Tirupati Vrindavan, M-Block Market, Greater Kailash -1, New Delhi

We north Indians love the delicacies from the southern part of our country. Can we imagine our lives without the humble idli or the flavourful dosa? And can we imagine these dishes without their colourful and savoury chutneys/dips? No, not at all.

But when it comes to authenticity of the South Indian staples, there are only a handful restaurants which score high on it. Tirupati Vrindavan is one such fine dining place.

Situated at the famous M-block market, G.K. 1, Tirupati Vrindavan is easy to find. The place has minimalistic interiors and sophisticated and soothing ambience. South Indian restaurants should have enough walking space so that the servers can easily take huge dosas and this place, surprisingly, offers that.

The servers and the manager are polite, courteous and suggest you dishes based on your palatte. They are open to feedback and let you taste their improved versions. I was pretty impressed by this attitude.

Moving on to the lip smacking dishes I have had here :

Dahi Bada : One of the most ephemeral dishes I have had. So many elements imparting their uniqueness to give a dish that stands out from the rest. The softness of the badas, the smoothness and the sweetness of yoghurt, the bitterness of rai seeds and crushed curry leaves and the crunchiness of the boondi will leave you asking for more. The flavours are in perfect balance and none of the element overpowers the other. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rawa Masala Dosa : Good but not excellent. The thing with rawa dosas is that once they get soft, you just can not enjoy them. So we gobbled up on this one before it got too late. The dosa was crunhy, fine in taste with the occasional bite of whole black cardomam and cumin seeds. The mashed potato mixture seemed more like our north Indian potato preparation and the amount of curry leaves and turmeric was less. Additionally, the potatoes were not mashed properly. Improvement needed.

Rasam : Piping hot rasam in Delhi winters is a must have. And this one was so flavourful and delicious. Indian food is known for its strong flavours and the strength is very well prominent here. The bitterness of rai seeds, the tanginess of tamarind, the hotness of red chillies and tomatoes and the pungency of whole ginger and garlic cloves provide a host of flavours to this one. RECOMMENDED.

Rawa Masala idli : You know guys, it gets better with every dish. The rawa idlis are so soft that they maintain their sponginess even after an hour! And that too without heating. The addition of a spicy mixture of chopped onions, tomatoes, garlic, curry leaves, rai seeds and spices leave your palate with a food gasmic moment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Butter Masala Dosa : This is the speciality of Tirupati Vrindavan and is a must try. The crunchy masala dosa is lathered with a humongous quantity of butter – the taste of butter is pretty prominent here. And the potato mixture is well cooked – potatoes mashed to perfection with the lovely flavours of curry leaves and rai seeds. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Sambhar : This one definitely needs improvement. The sambhar is a bit sweet due to the presence of sweet tomatoes and cumin seeds. Traditionally cumin seeds are kept away from sambhar as rai seeds are already used. It is also a bit runny.

Chtuneys : What is a south Indian dish without the colourful cutneys? And these guys dish out some amazing and flavourful dips. The green one is sweet and is made with freshly crushed ginger and green chillies but it is not spicy at all. The orange one is tomato based and is again sweet yet savoury. The one with the coconut is subtle and good to taste.