There was a time in my life when I lived on canteen food. The UNI canteen on Rafi Marg was a particular favourite of mine. We used to live in the building next to that of the news agency, so breakfast often meant a plate of idli with sambar and chutney at UNI’s open air canteen. Some afternoons I used to stroll down there for a plate of lemon rice or curd rice, pickle on the side, and evenings meant a plate of besan coated potato fries or a crisp vada.
The PTI canteen, on the side of the road from where we lived, was not that exciting. I did go there now and then, and had a dosa or some upma, but the fare at the UNI canteen, we all agreed, was far better.
Then, of course, we moved out of Rafi Marg. The last time I went to the UNI canteen some years ago, I found that it was not being run by the rotund Swamy we were familiar with, but somebody from Himachal Pradesh. And my last visit to the old PTI canteen (James’ canteen, it was called) would have been sometime in the late eighties.
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Actually, I did go there a few days ago, but this time it was to a brand new canteen that has just opened up in PTI. Apparently, it’s not a canteen, but a café — PTI news café. It is on the ground floor of the PTI building on Parliament Street. It caters to the news service housed in the same building, but is open to the public, too, from 8 in the morning till 10 at night.
I found a lot of office-goers from the neighbourhood when I went there around lunch time. We had thought we’d have a special thaali (₹100) with a plate of chicken (₹100), but it was a Tuesday, so I was told by the man at the counter that there was no chicken on the menu. So we had the special thaali and a plate of idli.
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I must say it was rather nice. The helpings are large, and the thaali consisted of two tandoori lachcha parathas, paneer, kadhi pakori, bhindi, raita, salad and rice. The parathas were excellent — crispy on the outside, and soft within. The pakori was prepared with spinach and besan, and was pretty good. The paneer, in a light tomato-based gravy, was mildly spicy, while the bhindi, a bit too mashy, reminded me of home. The idli was soft, the sambar was fresh and the coconut-dal chutney wasn’t bad either.
I am told the evening snacks there are excellent — the samosa is crisp and flaky, and the stuffing of potatoes is tasty without being overly spiced. The aloo bonda, again, has a nice crisp casing, and a stuffing of spiced, mashed aloo. The samosa and bonda are for ₹12 a piece, and come with coriander chutney.
The menu is a comprehensive one, and has dishes such as chholey bhaturey, rajma chawal and chicken biryani on it. But there was no chicken that day, as I said, and chholey bhaturey and rajma chawal weren’t a part of the day’s menu, a helpful gentleman at the counter informed me.
I saw that the menu listed moong dal halwa. So I rushed to get some, only to be told that there were no desserts that day. But I suppose since it has just started, they will face some teething trouble. And the lunchtime crowd can get a bit chaotic.
Like old Arnie, I shall return. But I will make sure that it’s not on a Tuesday.