August 2024
When we asked the social networking channels for recommendations for Indian restaurants with a teudat kashrut, our message board filled with recommendations for Gandhi Restaurant in Tel Aviv. This restaurant has a following! Thank you social networkers for your responses. Amazing!
Gandhi is more like a stall in a food court than a full restaurant. It tries to give its diners the feel of a street food restaurant in India. Gandhi is one of a string of fast food restaurants in the food court of the London Mini store. Step up to the counter and place your order. Your meal is served respectfully by a pleasant waiter, on paper plates. There is limited seating at tables in the center of the mall. Foods are priced accordingly.
Warning: Indian food is an acquired taste. After several visits to Indian restaurants you will become addicted. Beware.
Gandhi Restaurant is the kosher branch of the popular Indira non-kosher Indian restaurant, open in Tel Aviv for over 20 years. Indira owner Melvyn opened Gandhi about a year ago as the kosher answer to Indira. While the menu at the two restaurants is cut from the same cloth, the dishes at Gandhi are prepared in the Gandhi kitchen by a Jewish Indian chef and are tweaked for kashrut.
This is not Melvyn's first venture into the kosher world.
Old timers may remember the popular Sangam Restaurant in Lapid. With Gandhi, Melvyn is again forging into the world of kosher Indian cuisine.
Gandhi is a meat restaurant with a large selection of vegetarian dishes. Traditional Indian cuisine combines meat and dairy products. The milk products used at Gandhi are vegetable based and the cheese is nut based. The kosher version of these dishes is not an exact replica of the non kosher Indira dishes, but so tasty that the owner Melvyn and his family eat at Gandhi regularly.
Gandhi is open for lunch from 11am till 4 pm. For lunch the restaurant offers the Indian Tali. Tali is a basic one-plate dish, served throughout India. This everyman food is based mostly on beans and lentils and is a low-cost nutritious meal that keeps the general population alive. Those who have visited India will recognize it and enjoy its authentic flavors.
We started our lunch with the Dal red lentil soup. Soup is probably not the most popular a dish in the hot summer, but it was available for our lunch We went on to the Samosa, two very nice vegetable-filled puffs. Samosas are meant to be spiced with various toppings, but even without the extras they have a pleasant delicate flavor. I liked the mild tasting filling, a paste of peas, potatoes and other unknowns.
 We then went for the classic Tali. Diners can choose the mix of dishes to be included in their one-plate meal. We asked for a selection of the most popular non-meat dishes. The variety that the restaurant chose for us included bean and lentil-based dishes, each with a different flavor, and some tasty potatoes all served on a bed of Basmati rice. Our more experienced dining companion chose an attractive plate with chicken, and bean dishes on rice.
Several bowls and a variety of condiments including green chutney, placed at the center of the table were meant to spice it up. My culinary adventuresome dining parter partook of all the condiments and enjoyed them by turn. Both lunches were an impressive amount of food and made a very filling lunch. These are a steal at NIS 55 and NIS 60 a plate.
As we worked out way through the Tali, the charming waiter brought us a tasting of the onion bahji. This fresh, crispy fritter was quite delicious. With all that food, we suggested that we take it home but we were told that it tastes best when eaten immediately from the kitchen.
The best time to visit Gandhi is for dinner from 6pm till 10pm.
In the evening the restaurant offers the Masala Dosa, the highlight of the Indian menu. The evening menu offers a long list of courses that can be ordered ala carte. Most of the dishes are in the NIS 50 - NIS 60 range. Meat dishes are slightly more expensive than the vegetarian versions.
Note that the restaurant makes an effort to keep the prices low, this first year. You can expect the prices to be higher as the restaurant develops.
From the menu:
The Tali lunch: a one-plate variety of vegetarian or chicken selection. NIS 50/55
Vegetable Samosa starter, two pyramids filled with potato and vegetables. NIS 35.
Onion bhaji finely sliced onion in a vegetable batter and fried to crispy. NIS 35
Pani Puri is a platter of 6 wheat balls filled with vegetables NIS 35
Masala Dosa hails from the south of India. It is a vegan omlet-like dish made of rice and beans NIS 55
Katti chicken or vegetable rolls . NIS 45/49
This dish originated in Calcutta but spread to the whole country, The original Katti Roll was grilled chicken tikka served on a skewer wrapped in chapati bread with traditional sauces.
Gandhi has a popular take away service. The eLuna discount does not apply to take away, |
Getting There: Gandhi is located on the ground floor in a food court in the London Mini store. Access the underground pay parking lot through the gasoline station on Dubnov St. An elevator will take you to level zero. |
