absolute FAVORITE farsan (savory / snack)! My mom ordered some for me today, but then my best friend called because she wanted my mom to send across some remedy for her father-in-law, and as there was to be a parcel sent already, my khandvi was confiscated (along with some other snacks that had also been ordered for me) and sent to her instead โ because the world might end if we sent only the thing she asked for (j/k โ Iโll eat it tomorrow ).
PSA re khandvi โ it has to be eaten fresh / same-day, or it starts disintegrating / leaching water / turning. (Kinda like ho fun has to be eaten same-day.)
During my Kuala Lumpur years (2011-2016), I used to order khandvi from Ganga Cafe, a Gujarati eatery just 10 minutesโ walk from my apartment. For some reason, itโs an off-menu item which theyโd only offer on weekends.
Back to Preetiโs Farsan for Madam Preetiโs amazing Gujarati khandvi! Itโs not every day that one can walk into a Gujarati restaurant to find a genuine Gujarati grandma cooking a classic exactly the way itโs supposed to be done. I think Iโd just died and gone to Gujarati heaven.
An enjoyable Gujarati lunch today at Preetiโs Farsan with a couple of old friends. Itโs been too long since we last met - endless conversation over some really good chaats.
In-between , we also had: ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ - crisp crackers topped with potatoes, chickpeas, chutneys, yoghurt, black chickpeas (๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ข), crispy ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท noodles, chopped tomatoes, onion, fresh coriander and masala spices.
๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐๐ - spicy mรฉlange of green peas, potatoes, cauliflower and vegetables, served with soft buns and chopped onion relish.
For desserts: the best-tasting ๐๐ค๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ค๐ค Iโd ever come across, and Mdm Preetiโs incredibly milky-rich ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ค๐ซ๐.
(j/k โ Iโll eat it tomorrow 
).
๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ - crisp crackers topped with potatoes, chickpeas, chutneys, yoghurt, black chickpeas (๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ข), crispy ๐ด๐ฆ๐ท noodles, chopped tomatoes, onion, fresh coriander and masala spices.
