Tenali: Andhra Kitchen, Green Park, New Delhi

Restaurant Name: Tenali: Andhra Kitchen, Green Park, New Delhi
Phone: +911145130615
Address: Shop 31, 2nd Floor, Main Market, Green Park, New Delhi 110016 India
Time: 12:30 Noon – 10:30 PM
Meals for two: Rs. 600
Cuisines: South Indian, Andhra
Facilities: Home Delivery, Indoor Seating

Tenali: The food of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh

Tenali: Andhra Kitchen, Green Park, New Delhi – Decor

COVID-19 has extracted its toll on the restaurant-scape of our city. Every restaurant you visit has had to make a few changes, of which using fewer tables, making do with a reduced staff strength and tightening menus to optimize inventory are just some measures. In Tenali’s case, there is a single floor where-as formerly there were two. In the two years of operation, the partners have had time to evaluate what dishes work and which do not: Delhiites do not appreciate spice levels to be as hot as they commonly are in Guntur. And the meat, chicken and fish component of the menu has been bumped up to the point where you can now order a non-vegetarian thali, whereas formerly it was a katori of fish curry as an extra in an all-vegetarian thali. The components of each thali still change a couple of times in the week and the same degree of customization is still possible: It is possible to order a vegetarian / fish / chicken / mutton thali or a smaller meal.

Tenali: Andhra Kitchen, Green Park, New Delhi – Food

The thing about Tenali is that the simplest dal or gravied vegetable in a thali is no less than an art form. The reason is the simplicity of the cuisine, with an accent on Ayurvedic principles. In my vegetarian thali, the lemon rice was slightly acidic with lime juice, the chopped beet-root dry vegetable had a sweet tinge, the sambhar was spicy and sour with tamarind, the dal with spinach was bland as a relief from all the sharp flavors and so on. Even the creaminess of dairy is used sparingly in most parts of Peninsular India. Andhra Pradesh is famous for growing and preparing several varieties of brinjal. Gutti venkaya was part of my thali: Baby aubergines in a thick paste of chilli, khus khus and garlic. It was a stand-out in the entire thali. Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, where the food served in Tenali is based, is fearsomely hot and humid, and chillies are like an internal air-conditioning system that helps the body to sweat, and thereby to balance one’s temperature. My first few visits to Tenali a couple of years ago, left me with watering eyes and ringing ears, but last week’s visit left me feeling a trifle let down in terms of the low spice level. That apart, I noticed that they have quite a few non-thali options for light meals, ranging from curd rice or sambhar rice to tea-time thalis.

Plus & Minus:

There is something for every palate here.