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Vol. 2 Issue 10

AUGUST 2013

Chennai’s complete food magazine

Ladling

delicacies Chef ‘Malgudi’ Kavitha shares authentic South Indian recipes B CELEDIE

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Exclusive Ramadan recipes, the story of ‘The Fruit Shop on Greams Road’ and more

Chennai’s fragrant food scene is up and going

We give you a round up!

A peek into the mouth-watering street food scene at Sowcarpet

Now open in Anna Nagar and The Forum Vijaya Mall Now open in Anna Nagar and The Forum Vijaya Mall Now open in Anna Nagar and The Forum Vijaya Mall

Cream Centre brings you famous Cream Centrestreet bringsfood you 'Thela', famous North Indian Cream Centrestreet bringsfood you 'Thela', famous North Indian with a choice of authentic parathas.

Northa Indian street food 'Thela', with choice of authentic parathas.

Visit to relish some yummy with us a choice of authentic parathas.

Visit us to relish some yummy ‘desi' delights!

Visit us to relish some yummy ‘desi' delights! ‘desi' delights!

Aug 5 - Sep 18 Aug 5 - Sep 18 Aug 5 - Sep 18 R A Puram 4281 5777 Nungambakkam 4356 1777 R A Puram 4281 5777 Anna Nagar4281 43535777 70771777 Nungambakkam 4356 R A Puram The Forum Mall 1777 4918 8477 Anna NagarVijaya 43534356 7077 Nungambakkam The Forum Mall 4918 8477 Anna NagarVijaya 4353 7077 The Forum Vijaya Mall 4918 8477

AUGUST

CONTENTS GOURMET BUZZ 4 All you need to know about Chennai’s food scene

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EXPERT ON THE BLOCK 8 Cooking her way to the top Chef ‘Malgudi’ Kavitha doles out exclusive recipes from the kitchens of The Savera Hotels

À la Carte Managing Director Sujit Kumar

SHAKEN & STIRRED 20 White Wine Wonder White wines get refreshing avatars

FOOD CULTURE 26 On the Streets of Sowcarpet What makes Sowcarpet a haven for street food?

RESTAURANT ROUNDING 34 When Faux is better than real

Taj Coromandel’s Golden Dragon adds a unique twist to the menu

IN THE KNOW 32 Ask Dharini

This nutrition expert solves all the diet and nutrion riddles which have been hogging your mind. Embrace them for a healthier living

38 Ask Sabita

This culinary wizard answers all your queries on food and cooking. Now say goodbye to kitchen angst!

CELEB FOODIE 40 Karthika Nair

Editor-in-Chief Bina Sujit

Karthika shares her food secrets

Senior Features Writer Krupa Shah Anusha Surendran

Quick Fixes 42 A Wholesome

Features Writer Rekha Shanmugham

Feast

Nigar Sultana, owner of Daawat-E-Biryani, shares authentic Ramadan recipes

On the Juice Wagon

Harris Abdulla of Fruit Shop on Greams Road gets candid . pg 47

Design Team Rifah Aiysha Francis Augustine Anto M Vijay Columnists Sabita Radhakrishna Dharini Krishnan Marketing Chennai Daniel Benjamin Paneer Selvam Pitchumani Coimbatore Nithyendran Mumbai Kiran N. Murthy Published by K. Sujit Kumar on behalf of Options Media Pvt Ltd., 3, Ritechoice VaralakshmiApts.

15/4, H.D. Raja Street, Teynampet, Chennai- 18.

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The opinions of writers are theirs, not ours.

We are not responsible for incorrect listings and information. While we do all we can to ensure correctness, readers are advised to re-check with establishments. No part of this publication should be reproduced without our written permission. The different trademarks published in this issue belong to their respective owners.

