Great news for lovers of kosher Indian cuisine: a new restaurant has just opened in Tel Aviv, so we no longer have to travel north and south to satisfy our curry needs.
And it was the very place where Reena Pushkarna, the doyenne of Indian cuisine, opened her first kosher Indian restaurant in the 1970s. Like her, we were new immigrants and excited to be able to enjoy authentic Indian food in Israel.
So this is certainly a good omen for Gandhi.
The restaurant – if it can even be given that name – is actually a food stall, and this is probably intentional, as it is intended to emulate the atmosphere of a street stall in Mumbai.
However, there are enough tables and chairs outside the stand to accommodate many guests.
A laminated menu contains all the important information – from the main courses, of which there is a wide selection, to side dishes, soups and drinks.
The lentil soup was bright yellow, hot and spicy, and seasoned with a variety of flavors, making the dish a gourmet start to our meal (25 NIS).
We also each got a chapatti, Indian bread similar to our lafa, which enhanced the soup (10 NIS).
For the main course I chose chicken curry and my husband chose beef.
A generous portion of chicken breast in a rich red curry sauce was served, along with a separate bowl of basmati rice (NIS 23). I thought it was a bit excessive to charge anything for the rice at all, and the price was definitely excessive by any standards.
However, everything tasted great and I really enjoyed my meal.
We asked for chutney and two different kinds appeared – very different from the supermarket varieties, so I assumed it was the real (Indian) stuff.
My companion had a beef curry, very soft pieces of lean meat in a pleasantly spicy sauce. (60 NIS).
The waiter was new to Israel, straight from Mumbai
Our server, Anush from Mumbai, had been in the country for six weeks and was friendly and helpful. Eli, the chef, also stopped by to say hello. He had worked in tandoori restaurants and liked being in a kosher place.
Anush (whose name means “beautiful” in Hebrew) insisted on bringing us another dish to try – panipurri. These are very thin, hollow dough balls, deep-fried and filled with chickpeas in a spicy sauce. Delicious. (35 NIS for 6).
We asked for dessert and Anush brought us mango ice cream which was sweet and refreshing.
As usual, we drank beer (18 NIS) and Diet Sprite (10 NIS). Wine costs 40 NIS per glass.
Gandhi also has vegan options. Indian music plays quietly in the background and you feel like you have experienced a real evening in Mumbai.
But please, out of respect for this great man who believed in non-violent resistance, write his name directly on the stand. It’s Gandhi, not Gandi!
Gandhi
30 Ibn Gvirol, Tel Aviv
077-804-4990
Opening hours: Sunday–Thursday, 11am–4pm and 6pm–10pm.
Kashrut: Rabbinate Tel Aviv
The author was a guest of the restaurant.
