Best Veg. restaurants and Do-Not-Miss Veg. Specialities

KSivani

We'll be doing a whistle stop tour for five weeks. When we were living and working in India we did not get too much of sightseeing done, and so this time we are trying to go to many touristy destinations, before going to our place in Secunderabad.

There are a lot of great food threads, but most of them lean quite heavily toward non-veg options. We would like to know your must-visit restaurants or must-eat specialities of the vegetarian ilk (yes to diary, no to eggs, easy on the garlic although a little is OK).

We'll be spending time in Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Kolkata, Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and of course Hyderabad.

(Perhaps some list-familiars can tell me whether these would be better posted individually on destination threads, or whether this is the best place for it?)

So, please jump in with suggestions. I believe that any trip is as much a culinary one as a sight-seeing adventure (and I have the girth to prove it). It would be a tragedy to go around all these regions and end up eating standard mughlai food everywhere.

Thanks,

Sivani

KSivani

Since I am asking for contributions, I had better start by making some.

Some of the items might be recognizable from other versions from other regions. However, the Andhra spicing and method of cooking are quite different from those of other regions.

• Panasapottu koora - shredded green jackfruit with pungent mustard seasoning
• Pesarattu - dosa made from moong dal, usually served with onion, lime and upma
• Gutti Vankaya koora - stuffed baby brinjals
• Mukkala pulusu - thick stew of vegetables in a tamarind base
• Pulihara - spicy tamarind rice - the Andhra version is different from others (and of course better )
• Majjiga Pulusu - a spicy soup with buttermilk
• Potato Fry - dry-fried diced potatoes seasoned with chili and salt
• Dosa avakaya - green fox cucumber and pungent mustard pickle, mostly fresh*
• Gongura pachchadi - a spicy chutney made from sour leaves
• Rice eaten with ghee and one of a variety of powders (next)
• Karivepaku Podi - powder ground from dried curry leaves and spices
• Kandi Podi - powder ground from roasted tuar dal and spices
• Potharekulu - sweet made from multiple layers of thin rice paper dusted with powdered sugar

--- Edit:

*The "mostly fresh" refers to the fact that, unusual for a pickle, it is mostly eaten within a week (even within a day) of preparation. Most pickles are, well, pickled and left bottled for weeks or months to develop flavour before they are eaten.

poon123

Hi
Try Sagars (South Indian restaurant) in defence Colony, Delhi.They serve delicious food .

KSivani

Thanks for the info.

Any tips for food authentic to the region? In other words what veg. food is particular to Delhi, and is prepared best there?

(And so on, for the rest of the destinations as well?)

Thanks,

Sivani

BhuttaJi

Hi I would say in Chennai Saravanna Bhavan and Annalakshmi. They both serve wonderful veg food. And in Bangalore for me the only one MTR Mavalli Tiffin Room it's a Brahmin run place i understand and it's the real deal. Oh and before I forget MTR has just opened in Chennai also.

Hope that helps. Happy trails Bhuttaji

kaushiks

Andhra bhavan in Delhi is very good. They also serve Non-Veg, if that is problem.

KSivani

I agree - we've been to Andhra Bhavan on previous visits to Delhi, and they were excellent, if rather hot (spicy) as if to prove Andhra's reputation for hot food :-)

If there is a straight-out choice between an all-veg. restaurant and one with non-veg. items, we'd go for the all-veg. However, as long as we can be reasonably confident in the restaurant's separation of the non-veg to veg preparations, we are alright with that.

Sagar's have been mentioned by so many people and books elsewhere, that this seems to be one more reason to visit it, and so it goes on our list. We would like to eat something other than South Indian food too while in Delhi though :-)

Thanks,

Sivani

jyotirmoy

For the best vegetarian meal in Delhi visit the ISKCON temple near East of Kailash. The cafetaria there serves great veg thalis.
Sagar at Defence colony & Das Prakash in Ambassodor hotel serve good south Indian food.
Try the Kulcha Choley at Nathu's sweet shop in Bengali market close to CP.
Sample the stuffed parathas sold in the Parathey wala gali in Chandni chowk. Some shops here sell very good Rabri.

KSivani

Some great recommendations there; thanks. But the Rabri tip made me extremely happy - I would say that that is my favorite Indian dessert, bar none!

Thanks!

- Sivani

jyotirmoy

A friend of mine told me about Paratha stuffed with Rabri he has eaten. I dont know whether the shops in Paratha wala gali does this. The last time I ate here I had paratha stuffed with pappad.

vinayverma

The restaurants in Pandara market on pandara road near India Gate also serve some good Veg, North Indian dishes.
Delhi also have Sarvana Bhawan, on Janpath next to McD.
The chaat wallah near UPSC near India gate also serve some of the great chaat like Aloo Tikki, Gol Gappa, Tawa walla Aloo (or Aloo fry).
Old Delhi is heaven if you are not averse to street (or eating in a crowded area). As Jyotirmoy mentioned earlier, ParanthaWalli Galli is legendary. Try Hot Desi Ghee Jalebi with Rabri and Malpuhha.
The Haldiram outlets (they are in Chandni Chowk, Lajpat nagar, Mohan coop area Mathura Road on Delhi- Agra Highway and one on Delhi-Jaipur highway after Rajiv Chowk in Gurgaon). Haldiram also serves some good authentic Veg dishes.
One of my fav. veggie food which is practically fat free, spicy, and available almost after every Km (if you can spot the guy) especially during lunch hours is Mattar/Chola Kulcha. You can customise the taste to your liking by telling the guy what spicies to put and how much. Nathu's in Defence Colony sells Mattar-Kulcha. But the best is found near the office complexes where loads of office workers comeout to eat it from their fav. Kulche walla.
For Bengali Sweets, try Annapurna in Gautam nagar/Yusaf Sarai market near IndianOil building.
Apart from Andra Bhawan, Nandini on Press club road, saket is also a good place for Andra Food.
Swagath in Defence colony is good for Chettinad food but limited choice for veg food.
Otherwise, the Dhabba on Pandara Road is good for Rs. 30 lip smaking DalMakahani, Chole, Baigan Bharata, Kadhi, Channa Ghiya, Raita, with loads of Onion and green chillies and tandoori Rotis.

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KSivani

This is fabulous stuff. I am scribbling lists all over the place.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Now, there's a wonderful list over on the Calcutta forum, but how about things in Jaipur, Bangalore or Kochi, anyone?

Thanks,

- Sivani

john.sw

If you are going by road from Bangalore to Kochi, you'll probably be passing through Coimbatore.

The Sri Annapoorna is a not-to-be-missed veg restaurant in the city centre.

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BhuttaJi

Hi kisivani, As I mentioned before Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR) just down the street from Lalbagh Gardens in Bangalore and it's the business. It is always busy so you buy a ticket down stairs and go to wait on the 1st floor. I was last there in October last year with my girlfirend and she had eaten there as a little girl. She said little had changed and the vegetarian thali was sublime.

Hope that helps.
ps it's easy to find everyone knows it.

chagu

[quote=jyotirmoy]
Sagar at Defence colony & Das Prakash in Ambassodor hotel serve good south Indian food.



Has Dasprakash at the Ambassador reopened??My experience proved it had shut sown quite a few years ago!!!

shame as it was the best dosa joint in town.