Maharashtra Sadan
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.
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 opted for the former.
Having combed the canteen's Zomato page with great enthusiasm on the ride over, we settled upon a probably too ambitious list of dishes that sounded vaguely Maharastran to PJ (and of course all totally foreign to me). Thankfully, they were out of half of our desired dishes, so we were only left with a slightly unmanageable serving of food.
We ordered zhunka (a dry mix of onions and chickpea flour), bharali wangi (baby eggplants in gravy), dal kolhapuri (spicy lentils cooked in the Kolhapur style), and saoji chicken (a curry base apparently from Nagpur in the east of the state). As accompaniments, we ordered jeera rice, so as to let the curries stand out on their own, and bhakar (a millet flatbread).
The stand-out plate, we both agreed, was the zhunka. The flavor was spicy yet subdued and complimented by an interesting texture reminiscent of dry mashed potatoes. Traditionally, especially among farmers of the region, zhunka is eaten with the bhakar, but we also found the besan-based dish to be oddly satisfying on its own.
As for the other dishes, the bharali wangi was a much wetter dish than what we had expected based on our research. The wateriness of the curry somewhat drowned out the flavor of the uncut small eggplants, of which there were only four. The dal kolhapuri was intriguing in its spice but could have done with a little more salt. And finally, the saoji chicken was a dark, nearly black, gravy, which, again, lacked for salt and was not nearly as spicy as the waiter had promised. Either that, or the zhunka was just so outstanding that everything else paled in comparison.
Finally, we eagerly ordered sol kadhi (coconut milk mixed with kokum fruit juice) and shrikhand (a curd-based creamy dessert). We had further hoped to order amarkhand, which is a mango-infused variety of shrikhand, and the house tea, about which many previous visitors to the canteen had raved. Remarkably, neither was available.
The sol kadhi, served in a small glass, possessed an intriguing yet not, at least for our unaccustomed palettes, appealing taste. Its sweat-like kick was reminiscent of a very salty Indian fresh lime soda but, if possible, more overpowering. On the other hand, the shrikhand, served in a metal chalice, proved to be easy to love.
Overall, the experience at Maharashtra Sadan's canteen was pleasant but not overly outstanding.
In addition to the zhunka and shrikhand, the lack of crowds and relatively attentive service stood out as positives.
As for items to improve, descriptions on the menu, especially of the unique Maharashtrian dishes unfamiliar even to the average Delhiite, would be welcomed, as would a sprucing up of the cafeteria's decor so as to match the remarkable beauty of the rest of the compound.
We hope to return for breakfast in order to sample some of the classic street foods of Bombay, such as vada pao, misal pao, and sabudana vada.
Until then, we're off in search of the next canteen Delhicacy...
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 opted for the former.
Having combed the canteen's Zomato page with great enthusiasm on the ride over, we settled upon a probably too ambitious list of dishes that sounded vaguely Maharastran to PJ (and of course all totally foreign to me). Thankfully, they were out of half of our desired dishes, so we were only left with a slightly unmanageable serving of food.
 |
| The main course |
We ordered zhunka (a dry mix of onions and chickpea flour), bharali wangi (baby eggplants in gravy), dal kolhapuri (spicy lentils cooked in the Kolhapur style), and saoji chicken (a curry base apparently from Nagpur in the east of the state). As accompaniments, we ordered jeera rice, so as to let the curries stand out on their own, and bhakar (a millet flatbread).
The stand-out plate, we both agreed, was the zhunka. The flavor was spicy yet subdued and complimented by an interesting texture reminiscent of dry mashed potatoes. Traditionally, especially among farmers of the region, zhunka is eaten with the bhakar, but we also found the besan-based dish to be oddly satisfying on its own.
 |
| The delicious zhunka, a Maharashtrian farmers' favorite |
As for the other dishes, the bharali wangi was a much wetter dish than what we had expected based on our research. The wateriness of the curry somewhat drowned out the flavor of the uncut small eggplants, of which there were only four. The dal kolhapuri was intriguing in its spice but could have done with a little more salt. And finally, the saoji chicken was a dark, nearly black, gravy, which, again, lacked for salt and was not nearly as spicy as the waiter had promised. Either that, or the zhunka was just so outstanding that everything else paled in comparison.
Finally, we eagerly ordered sol kadhi (coconut milk mixed with kokum fruit juice) and shrikhand (a curd-based creamy dessert). We had further hoped to order amarkhand, which is a mango-infused variety of shrikhand, and the house tea, about which many previous visitors to the canteen had raved. Remarkably, neither was available.
The sol kadhi, served in a small glass, possessed an intriguing yet not, at least for our unaccustomed palettes, appealing taste. Its sweat-like kick was reminiscent of a very salty Indian fresh lime soda but, if possible, more overpowering. On the other hand, the shrikhand, served in a metal chalice, proved to be easy to love.
 |
| The desserts, sol kadhi and shrikhand |
Overall, the experience at Maharashtra Sadan's canteen was pleasant but not overly outstanding.
In addition to the zhunka and shrikhand, the lack of crowds and relatively attentive service stood out as positives.
As for items to improve, descriptions on the menu, especially of the unique Maharashtrian dishes unfamiliar even to the average Delhiite, would be welcomed, as would a sprucing up of the cafeteria's decor so as to match the remarkable beauty of the rest of the compound.
We hope to return for breakfast in order to sample some of the classic street foods of Bombay, such as vada pao, misal pao, and sabudana vada.
Until then, we're off in search of the next canteen Delhicacy...
 |
| A stuffed customer outside Maharashtra Sadan |
Price of meal for two: ₹797
K.G. Marg, Next to Baroda House,
Connaught Place, New Delhi,
Delhi 110001
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