Jalebi

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 3

Gourmet Buzz All you need to know about Chennai’s

food scene

Street Food Festival at Radha Regent Hotels

Radha Regent Hotels organised a street food festival that provided an unusual mix of culinary experience: be it the chaat bhandaar from Delhi or the vada pao from Mumbai or the poricha meen from Tamil Nadu, the street food festival offered tastes and flavours that were delicious and fulfilling. Chaat items from Kolkata and Delhi kitchens, kebabs and tikkas, vada pav, spicy Andhra fries featured in the gala. The festival had an added incentive: the food was prepared in a hygienic environment without compromising on the experience of bingeing out on street food.

All smiles at Ramada

Ramada Chennai Egmore’s Waves bar-cum-lounge introduces ‘Happy Hours’ not once but twice in a day: from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm and again from 9.30 pm – 11.30 pm every day. The Buy 1 Get 1 Free offer on all spirits ordered during the Happy Hours at Waves gives you one more reason to have a good time. Delicious cocktails inspired from different islands of world along with mouth-watering snacks are offered.

Ramada Chennai Egmore also

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won the prestigious India International Travel Mart Award 2013 in the category ‘Best New Hospitality Product of the year’ at the recently concluded travel, tourism and hospitality industry event in Chennai.

Mr. Prakash Chandran - General Manager, Ramada Chennai Egmore received the award on behalf of the property. The hotel was amongst 400 odd participants from 20 Indian states and 15 countries around the world.

Shiifuudo festival at Teppan

Teppan Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar hosted the ‘Shiifuudo Festival’ (seafood festival) at its restaurant on TTK road recently. The festival which was anchored by Chef June showcased his culinary expertise in cooking seafood.

The Shiifuudo festival offered A la carte options of sushi, salads, starters, soups and main courses, as well as set meal

options of Maguro, Shake and Shell Fish.

A variety of options for Sushi lovers like the ‘Maguro temaki’, ‘Salmon & avocado temaki’ were available. The main course menu included grilled shake with teriyaki sauce, rock lobster grilled with lemon garlic soy, grilled Japanese scallops with creamy wasabi sauce and options for fried rice.

Onam at Ente Keralam

festival of Onam this year, with its signature Onam Sadhya. This feast served on a banana leaf platter will contain all the traditional dishes served during Onam. It will be anchored by Namboodiri Unnikrishnan and his team of priests cum chefs from Kerala. The feast will be hosted at all Ente Keralam restaurants (Poes Garden, Anna Nagar and MRC Nagar in Chennai). The spread of the Onam Sadhya comprises of 25 dishes. Four pickles, four different varieties of chips, and four payasams and pradhamams will form a part of the spread. Namboodiri Unnikrishnan also provides a systematic procedure to be followed for eating an elaborate Ela Sadhya.

Ente Keralam will celebrate the grand

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 5

Rock on at Elevate

Elevate, the newly-opened 120-seater lounge bar offers a wonderful experience with LED lights from the world’s No. 1 lighting expert, Rebeca Sanchez from Spain. Yangdup Lama, India’s numero uno cocktail mixologist has crafted the beverage menu of signature Elevate cocktails. Lama brings to Chennai a spread of iconic cocktails including Spicy Red Lady, vodka infused with red chilli and a dash of cranberry juice and orange liqueur, Mai Tai Toffee, tropical juices spiked with toffee liqueur and

Varieties galore at Raintree Annasalai

Punjab is known for its food and hospitality and Lahore is no less. Famed for its meat dishes and street food, the Lahori cuisine is rich, aromatic and spicy. Up North at The Raintree Annasalai offered the finest of cuisines from Lahore recently to satiate the

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rum and lots more. Elevate promises to tantalize taste buds with its vegetarian starters like Szechuan Tofu with Three Peppers, Crispy Water Chestnuts Honey Pepper, Imperial Vegetables with lettuce leaf, Steamed Rice Paper Rolls with a chilli garlic dipping sauce. Indulge in a wide range of non-vegetarian appetizers like Maryland Crab Cakes served with onion chilli jam and garlic mayonnaise, Elevated Mutton Spring Rolls with a dash of sweet and spicy plum sauce, Diced Bbq Chicken with peanut butter sauce.

palate of all foodies. The chefs at Up North re-created the Lahori magic that specializes in Handi meat and Gosht Kadai cooked in a pan on low fire and embellished with spices. Starters offered included the crisp Soya Subzi Tikkey, Aloo Gulbergh, Murgh de Parchey and Bihari Kebab. The main course included Spicy Paya Curry, Karahi Meat, Chooley Murgh, Aloo Methi, Multani Chikkad Subzi or Mah Ki Dal. The special Lahori Phulke, a signature preparation of shredded Indian flatbread tossed with lentils with a variety of toppings of one’s choice formed a part of the meal. The yummy Gulabi Kulfi and/or the heavenly Kesar Gulab Falooda were also there.

