What's happened to haleem in Chennai? Granted, it is alien to the city, but some of them have deteriorated so badly, that I can't believe that these were the same places that served good haleem a few years back. So, I am not going to write about them till I try them once more. The best haleem thus far has been from a home baker. I say best 'thus far' because of the Haleem she delivered! Called Meaty Wheaty, this was a different Haleem, but it knew it was different.

The colour of the haleem struck me first. I looked at her and she understood. Yes, there were no lentils and this was a full bodied haleem! Meat and Wheat. True to its name. Nothing more, nothing less. OK, there were spices and fried onions, but this was really meaty. Flavourful. It has to be with a mutton:wheat ratio of 3:1! Whoa! We ordered again a couple of days later for the whole family and everyone loved it.

My search for Haleem in Chennai has been a disappointment, otherwise. The search is on though!

Priced at Rs. 450/kg, this is a steal. There is a chicken haleem priced at Rs. 400/kg, but I don't intend trying it. I hope she is able to keep up the consistency!

She does home delivery and can be contacted at 9994088522. Ask for Mrs. Afsar. 

Thanks to the 'other' folder on Facebook, I almost missed out on this wonderful home baker! As I was randomly checking my messages on this stupid 'other folder', I found a message from her telling me that she would like to send me some of her chicken tarts and baked chicken. I responded (after 2 months) and promptly, a day before my birthday, a pack arrived from Baked Delights!

1/2 kg of baked chicken, 12 chicken tarts and 3 slices of garlic bread were in the pack. The garlic bread was dry, stuck to each other and bad, so let's get that out of the way. The other two - were lip smacking. My colleague and I secretly finished the entire chicken bake and refused to call our other colleagues. Without his knowledge, I had hid 6 tarts to take home and thats how the tarts survived to reach home!

At home, it was a super hit. All 6 tarts (small ones) disappeared in no time and I was asked to place an order the next day. This time, the tarts were not available and so we had to just do with the chicken bake which was just as excellent as the free one I got the previous day.

The tarts are quite expensive at Rs 30 a piece and with a minimum order of 30 tarts, it can set you back quite a bit, while the chicken bake is Rs 600 a kg and she had made an exception for me and took the order for 1/2 kg! So if you're throwing a party at home or if there are enough people to finish 1 kg of chicken bake and/or 30 tarts, give them a try. I hope more people order and it makes it worthwhile for them to accept smaller orders.

http://www.bakeddelightss.co.in/

Apparently they have been around for 25 years and I had no idea they existed. Shame on me!!!