From the Center Eating Out: Delhi-cacies of the Capital's State Canteens

Squeezed between Bhutan, China, and Myanmar, the northeast Indian state of Nagaland is renowned for its various tribal groups and the occasionally violent tensions that have arisen between the various indigenous peoples and the Indian central government. Accordingly, it is a land foreign to many Indians, including PJ and her family. The interior boasts some Naga tribal decorations Naga pork, and more specifically the Naga style of pork rib preparation, has gained some fame in Delhi thanks to the state's food outpost in Dilli Haat . Unfortunately, our meal fell far short of any expectations we held upon arriving. We were presented a menu of various pork, fish, chicken, mutton, and veg dishes. But upon beginning to place our order, the waiter informed us that, in fact, only the Naga style pork and chicken thalis were available, with the other options given as traditional "Indian style" fish or veg thalis. All other thirty dishes on the menu have to be ordered at l...

We set out this afternoon hoping to eat at Jammu and Kashmir Bhawan, but, as we later found out, because of the imposition of governor's rule (a state of emergency) in the volatile state, the canteen has been closed. So instead, we found our way down Kautilya Marg to the well-known Gujarat Bhawan. Lions guard the entrance to Gujarat Bhawan Gujarat is a state in northwest India known for its merchants, its former chief minister (now-PM Narendra Modi), its ban on alcohol sales, and its vegetarian food. The state's main office in Delhi is not the most architecturally impressive of the capital's bhawans, but we found its restaurant to be well-appointed, tasty, and cheap. A simple yet sleek interior For lunch, purchase of a thali (for those non-Indians: a plate filled with various dishes and often including unlimited refills) is required. For just a couple dozen rupees more, one can opt for the special thali, which comes with a standard offerings plus a veg ...

Bihar Niwas' The Potbelly is more upscale than perhaps any of Delhi's other state canteens (although similar in price to Goa Niwas' Viva O' Viva). Accompanied by PJ's mom, we all had high expectations for the restaurant, but even those were surpassed by the nice decor, attentive service, and, most of all, the delicious dishes. The room and outdoor garden of The Potbelly stands in stark contrast to the rather drab, florescent-lit interior of Bihar Niwas. Smooth jazz floats through the restaurant and staff stand ready to explain the already detailed menu. A light rain made the interior even more calm and relaxing Going off one of the manager's recommendations, we ordered some distinctively Bihari starters: a pakora basket (with fried eggplant, potato, tapioca, and onion fritters), keema goli (spiced mutton minced kebabs served with mini flaky flatbreads), and fish chokha on marua roti (a fish mash served on fried millet breads with a coriander and tomato...

The South-Indian food at the Karnataka Food Centre (or KFC, as some regulars lovingly call it) is some of the best-known state canteen fare in Delhi. The lines, so we were told, can be long at meal times, so we opted for an early dinner around 4:30pm, well before most Indians would ever consider consuming anything more than afternoon tea. The green entrance sets the tone for a culinary journey to the lush south While a fair number of the tables were filled, we were able to find a spot inside the restaurant upon arrival. Immediately, the setting of this canteen strikes its diners. Set just off a main avenue, it nonetheless uses tress, other shrubbery, and floor-to-ceiling windows to strike a feeling of being amidst the overwhelming greenery of Karnataka. The nice ambiance (and a bitter jamun juice) The service was snappy. From a menu filled with familiar South-Indian dishes (as well as two thalis only available at peak meal time), we ordered a paper dosa (an extra long, e...

Having visited two of the better-established bhawans and ambitious after an extended weekend in the hills of Uttarrakhand, we fixed our sites on Mizoram House. Mizoram, one of India’s northeastern most states, has a distinct food tradition influenced by Chinese and Burmese cuisine. Unfortunately, the state's outpost didn’t offer much insight into its culinary heritage. A hopeful visitor We could find little online about Mizoram House’s canteen, perhaps for good reason. Save for two workers eating and a man sleeping on the floor in the corner, we were the only customers when we arrived.  The generic, rather empty canteen The waiter seemed slightly perplexed about our intentions, but ultimately produced a crumbled menu heavy on traditional North Indian possibilities but also boasting a few “Mizo” options on its back page. Eagerly, we ordered all available Mixo dishes—Bai (a soupy mix of eggplant and leafy vegetables), fried chicken, chicken in Mizo curry, and “c...

After having experienced the understated atmosphere of Maharashtra Sadan's canteen yesterday and with the weekend approaching, we settled on visiting Goa Niwas' Viva O' Viva restaurant. For those unfamiliar with Indian geography and history: Goa lies on India's west coast and was a Portuguese colony from 1505 until 1961. Accordingly, its cuisine's reputation is heavy on coconut and seafood and boasts vaguely Portuguese influences. The main entrance to Goa Niwas As for the restaurant, we had been warned by PJ's father, a connoisseur of sorts of Goan cuisine, that it was not the best in quality and slightly on the pricier side, an assessment that we largely concurred with, although we did find some things to like. One thing that stands out is the eclectic kitsch decor of the restaurant. Located just off the main lobby of the the elegant yet understated Goa Niwas, the dining room immediately perplexes the diner's senses. Various vaguely tropical dec...

For our first bhawan, we settled upon Maharashtra Sadan's canteen. Food that was not too exotic nor too familiar, it seemed like an appropriate initiation. First, the setting: Maharashtra Sadan is a new, impressive building , inaugurated in 2013. The canteen, however, manages to hide itself away in a rather unimpressive basement of the complex. In order to reach the canteen, one must pass through various ID checks (make sure your group includes at least one Indian national, as the security policies didn't seem too fond of lonely foreigners), walk around the entirety of the building (when entering from K.G. Road) and find their way to a ramp adjacent to the security guards' office and a putrid bathroom. The interior of Maharashtra Sadan's canteen Once inside and having worked up an appetite from the long walk, the menu (available at this link ) is a combination of traditional Maharashtrian dishes and more standard North Indian fare. Needless to say, we eagerly ...

Armed with two months in Delhi at the parents' (or, in my case, in-laws') house and grounded by the heat, my wife Aparajita (or "PJ" as everyone knows her) and I have begun to go a bit stir-crazy. One can only dream of Dilli Haat for so long. Our solution? Explore the culinary geography of Hindustan through the canteens of Delhi's state bhawans. Some are famous (Andhra Pradesh Bhavan most of all), some are feared, and some are potentially permanently closed. There are a plethora of short posts online that outline the layout, famous dishes, and stereotypes of these cafeterias, but we struggled to find in-depth analysis of their taste, smells, and quirks. That's what we hope to provide. Over the next weeks, we will set out onto the blazing, and occasionally soaked, streets of Central Delhi to discover all that these locales have to offer. And here, we will do our best to document what we find.