Brunch at Hyatt Regency

Enjoy a sumptuous Sichuan Sunday Brunch at Stix, the authentic Chinese restaurant at the Hyatt Regency.

You get to savour an appetizing spread of over 14 dishes comprising of salads, soups, appetizers, main course and dessert, all in authentic Chinese ‘family’ style on your table. The unlimited brunch menu offerings include the specialty salad with glass noodles and preserved vegetables and the hearty dry tofu, snow peas and shrimp salad.

A delightful selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dimsums and suimai to tease your palate is followed by the flavorful crispy tofu and the string beans with mushroom and chilli. For the nonvegetarian folks – there are variants of fish and chicken in delightful sauces that can be paired with the traditional sticky rice and the noodle variations from the menu. A selection of traditional desserts: the green tea cheesecake and the pumpkin custard are also on the cards. Pranzo Saturdays with Focaccia, the Italian restaurant at Hyatt Regency are here. Pranzo meaning lunch is traditionally regarded as being the most important meal in Italy and is considered to be a time to bond with family and loved ones.

Focaccia brings for you a delectable pranzo brunch every Saturday with unlimited authentic food fare, pool access as well as free flowing spirits.

Keeping with the Italian spirit of living like a king – the buffet is inclusive of antipasti buffet and the liquid station offering proseco, wines and mocktails, followed by personalized pan to plate service of the delectable Italian food fare comprising of and not limited to choices of pastas, risotto, lasagna, home style pies and our signature thin crust pizza. The delightful chef special dessert platter will be served on the table. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 7

Expert on the Block

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Cooking her way

That street food has held its own against the burgeoning star hotel and global cuisine culture is incredible. Intrigued by the phenomenon, Rekha Shanmugham heads to a neighbourhood well-known for its delectable array of street servings, to find out what makes them so irresistible to city-dwellers.

to the top

Hailing from Virudhachalam in Cuddalore, Chef ‘Malgudi’ Kavitha is currently the Unit chef of The Savera Hotel’s signature South Indian restaurant Malgudi, located in the heart of Chennai. A strong aficionado of the South Indian cuisine, the talented and resolute lady talks to Rekha Shanmugham about fish curries, clay pot biriyanis and a recent achievement that warranted praise from the jury of Limca Book of Records themselves!

Fulfilling commitments can be tricky as timings are unpredictable in the food industry. Women have to put up with a lot of jeering and exercise great mental strength.

What kind of food did you enjoy as a child?

I used to love everything that my mother made. Sundays were synonymous with non-vegetarian food.

I was not very fond of ‘bones’ then.

They used to give me ‘vadas’ made out of minced mutton and I gorged on those.

Only after entering the hotel industry did I get acquainted with different kinds of food.

How did the girl from Virudhachalam land in Savera Hotel?

I used to run a small-scale industry that manufactured sweets and savouries, distributing it in various places via agents. Later, as the competition

increased, I thought of foraying into the hotel industry. I started my career at Hotel Mowbrays Inn. From there I went to Apollo Sindoori and later to Ambica Empire. Ultimately I landed in Savera and have been with them ever since.

Did your parents support your decision to become a chef?

My parents had certain misconceptions regarding women working in the hotel industry and therefore were not very supportive of my decision to take it up as a career. But this industry beckoned me and I knew this was where I had to be. So I made up my mind to prove myself to them. I was extremely determined to do so. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 9

Lots of people had come to support me, including chef Damodaran. RJ Dheena had come and cheered me immensely.

