Tamil Nadu House

Still not sick of southern food, we headed off to Tamil Nadu House's canteen the day after having enjoyed Andhra's famed state cafeteria.

The canteen offers a cheap thali, but we instead offered for the restaurant's more renowned (at least according to Zomato) Chettinad chicken and Malabar parathas with vegetable kurma. We also ordered a buttermilk and lemon soda, but these drinks never arrived to the table—perhaps a testament of the rather hustled atmosphere and lack of waiters to serve the lunch-rush crowd.

The Chettinad chicken and Malabar parathas with veg kurma 

Due to the crowds, we were seated with another couple at a four-person table. Not an uncomfortable arrangement by canteen standards, the seating also allowed us to spy upon their thalis and biryani that, admittedly, also looked quite tasty.

A bustling bhawan

The Chettinad chicken was delicious, with the stewed meat melting in one's mouth and accompanied by a spicy gravy thick enough to be slurped up with the parathas. Although the Malabar-style paratha is admittedly not a distinctive Tamil dish (as the Malabar region resides in the neighboring state of Kerala), it nevertheless proved flaky and rich, an outstanding combination, in its texture and flavor.

We enjoyed a South Indian coffee after the meal accompanied by a creamy vermicelli sweet payasam, both of which were not overly sweet.

A nice finish to the meal

Overall, we found Tamil Nadu House's food to be satisfying and a perfect remedy from our still-bulging bellies from the previous night's outing to Andhra Bhavan. The service could certainly be improved upon, but overall the experience was just what one expects from a state canteen: bustling for the eyes, bewildering for the taste buds, and satisfying for the stomach.

I expect we'll be back.

Price of lunch for two: ₹400

Opposite Chanakya Theatre,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi, Delhi 110002
(Please note that the other Tamil Nadu House canteen at 6 Kautilya Marg is NOT open to the public)

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