Tiffen Curry & Roti House

In many regions of India, you’ll find the dubbawalla, a man walking with a huge box like structure on his head. In this box he carries, lie many other little boxes or containers full off lunches prepared by wives to be delivered, via dubbawalla, to their hard working and loving husbands.  These little containers, otherwise known as Tiffin’s are a lot like a giant thermos, in which there are many other little containers, each one holding a different hot food item like rice, curried meat and bread. 

In Calgary there is also a place where one can find delicious curries, rices and rotis, except here, no one carries anything on their heads. Instead, brothers Ali and Cassim Ramji serve hundreds of Calgarians everyday from behind the counter of their extremely popular Tiffin Curry and Roti House. Located by heading just east of Deerfoot trail on Memorial drive and taking a left at the first lights, this incredibly well guarded secret is easily reachable for delicious lunches from downtown, and you’ll still get back to the office in under an hour.

A patented roti machine built by their father mesmerizes onlookers like their watching mini donuts being made. The curries here are possibly, in fact, in my opinion, are the best in town. Cabbage, spinach, mixed vegetables, lamb, beef and of course, the always popular butter chicken are just some of the choices almost always on the menu. I say almost because, brothers Ali and Cassim like to switch up the selection everyday just to keep customers from getting bored. The samosas are a must try and, if you like “hot & spicy”, order the ribs and get Ali to make them the way he likes them.

Since being introduced to Tiffin by a friend, I too have brought many a new-comer to this little treasure, and like me, every single one of them has returned on their own accord.

 

Written by Shaun Field