It was the day of the ‘Nilam’ cyclone.

Trees were getting uprooted left, right and centre. We had planned for the entire thing to happen at a shed in the parking area. The people working with me took great pains to ensure that the raging cyclone did not disrupt the event. It was overwhelming and a most memorable event.

Where did you get the inspiration from?

I am a complete workaholic. I prioritize my work over everything else. My systematic and disciplined approach towards things have helped me climbed the ladder.

I knew that I had to do something out of the box to distinguish myself in this industry. It was then that Chef Damodaran created his record. It happened at Savera and I was asked to ensure that the event took place without any hassles. I was awake for 46 hours straight making sure that it was a success. Impressed by my performance, Nina Reddy (Executive Director, Savera Hotels) said, “why don’t you break Damu’s record? I replied “why not ma’am?” It was the perfect encouragement to execute something that I had subconsciously worked on for four and a half years. With complete support from Nina Reddy and the staff I seriously worked on this for 6 months.

Can you tell us about your recent achievement?

How did you conceptualize the entire thing?

So how did you become ‘Malgudi’ Kavitha?

I officially hold the record for the longest individual cooking marathon in the Limca Book of Records. This was done by breaking the previous record set by Chef Damodaran of 24 hours 30 minutes 12 seconds, churning out 617 dishes. I churned out the same amount in 14 hours and set a new record of 35 hours 20 minutes, cooking over 1,550 recipes.

What was the event like?

Oh! It was a fabulous experience.

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It took meticulous planning. I used to sleep just 2 hours a day. The average time taken to cook a dish was a minute and 12 seconds. You can imagine the difficulty. I had to ensure I did everything in my capacity to make optimum use of the time. From chopping vegetables to very fine pieces to using multiple burners a lot of work went into the conceptualization. I see people these days increasingly veering towards pizzas and burgers. I wanted to use this as a platform to showcase the rich tradition

of South Indian food and the medicinal qualities associated with it. That was the theme. There were dishes from both the rural and urban areas and some that were developed from research.

Some memorable appreciation that you received?

“I have witnessed numerous records but yours totally stands out,” said Mr. Murthy from the Limca Book of Records, appreciating my feat. The editor Vijaya Ghose also felt extremely proud, being a woman.

On food industry and women

One needs to be extremely strongwilled and tolerate a lot of things.

Fulfilling commitments can be tricky as timings are unpredictable. Women have to put up with a lot of jeering and exercise great mental strength.

What is the USP of Malgudi?

The signature South Indian dishes and hospitality are what make Malgudi a hit among the people of Chennai. We have patients who ask for their food to be prepared a certain way and customers who ask for dishes not featured in the menu. We never say no! We have regional chefs for each of the four South Indian states, who churn out authentic and certain signature dishes. From the

The signature South Indian dishes and hospitality are what make Malgudi a hit among the people of Chennai

ground paste masala to the hand pounded masala, everything is manually made from scratch.

Dishes that stood out during your travel to other South Indian States

The food I ate in Kozhikode, Kerala, was lovely. They make good biriyani, puttu kadala curry, and meen pattichathu/ vattichathu among other things.

Has the increased competition from other cuisines affected the reception of South Indian food amongst citydwellers?

Nothing can replace South Indian food. Pizzas, steaks or sizzlers cannot be eaten all three times a day. One would invariably ask for a ‘dosa’ or an ‘idiyappam’. The South Indian ‘thalis’ are a huge hit even among the foreigners.

However, we continuously work towards improvising the South Indian food to suit the changing times. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 11

Photos by: Abhay Kumar 12 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Ellu Eraal 75” Sesame Seed coated fried Prawns (Serves four to five persons) • Cleaned 75’’ count prawn with tail - ½ kg • Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp • Cornflour (as required) - 1 tbsp • Maida flour - ½ tsp • Pepper powder - ½ tsp • Spicy red Chilli powder - ½ tsp • Sesame seeds - 1 tsp • Lemon juice (as required) - 1 tsp • Salt to taste Oil for frying

In a bowl mix all the above ingredients except prawn and oil to make a light thick paste. Facilitate consistency by adjusting cornflour and lemon juice. Marinate the prawn pieces and set it for atleast 10 minutes. Heat oil. Take the prawns and coat it with sesame seeds and fry till it turns crispy.

