Srilatha Kummari
Phone
+31 6 16359711There is a moment, just before a meal is served, when the kitchen fills with an aroma so warm and familiar that it stops you mid-breath. For me, that aroma is home – cardamom and coriander, slow-cooked dal, saffron rising from a pot of biryani that has been sealed and left to dream.
Opening the doors of Het Huis van Athidhi on Dorpsstraat 56 felt like the most natural thing, a way of sharing that moment with Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, as an act of gratitude, a quiet promise to the community that welcomed my family, that everyone who walks through this door will be treated the way my culture has always insisted guests deserve to be treated Not as a customer but as an honoured guest.
The Zuidplas region never had a place like this — somewhere you could sit down to an honest, unhurried Indian meal, order a warming masala chai with a crispy samosa, and feel the world slow down for an hour. Het Huis van Athidhi fills that space with something the neighbourhood didn't know it was missing.
Whether you are grabbing a warming lunch on a busy workday, settling in for the weekend buffet with your children, enjoying a quiet dinner for two, or celebrating a birthday with people you love, I want you to leave knowing you were truly looked after and glad you came. If you don't know where to start, let the Chicken Dum Biryani make the decision for you — slow-sealed, deeply fragrant, and worth every minute of the wait. That is not a restaurant concept. That is Athidhi Devo Bhava — and in Nieuwerkerk, it has finally found its home.
Our Driving force
Chaitanya Batta & Shivalakshmi Batta
Every good story starts with people who refuse to compromise. For Chaitanya and Shivalakshmi Batta, that meant one thing from day one: real Indian food, made the right way — spices sourced directly from India, recipes passed down through generations, and a kitchen that never took shortcuts. What began as a single restaurant in Wiesloch grew, through sheer dedication, into four thriving locations across Heidelberg, Wiesloch, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart — a dedicated team serving guests who keep coming back, not because they have to, but because the food genuinely tastes like home.
At the core of everything Chaitanya and Shivalakshmi built is a simple, ancient belief: Athidhi Devo Bhava — the guest is God. In practice, that means every person who walks through the door deserves to feel truly welcomed, not just served. It is this philosophy, and the family bond behind it, that inspired Srilatha and Raghu to bring Athidhi to the Netherlands.