Dine like a king at Chennai’s newest Telugu restaurant Vivaha Bhojanambu

Vivaha Bhojanambu serves authentic flavours of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with Bhimavaram stuffed crabs, corn vadas and royal bhojanam

You know you have entered Vivaha Bhojanambu when you walk past a life-like statue of mythical character Gatotkacha and breathe in the faint scent of camphor, with undertones of chilli and garlic.

This restaurant chain serving Telugu cuisine from the regions of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema just made its debut in Chennai at the Pharos, a glittery new hotel that has replaced Quality Inn Aruna, once home to some of Chennai’s most popular restaurants.

We are welcomed with a tall glass of Rajahmundry rose milk, thick with strawberry and vanilla ice cream, laced with rose essence and topped with pistachio slivers. It is sweet and refreshing but is not the best way to start a meal if you are hoping to eat like actor SV Ranga Rao in the song ‘Vivaha Bhojanambu’ from the movie  Maya Bazar.

There are starters aplenty in the menu and we first try their mokkajonna vada. Crispy yet soft, they are made with baby corn and corn kernels with streaks of coriander, mint and green chilli. We are also recommended the Golkonda kodi and Bhimavaram stuffed  peethalu. The Golkonda kodi is a piece of boneless chicken swaddled in a potato slice, dipped in spiced batter and fried until golden brown.

The big plates are then brought in. The vegetarian thali comes with a ‘variety rice’, a tangy tomato-based drumstick and cashew gravy, a spicy brinjal gravy, crunchy ladies finger with fried peanuts, pappu, tomato pappu rasam, tart majjiga pulusu which is a buttermilk based curry, a dollop of chutney which changes every day, curd, payasam and fryums.

In the non vegetarian bhojanams, some of these items are swapped with chicken, mutton, prawn and fish gravies and fries.

These thalis are priced at ₹599 for the vegetarian option, the Raju Garu non vegetarian bhojanam at ₹999 and Rayala Vari non vegetarian bhojanam at ₹1,199. Justifying the relatively high price, N Sunil Anand, managing director, Saffron Hospitality says they source all masalas, blends and even curd from the Tirupati branch to get the flavours right.