Make some onion rings the same way. Garnish with curry leaves, fried sesame coated onion rings, and lemon.

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Clay Pot Chicken Biriyani (Serves seven to eight persons) • Seeraga Samba Rice or Basmati Rice -1 Kg • Chicken (cut into small pieces) - 1kg • Onions (finely chopped)- 1/2 kg • Mint and coriander leaves- ½ bunch • Yogurt- 1 cup • Ghee- 3 to 4 tbsp • Lemon juice- 1 tbsp • Turmeric powder- ¼ tbsp • Crushed green chillies- 5 • Whole green chillies- 3 • Salt as per taste • Ginger garlic paste- 2tbsp Dry roast and Ground Paste for Biriyani Base Masala: • Grated coconut • Cashews- 10 • Cardamoms- 3 • Black Pepper corn- ½ tsp • Cumin seed – ¼ tsp • Cloves- 3 • Cinnamon- 10 gms • Anise- ¼ tsp • Coriander seeds- 2 to 3 tsp

Partially boil rice (until the rice becomes white in colour). Drain the water and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a fry pan.

Add cumin, cloves, cinnamon, saunf, cardamom, red chillies, grated coconut, coriander seeds and sauté till aroma comes out. Allow to cool and make a paste of it adding ginger and garlic paste. Heat oil and fry chopped onion pieces.

Sauté till it turns light brown. Add curry leaves, turmeric powder, salt and ground masala paste. Combine well.

Add tomato and stir well.

Now add chicken pieces fry for a minute. Add 1 cup water and cook the chicken covered in medium heat. Cook till chicken is tender.

Remove from flame once the Biriyani base gravy gets ready. Now arrange chicken and rice in layers: one layer of chicken and two layers of rice.

In a heavy-bottom sauce pan, pour oil, arrange

the chicken pieces and sprinkle some oil on top of the chicken. Take flat base clay pot and add chicken and ground base masala.

Arrange half the boiled rice on the chicken pieces, and then sprinkle the fried onions. Repeat the above step for the last layer, i.e, arrange the last layer of rice.

Now, we need to seal the clay pot and make it air tight so that the steam doesn’t escape when we cook.

In India, flour dough or silver foil aluminium sheet is used to seal the pot and the cover together. Cook biriyani for 8 to 10 minutes on high until stream escapes from the foil seal. Then reduce the flame to medium low and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

Let it sit for 5 minutes before opening it.

Make some salad and Brinjal Kosthu to go with Biriyani.

Serve hot with onion raitha.

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Nellore Chepala Pulusu Fish cooked in tamarind based gravy (Serves four to five persons) • Seer fish curry cut – 10 cubes (Clean and wash fish. Cut into medium pieces) • Peeled sambar onions – ¼ kg • Peeled garlic –100 gm • Ginger Julienne-25 grams • Green chilli-5 nos • Tomatoes – ½ kg (boiled puree) • Raw mango – 4 to 5 pieces • Drumstick – 4 to 5 pieces • Tamarind – lemon sized ball • Red chilli powder – 2 tsp • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp • Salt – to taste • Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp • Dried red chillies - 3 • Curry leaves – 10 • Gingelly and regular oil – 100 grams • Water For finishing spice: dry-roast and coarsely powder following ingredients • Guntur chilli- 3 nos • Coriander seeds- 1 ½ tsp • Cumin seed - 1 tbsp • Fenugreek - ¼ tsp

Make thick tamarind pulp with water and tamarind. Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and dry red chilli along with curry leaves.

Then add thin long slices of ginger, garlic and green chilli and add oil.

When the oil is heated add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies and the curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start spluttering add the onions and sauté them till the

The curry tastes better the next day as the fish pieces would have fully absorbed the tamarind flavour by then. raw smell vanishes.

