India's best canteens

They aren't posh, but the food is serious business ?

It's not always about money. Even if your expense account permits you to splurge ridiculous sums of money on buying a working lunch, occasional slumming can be a deeply satisfying experience.

In fact, the best regional Indian cuisine is found at places that offer substance over style, no frills over five-star pageantry and inflation-defying prices.

There are highway dhabas and lunch homes, Irani chai shops and tiffin rooms, but that's not our story today. Instead, this one's going to take you through the canteens of India; long queues, clattering thalis and stuffy dining halls.

Quaint places you thought you'd outgrown with the idealistic (and poor) days of student life. But haven't quite.

In fact, sometimes the best canteens have nothing to do with student-y lives. Take the Andhra Bhawan Canteen in Delhi, for instance.

A great leveller, it feeds a sea of humanity on every weekday "" and a veritable ocean over weekends, when mountains of biryani get demolished and Delhiites from far and wide wait, very patiently and very uncharacteristically, their turn.

But then the thali is value for money: two vegs, sambhar, rasam, pooris, rice, sweet, papad, curd, hot Andhra pickles and condiments. There's no stopping you either from pouring rivers of desi ghee into the rice, mixing it with gunpowder and making a superb meal of it for Rs 50.

The thali can be supplemented with non-veg dishes for another Rs 50: A choice between spicy curry or fry "" chicken, fish or mutton.

On the other hand, many canteens that have become institutions over the years are associated with varsities. In Delhi, JNUwallahs will look back nostalgically on appams at the School of International Studies (SIS) Canteen even as 'MNC' cafes get booted out.

In Kolkata, they'll probably be discussing the politics of eating out. India Coffee House, in Albert Hall, has been an intellectual hangout since 1931 when the lecture hall on College Street was first contracted out for sips of tea, coffee and conversation.

Since then, it has been as much a hotbed for political movements as known for its 'Afghani', a cutlet served with gravy, mopped up with bread.

There is the equally famous Kobiraaji, cutlet wrapped in egg, muttonsamosas and what they call 'infusion', black coffee. For 30 years, the price of a cuppa has remained constant, encouraging not just students to adda but also the city's culturatti; everyone from Ray to Sen.

The best "" and most subsidised "" of canteens thrive on political patronage. Bangalore may have more cheap dining than any other city but you have to visit the Legislatures' Home Canteen to sample flavours of north Karnataka.

For Rs 25-30, they'll serve you jolada roti neel "" jowar roti with gunpowder, curd and oily brinjal curry "" food from rustic homes. Then, there's Gowda cuisine with a sour, thin chicken curry to go with ragi balls.

In Mumbai, things get posher. The MLA's Hostel here has a sprawling canteen, Manora, where a pan-Indian buffet lunch comes for just Rs 50. For cheaper fare, go to the cops! The canteen in the office of the Commissioner of Police serves fixed thalis for under Rs 30.

Tiffin rooms are a separate genre "" but they could well be canteens in their pricing, ambience and service. Common across southern India, and a throwback on the Raj, the term (an English-Indian slang, the truncation of tiffing, which means drinking, usually tea, usually at breakfast or lunch) came to mean eating a light and early meal "" idlis, vadas, upma.

If you are a serious foodie, you can't not have heard of Bangalore's MTR, Mavalli Tiffin Room, with its serpentine queues, 'pure' veg cuisine, and the unbending belief that breakfast should be "" can be "" had at 7.00 am.

There are others whose fame may not have spread as far but are local favourites. Annapoorna Tiffins in Trivandrum, for instance, is known for perfect appams.

In the north, there're the dhabas. But what'd you call a place that offered the same basics plus a fixed menu? A canteen? Bus drivers eat at Jaipur's Shankar Bhojanalay.

Sip on chach, followed by a Marwari thali; under Rs 20.

Recommendations

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Andhra Bhawan Canteen, New Delhi: Fixed Andhra thali for Rs 50. Non-veg extra Rs 50. Watch out for their biryani days.

Triveni Canteen, New Delhi: Whether it is the shammi kebabs, saboodana vadas (Rs 12) or stuffed paranthas, the quality has remained consistent.

India Coffee House, Kolkata: 'Infusion', black coffee Rs 3.50. Intel adda over Kobiraaji cutlets!

Jadhavpur Canteen, Kolkata: Mutton samosas for Rs 4.50, chai for Rs 1.50, it is not just college students who hang out here. Huge enough to seat everyone.

Police Canteen, CP Office, Mumbai: The thalis are a steal at under Rs 30.

Manora Canteen, MLA Hostel, Mumbai: Where else can you find a buffet for Rs 50?

Legislature's Home Canteen, Bangalore: Authentic north Karnataka food. Rs 25-30.

Vokkaligara Sangha Mess, Bangalore: Non vegetarian Gowda cuisine. The Karnataka pulao "" as opposed to the Andhra biryani "" is a must-try. Under Rs 50

Annapoorna Tiffin, Trivandrum: Famous for its appams. Meal, under Rs 50.

Shankar Bhojanalay, Jaipur: Marwari thali, under Rs 20.