Delhi gets egg puffs and caviar idlis at Nadoo

In Delhi, South Indian food is often shorthand for Chettinad chicken and podi dosa. Nadoo wants to change that.

Our meal begins with “touchings”, inspired by Kerala’s toddy shops, where small plates are served alongside drinks, though these are far from the kind of snacks you’d find in Kerala’s backwaters. A Kala Ghoda hummus, for instance, served with crisp parotta and salsa. Soft thatte idli paired with spicy Pallipalayam, that gets its robust flavour from Tamil Nadu’s gundu chilli and small shallots. And if you are in the mood for luxury: mini podi idlis topped with Beluga caviar (at ₹999 per piece).

Curry leaf lobster
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Special Arrangement

A chartered accountant and company secretary by profession, Shri Bala is not a trained chef. In fact, her professional culinary journey began with a conversation on social media. This led to a series of pop-ups across the country even as she kept up with her accountancy work.

She spent years searching and learning recipes from home kitchens across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Nadoo, her first restaurant venture, is the culmination of her travel, documenting food across South India. “It is my duty to tell the capital about actual South Indian food — we are beyond idli and dosa,” she says.

Restaurateur Sahil Sambhi brings his own personal layer to the space, shaping Nadoo as a tribute to his late mother who hailed from Tiruchi and his years in Bengaluru.

Southern tide
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The menu focusses on diversity: the Chettinad raan is slow-cooked with layered spices, paired with flaky garlic coin parotta. There is Thalassery claypot biryani with fragrant ghee-rice and fried onions, as well as Bengaluru military donne biryani made with short-grain rice and spiced with a distinctive blend of chilli, mint and coriander.

Chef Shri Bala and Sahil Sambhi
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One of the highlights on the menu is the Bangalore-style puff, a rarity in Delhi. Flaky, buttery, and filled with egg or spicy jackfruit, they are served with Chef Bala’s homemade Mandaveli ketchup, tapping into the legacy of Iyengar bakeries. Besides seafood like curry leaf lobster, Nadoo special butter garlic crab and spicy pepper prawn thokku, you will also find bolder options like smoked chilli brain fry and Virajapete pork belly, a specialty from Coorg.

For vegetarians, there is pineapple gassi that comes with coconut foam and brinjal curry with a tart and tangy masala filling. Also an aromatic green curry made with Nilgiri braised vegetables, a nice change from the traditional ishtew and mushroom Chettinad generally seen on Delhi menus.

Virajapete pork belly
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Special Arrangement

The rasa pomfret, pan-fried with a chilli-tamarind marinade is served with a rasam-coconut gravy on the side. Traditionally this fish is doused in the gravy before serving, but the popular opinion on our table was that the drier version is more flavourful. The mutton kola with pepper sauce, usually a Chettinad favourite, lacks punch here.

Despite the experimental fare, it is likely that diners will gravitate to predictable favourites like idlis and dosas. Besides the already popular benne dosa, Nadoo is also introducing the city to mulbagal dosa from the Kolar region — this is made in cast-iron, and after it is semi cooked it is steamed, lending crisp sides.

Pepper saaru
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Special Arrangement

The filter coffee sourced from Chikkamagaluru at the Kaapi Bar is poured in the traditional davara-tumbler style. The beans — a blend of peaberry, arabica, and robusta with 10% chicory — are brewed through traditional drip filters, allowing the decoction to develop deep caramel notes.

We order First Dose Kaapi, which is dark and unadorned, while the Karupatti Kaapi, sweetened with palm jaggery  from Tuticorin, brings a comforting warmth. For something lighter, there is Chill Maadi, an iced, jaggery-laced brew.

Nadoo also has a bar with a cocktail programme inspired by the flavours and spices of the southern Peninsula, with ingredients like raw mango, tamarind, pandan, palm, coconut, nannari, and red rice. Cocktails are layered and crafted with techniques like fermentation, clarification, and house-made infusions.

Interiors of Nadoo, Delhi
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The space offers earthy textures from raw stone, brushed brass and aged copper create a warm palette inspired by soil and spice. The design draws deeply from Sahil’s childhood home in Bangalore, the terracotta reminiscent of the red brick house.

Sahil says that Nadoo is a tribute to the quiet generosity of his mother’s table, “to the instinct of feeding before asking, and to the comfort that southern food holds. This is not nostalgia. It’s about preserving a feeling and presenting it with dignity”.

Nadoo is at Masjid Moth, E5, GK-llI Savitri Cinema Main Road, New Delhi. A meal for two without alcohol costs ₹3,000. For reservations, call 9217679217.

Published – March 27, 2026 02:42 pm IST