Then add turmeric powder and the drumstick and raw mango pieces to it. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the tamarind pulp, tomato puree, and 2 cups of water. Then add salt and now add the fish pieces to the gravy and close the lid. Cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove. Adjust the gravy as per your requirements and add curry leaves sautéed in gingelly oil. Finally add 1 tsp dry-roast and coarsely powdered masala to the gravy. Mix well. Serve with hot steamed rice or idly. The curry tastes better the next day as the fish pieces would have fully absorbed the tamarind flavour by then. You can try this curry with any fish of your choice.

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Saiva Meen Kuzhambu Vegetarian fish cooked in tamarind based gravy (Serves four to five persons) For vegetarian fish • Besan flour - 1 cup • Banana Blossoms- 25 nos • Rice flour - ¼ cup • Turmeric powder - a pinch • Red chilli powder - ½ tsp • Baking soda - a pinch • Salt to taste • Oil to fry

In a bowl, add besan flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, baking soda and salt. Add water and make a thick bajji batter.

The batter consistency should be like that of idly batter. Dip the blossoms into the batter. Deep fry it in hot oil. Keep separately.

• Vegetarian Fish – 20 nos.

• Peeled sambar onions – ¼ kg • Peeled garlic –100 gm • Ginger julienne-25 gms • Tomatoes – ½ kg (boiled puree) • Raw mango – 4 to 5

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pieces • Drumstick – 4 to 5 pieces • Tamarind – lemon sized ball • Red chilli powder – 2 tsp (adjust) • Turmeric powder – ½ tea spoon • Salt – to taste • Mustard seeds – 1 tbsp • Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp • Dried red chillies - 3 • Curry leaves – 10 • Gingelly and regular oil – 100 gms • Water

Make thick pulp with water and tamarind.

Meanwhile heat a pan and add oil.

Add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, dried red chillies and the curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start spluttering add the onions and garlic, ginger pieces and sauté them till soft. Then add the tomato puree and the drumstick and raw mango pieces. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the tamarind pulp and 2 cups of water. Then add salt and 1 tsp red chilli powder and mix well.

Now add the vegetarian fish pieces to the gravy and close the lid. Switch off the stove. Serve with hot steamed rice or idly.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 19

Shaken & Stirred

White wine

Wonder

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White wine is a classy affair. But with a dash of colourful ingredients it can become a light hearted drink, a sangria with a punch and even a herb concoction! Try these simple recipes for white wine in a new avatar

White Wine Sangria The beauty of the simple White Wine Sangria recipe is that it is as delicious as it is easy, and it only gets better as you add your favorite fruits!

• 1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc) • 2/3 cup white sugar • 3 oranges (sliced or may substitute 1 cup of orange juice) • 1 lemon (sliced) • 1 lime (sliced) • 60 ml brandy (optional) • 1/2 litre of ginger ale or club soda (ginger ale for those with a sweeter tooth!)

METHOD 1. Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the orange, lemon and lime into the wine, add brandy if desired.

2. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and add sugar.

Chill overnight. Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

3. If you'd like to serve right away, use chilled white wine and serve over lots of ice.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 21

Peach & Honey Sangria Slushies The potent combination of peach and honey renders any drink pleasing and alluring. Wash your worries away and down the hatch on this delightful punch!

• 1 cup cold white wine (such as Riesling or your favorite variety) • 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier) • 2 tablespoons peach liqueur (such as Hiram Walker Peach Schnapps) • 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

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• 1 tablespoon honey • 2 cups frozen peaches • Garnish (optional): Lime slices and/or orange slices, straws

METHOD 1. Place the wine, orange liqueur, peach liqueur, orange juice, lime juice, and honey in blender. Add frozen peaches.

2. Process until smooth. Pour into glasses.

3. Garnish as desired.

Herb and White Wine Granita Mix a handful of soothing herbs in your drink and experience the therapeutic magic of white wine!

• • • • •

250 ml water 1/3 cup white sugar 4 sprigs rosemary 150 ml white wine 1 splash freshly squeezed lemon juice

METHOD 1. Bring water, sugar and rosemary to a boil. Turn off heat, cover and let stand.

