Paneer Shashlik served with French Fries and Vegetables or Chicken Schezwan served with Fried Rice and Vegetables can be pure indulgence on a rainy day. Hot and flavourful, sizzlers make for great monsoon food. Sathish Reddy, executive chef, Courtyard by Marriott Pune Chakan, says that the relationship between monsoon and sizzlers is inseparable. “Anything hot and spicy is good to indulge in the rainy season. While restaurants have their signature styles, customers can ask for their own choice of sides, vegetables, meat and sauces. That said, real sizzlers are often meat based,” he says.
When it comes to choosing the ingredients for the sizzler platter to make it more relevant for the rainy season, Reddy says, “Locally sourced ingredients is the first priority. For non-vegetarians, any meat with relevant sauce and accompaniment is perfect. For vegetarians, it can be any vegetable marinated and grilled if not a combination of veg ingredients into a patty with sauce on the side and noodles/ rice. Any potato preparation is welcome, but it’s not a must have with sizzlers.” He adds that any tangy, cheesy or spicy sauce goes well with sizzlers.
YANA SIZZLERS & WOK
Yana Sizzlers & Wok, which has been running since a decade now, is one of the favourite sizzler destinations for Punekars, both young and old. While their Chicken Tikka Sizzler with BBQ Sauce is their best selling variant, the other non-vegetarian and vegetarian options are popular too. If you enjoy Oriental and spicy flavours, Chilli Chicken Sizzler served with Hot Garlic Sauce is the best choice, however, Cutlet Sizzler with Schezwan Sauce is a real treat for vegetarians. Those who love Paneer, can ask for Spicy Paneer Sizzler with piri piri sauce, which is really hot and spicy. But if spicy food does not suit your palate, Paneer Shashlik Sizzler should be your pick.
Address: 1181, Surya Bhavan, FC Road, Pune
Timings: 12 noon-11 pm
Price for two: Rs 1000
POP TATE’S
After wowing Mumbaikars with their mouthwatering sizzlers, Pop Tate’s (a sizzler chain) came to Pune last year. Nonetheless, the place has become a preferred destination for sizzler lovers and what better time to visit the place than monsoon!
When it comes to sauces, the restaurant offers an array of options — garlic pepper, piripiri, shashlik, Afrikana, Mexican, oyster, chilli, chilli garlic — so you can customise your own sizzler platter. Also, sizzlers served here are available in different cuisines — Italian, Indiana and Asian.
Vegetarians will find several options. For example, Exotic Veggies (pan tossed veggies with a sauce of your choice), Mexicano (a melange of veggies with Mexican Ranchero sauce), Veggie a La Kiev (corn, peas, cottage cheese cutlets, garlic butter), Paneer Steak (stuffed paneer steak, ratatouille and cheese), Paneer Tikka Makhni (succulent marinated paneer, capsicum, onions and tomatoes), Veggies Mixed Grill (marinated grilled paneer, potatoes, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper, Mexican rice and fried) Beijing Plan (sesame tossed stir fried vegetables, veg fried rice and garlic noodles) and Italian Crush (cheese poppers, penne pasta, tomato basil sauce, seasoned potato wedges and veggies) are some of the delightful treats.
Non-vegetarians can gorge on chicken, fish and seafood sizzlers. You can order Garlic Pepper Chicken (Pop Tate’s signature grilled chicken sizzler), Chicken Steak (marinated chicken mince patty, Sunny Side Up (with garlic pepper sauce), Chicken Tikka (juicy chicken tikka with makhni sauce), Grilled Prawns (marinated prawns and a sauce of your choice), Grilled Fish Fillets (marinated grilled fish fillets with garlic lemon butter sauce). The options are endless.
Address: Unit 3, Kakade Bizz Icon, Ganeshkhind Road, near E-Square Multiplex, Shivajinagar, Pune
Timings: 11:30 am-1 am
Price for two: Rs 1,400 with alcohol
THE PLACE — TOUCHE THE SIZZLER
If you are a sizzler lover, you must have visited this iconic four-decade-old Parsi joint in the city by now. This is one of the must-visit sizzler joints. Opened in the ’70s, The Place wins everyone’s heart who walks through its doors. With an old world charm, this place lets you relax and soak up the ambience.
Sizzler options are plenty. From Fish Steak Sizzler to Ham and Cheese Stuffed Meat Sizzler, each dish on the menu is full of flavours and surprises. This is one of the rare places that also serves sizzlers in peanut sauce and ginger sauce.
Address: 7, Clover Centre, Moledina Road, Camp
Timings: 11.30 am-3.30 pm and 7-10.30 pm
Price for two: Rs 1000
ZAMU’S PLACE
If you want to taste authentic and some yummy Parsi food and mouth watering sizzlers, head to Zamu’s. This cosy, little quaint restaurant with delicious sizzler options has been a favourite of food connoisseurs. If you visit this ‘homely’ place, try their T Masala Fried Pomfret and Masala Chicken Shashlik Sizzlers.
Address: 189, Nirmal Apartment, Dhole Patil Road
Timings: 11 am-3 pm and 7-11pm
Price for two: Rs 1400
