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.

b! Review: Parambriym @ Nungambakkam

LINK: http://know.burrp.com/food-dining/b-review-parambriym-nungambakkam/43682

If you crave for home-cooked food bang in the middle of your office hours,Sandhya Ramachandran encourages you to stealthily make your way to Parambriym for some delicious saapaad (or lunch as the rest of India calls it).

When a shot glass of paneer soda (a refreshing sweet drink made from rose essence and soda with absolutely no sign of cottage cheese aka paneer) is served as a welcome drink, you sure go a little weak-kneed. At once you see your grandparents’ house, hot afternoons, a game of hopscotch or thirudan-police(thief-police) and then a kuchi ice (popsicle) and paneer soda in the end.

Pinch yourself back into reality. You are still at Ispahani centre, at Parambriym, a fairly new restaurant on the block. Its interiors boast of brass utensils laid out on stone tables, with gold-colour upholstered chairs to go with – regality with restraint.

You could either go the a la carte way or order their thaali, the latter being very reasonably priced for the amazing combination in store. However, since we are so into experimenting *wink*, we went crazy with the menu. We went the traditional way, Chicken soup and Madrassoup beginning our gourmet fest. The Chicken soup was spicy and good – excellent value for money as a large bowlful comes for 85 bucks. TheMadras soup was a combination of ground coconut disseminated into our traditional tomato soup giving it an interesting, creamy, authentically homemade flavour.

The Paneer Podimaswhich is paneer minced and mixed with tomatoes and onions, was succulent but had way too much oil. Some restraint would have made this dish a must-have. But now, we have our doubts, and probably would egg you to try the Kozhi Veppedu (a Chicken fry from Andhra Pradesh) instead. Worthy of every penny(costs 170 Rs for a serving that can be shared by two) with enough spices to bring out the taste of the chicken and flavoured with garlic (towards which we have a weakness, mind you!), the Kozhi Veppedu will pretty much order itself, the next time round.

The Koththu Barotta (minced Barotta) sounded so ‘Chettinad’ that we had to try it! And yes, it lived up to the hopes it raised- chunks of barotta tossed in oil with onions, tiny chunks of beans and slivers of chillies. The Vaazhai Ilai Meen Varuva was a delight to look at – a whole fish, smeared in red chutney, carefully wrapped within folds of a plantain leaf, fried and served with a slice of tomato on top. It tasted as beautiful as it looked – fresh and teasing the tongue with its flavours.

The Mutton Pepper Chukka or dry mutton pepper, however, was just about average. The meat was very chewy and the taste was nothing to write home about. We say give the red meat a miss when in this joint.

When it comes to rice, we South Indians have a peculiar practice. And since we were at what is declared an “authentic South Indian” restaurant, we followed the traditions. Firstly, we heaped rice on our plate like a mountain… okay, hillock (yes sometimes our eyes are bigger than our stomach *sigh*). Next we made a gaping hole in the centre, almost a crater on the said hillock. Then we poured in the lava…erm…Poondu Kozhambu (tamarind-garlic broth) right into the centre.

One bite and we knew for sure that the Poondu Kozhambu would be our number one excuse and reason to visit Parambriym again! And then we had thePooshnikka Halwa – a sweetmeat made from pumpkins - which was a little too sweet and had enough ghee to make the guilt stick on to your love handles for a week!

But…hold your breath…for here arriveth reason two – the Gulab Jamun. Royalty would fall on the chef’s feet to taste this Gulab Jamun. Mind-numbingly good, we couldn’t resist but gobble two more. The GULAB JAMUN – for it deserves its respect with capital letters – was especially prepared at home by Anita, the owner and brains behind Parambriym. No wonder it had ammavin anbu (aka maa ki mamta or mother’s love) oozing from its soft insides.

Anita went on to explain how it all began in a quest to “revive home food”. She started with chicken combos and mutton combo dabbas from home, expanding it to open this restaurant. Her enthusiasm is palpable, as she explains about how she has personally trained the cooks to brew her specials. She also tells us that the paneer soda they served us as welcome drinks comes all the way fromMadurai, breathing life to an almost-dying small scale industry. She confided that there are some innovative plans cooking alongside the food in the kadais. All we can say to that is “simbly sooper ma!!!”

Average Meal for two: Rs. 500 (buffet), Rs.1000 (a la carte)

Must try: Poondu Kozhambu, Vazhai Ilai Meen Varuval and Gulab Jamun