2. When cooled and infused with the scent of rosemary stir in wine and lemon juice.

3. Freeze in container for at least three hours, stirring often as it solidifies.

4. Serve garnished with a sprig of rosemary.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 23

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White Strawberry-Lemon Sangria Strawberries, lemon, apples, white wine, and rum make a perfect drink that’ll knock your socks off and leave you refreshed after a long working day • 2 lemons, thinly sliced • 1 apple, cored and sliced (any kind) • 1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced lengthwise • 750 ml bottle white wine (a dry-ish white wine is best – Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay suggested) • ½ cup white rum • 4 cups lemon-lime soda

METHOD 1. Add lemon slices to a large pitcher, then the apples, then the strawberries.

2. Pour the wine and rum over the top.

3. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 hours.

4. Remove from refrigerator and add the lemon lime soda. Add a few pieces of the fruit to your glass and pour sangria over to serve.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 25

Food Culture

On the streets of

owcarpet

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That street food has held its own against the burgeoning star hotel and global cuisine culture is incredible. Intrigued by the phenomenon, Rekha Shanmugham heads to a neighbourhood well-known for its delectable array of street servings, to find out what makes them so irresistible to city-dwellers.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 27

Flanked by the bustling Central Railway Station and the vendor’s paradise of Parry’s Corner is a wellknown haven for the quintessential street-food lover. “To Sowcarpet” we informed the auto-driver with alacrity, setting out in pursuit of those oh-sodelicious pani puris that had evaded us till then. An exhausting ride finally brought us to what seemed like the epicentre of mercantilism. We stepped into the blistering heat only to be welcomed by an extremely congested area. People, cows, and rickshaws alike thronged the narrow streets that wore the unmistakable air of a busy Sunday marketplace. Either side of the streets are lined with low-rise buildings that are reminiscent of a by-gone era. Lost in the sea of people scrambling in and out of the ubiquitous hardware and pawn shops, we beckoned a rickshaw-wala, hoping his familiarity with the locality would help us with navigation.

Precariously positioned in the rickshaw, we began our quest for gastronomic excellence of a different kind.

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Go for golgappas

The first stop along the way had to be ‘Rajshree Sweets’ of course! Located at Thatha Muthiappan Street, the place is popular for its lip-smacking pani puris. A gluttonous smile spread widely across our faces as the man behind the counter handed us square metal cups filled with chenna and finely chopped onions. We watched in eager anticipation as he drowned the puri filled with mashed potatoes in the spicy pani, filling it to the brim before placing it in our cups. Pure ecstasy ensued as the ‘golgappas’ were devoured, the light and crispy puris giving way to a brilliant explosion of flavours. Five other similar ones followed, each seemingly better than its predecessor. As a final instalment came the ‘sukha puri’ sprinkled with salt,

Each murukku sandwich consisted of tomatoes, onions, grated cheese strands, and spicy green chutney sandwiched between two small murukkus eager to mollify the lingering fierceness of its spicy counterparts. “Kitna”, we asked the man. “`20!” came the reply leaving us a little bemused. Most places in the city that serve quality pani puris believe in matching the craft with a slightly higher price. After a serious consideration of a second round of those sinfully delicious ‘golgappas’, we decided against it in fear of doing injustice to the other places that warranted our visit.

Sandwiched by murukkus

The next destination was Murugan Sandwich, a shop that is synonymous with the legendary ‘murukku sandwich’ it sells. “How does one get to the place that sells murukku sandwich?,” we asked a man nearby. A three-minute walk guided by his directions took

us to the shop. Tall women in myriad hued sarees, with the pallu draped over their heads caught our attention along the way. The tiny shop had about three tables surrounded by plastic chairs with a staircase on one side leading to the level above. As we sat waiting for our sandwich to arrive, we struck a casual conversation with the person in-charge. “For how many years has this place been around?” we asked, to which he smiled saying, “Around 21 years now” and placed the dish consisting of several tiny murukku sandwiches atop our table. Peppered with a generous amount of ‘sev’, each piece consisted of tomatoes, onions, grated cheese strands, and spicy green chutney sandwiched between two small murukkus. One after the other, we munched on the sandwiches, savouring the acidic flavours that were perfectly complemented by the crunchy murukkus. The ensemble that set us back by `45 translated into an interesting experience. After paying

for the murukku sandwich we left the comfort of having a roof over our heads to resume our journey.

