b! Review: The Madaras Kafé @ Nungambakkam

LINK: http://know.burrp.com/food-dining/b-review-the-madaras-kafe-nungambakkam/44116

Want to sip on some good filter coffee, while snacking on some experimental south Indian recipes in the heart of Chennai? Toss the same-old-idli-dosa out and head to The Madaras Kafé for something new, says Sandhya Ramachandran.

There was something defiantly different about this restaurant, even before we landed there. It had refused to succumb to calling itself Chennai Café. And to top it all, it spelt itself as Madaras, the way most Tamilians especially the ones with the heavy accents pronounce it. Popular amongst the college crowd, The Madaras Kafé recently completed a year in the business. And as per our burrp! notes, that’s a good time to test the kaapi. After all, the teething troubles are a distant memory, the junta has given its verdict and most regulars (yes, by then a good restaurant should have a bunch of regulars) have their ‘usuals’ set in their minds.

Our sixth sense was well rewarded, when we landed there and realized that it was one innovative food hub alright! Barotizza, vadawich, grillwich – no no, these are not nonsensical words from any new Tamil item number. These are actually the food items on their menu!
So let us begin with the barotizza. Mr. Somasundaram, Managing Partner of The Madaras Kafé explains that it is their Indian spin on the pizza, with a barotta base. Fancy that! The vadawich is a burger and the grillwich is the grilled sandwich. The novelty doesn’t just stop with the nomenclature but extends to the food as well. Excited, we began to dig in!

We confess we have a weakness for the vada or our South Indian fried lentil fritters, and so we picked the Mini Tower Vada to start with. Either the vada was very tired waiting for us all day (we got there only in the evening), or their microwave refused to reheat it – but the vada tasted insipid and was obviously not fresh. Despite being served with a dollop of cheese on a bed of diced tomatoes and onions it still couldn’t impress us. If only it had been hot, it might have succeeded to entice, but now, we were left with our imagination to do the needful.

Off to a bad start, apprehensively we bit into the next thing on our card – the Spicy Vada Holes. Bits of bun dipped in flour batter, deep fried and then rolled around in masala, these spicy vadas were a sheer delight (and according to the owner the hottest sell). We took heart again and polished off half a basket of these yummeats (well, we can invent words too!), generously dipping them in the lip-smacking spicy green chilli chutney. Throughout the meal, Mr.Somasundaram kept us entertained with stories about how college girls finish plates of SpicyVada Holes every evening, and explained to us the recipe(apart from the etymology) of the wondrous sounding dishes.

Then came the Podi Friedly (fried+idli) which had mini idlis deep fried in oil and dunked in idli-dosamilagai podi (aka gun powder… umm not the arms kind, but the traditional spicy masala powder usually served with idlis and dosas in the South). As Madarasis would exclaim, “It was a killer!” You could gobble an entire mini idli in one mouthful and experience the textures of the dish – the crunchiness of themilagai podi, the softness of the idlis with the thin crust thanks to a quick round in the frying pan. A must-eat every time you visit The Madaras Kafé!

 The Kumman Kuththu Idli, supposed to mean an idli that has been punched and reduced to pulp, literally, came by next. Sadly, with idlis dunked in a gravy of tangy tomatoes, it did not live up to its violently-wicked name. It was quite an ordinary affair, almost as if the stunt man (read chef) who was supposed to thwack it got bored mid-way and hastily finished the kumman-kutthu (or punching) act.

The Cheese Vadawich had a soft bun you wanted your beds made from, with cheese filling its core and plenty of fried vegetables joining it in the middle. If only it did not have a sinful amount of cheese in its belly, you’d want this packed in your dabbas everyday.

Continuing on the innovation, theYennai Kathrikkai Dosa (dosa stuffed with an oily brinjal gravy) was an interesting eat. It fell somewhere between good and okay in its taste. It lived up to its name, the oil from the brinjal seeping on to the dosa, making us suddenly aware that every item on the menu was just the arch rival of our diet charts *sigh*.

With the Paneer barotizza I think we have truly found our first all-Indian-pizza. The taste of the barotta and the paneer merged so (ooo) well with the pizza sauces. But what caught our fancy was the Panjambridham grillwich. Skeptical when we ordered, we were instantly converted into silly fans on first bite. This, my dears, is our answer to the pancake. Slices of fruits and chunks of dates soaked in jaggery grilled between slices of bread with a swirl of honey on top, the Panjambridham grillwich is the perfect dessert to a South Indian meal.

But in case you are still on your “I want to taste everything that is new” mode, like we were (*grin*), you must allow yourself a Paneer Payasam. Little pieces of paneer soaked in kheer made from condensed milk, sugar, cardamom and cashews, the Paneer Payasam seemed rasmalai’s cousin in terms of taste.

Finally, we reserved the signature item on the menu for the last, the filter coffee. It was love at first sip. True to their claim, it was indeed one of the best in the city – the aroma steadied our breath, the taste soothed our tongues and its appearance made us want to ask for some more. Order we did, despite being over fed like poultry chickens. Good coffee cannot be denied its due!

In case you are in the mood for some scrumptious innovation The Madaras Kafé is just the right place to head to.