Reprieve from the heat

The heat was intense as fatigue played catch up with us. Kamal Pan House that is famous for its cold and inviting Badam milk had to be reached, and fast.

But not before indulging in the ‘pan’ sold by the over 50-year old Gupta Pan House that lies a few yards away from Murugan Sandwich. We strode over to Gupta Pan House and ordered a couple of sweet pans. “`15 each” said the shopkeeper as he handed them over to us. Stuffing the pans inside our mouths, we moved on, leaving the betel leaves to weave their magic as we made our way

30 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

At Kamal Pan House we were served huge glasses of cold badam milk topped with bits of almond to the next destination.

We were almost trudging along now, past vivid splashes of colours on Mint

a few moments huge glasses filled with cold badam milk topped with bits of almond were handed over to us. Without further ado we gulped down the drink, relishing each and every mouthful, until we were left with nothing but the adamant drop at the bottom of the glass that marked the end of a fruitful epicurean journey.

Photos by: Esha Chandarana | Vikram G

Street, desperately in search of Kamal Pan House when we finally spotted it. Overcome by delight we hurried to the place that was to provide us respite from the heat. “We have Lassi, Badam Milk...”began the man as we cut him through. “Badam milk!” we cried in unison as he chuckled, telling us that it would cost `70 each. After waiting for

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 31

In the Know

Ask Dharini

Dr. Dharini Krishnan, a renowned Consultant Dietician answers your questions on basic nutrition and how it can make a difference to our body and health.

Q

What is green tea? How does it help lose weight?

Green tea is the tea which is minimally oxidized during processing. These leaves are brewed in water and made into a light concoction. This tea has a lot of anti-oxidants and flavonoids and hence is good for health. Some of the green teas available in India may not be authentic, as it is quite bitter. A few cold versions available are soaked in sugar and hence add a lot of calories to the diet. Instead of taking many cups of regular tea with a lot of sugar which adds to the calories for the day, alternating them with one or two cups of green tea is good for health. However those who have acidity cannot afford to take green tea on an empty stomach as it can increase hunger and acid production. Too many cups of green tea for those who are skipping meals can also

increase the acidity.

32 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Is eating junk food safe? Are there safer options available in food courts?

India is becoming the cardiac capital of the world. In a decade we can see the differences in waist measurements of people. One of the main reasons is the easy availability of junk food and dial-in options for people at home or for kids who do not go out and procure the same.

A study by Dr. Lenard Lesser of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute shows how even if certain junk food outlets do have healthy options, what actually adolescents eat is high calorie foods. The difference between food choices taken by adolescents in outlets which offer healthy foods versus

those which did not was not statistically significant. The choices customers make are influenced by “marketing strategies, such as pricing, signage, promotions and menu design.” India is facing situations like this and we are seeing a rise in average body weight related to obesity in urban cities. In most malls people eat at food courts, wherein the pick of food will be driven by marketing strategies.

Eating junk food once a month is ok but twice a week or more and in large quantities is worrisome. Food courts also offer freshly-cut fruits and salads which can be consumed. The chaat counters have channa and rajma and peas which is cooked and ready. A healthy chaat can be made with channa, sprouts, peas using the chutney with garnishing like coriander leaves and lime juice. These are the choices for people watching their health.

What is the role of nuts in a day’s diet?

How can one use them to improve health?

India today has an outburst of products from the western world in the name of globalization. Today nuts of different kinds are available everywhere in the country. Nuts contain omega 3 fatty acids, protein and fibre. This helps a person’s hunger to be satisfied for a short period.

However, too much of nuts can suppress the appetite of a person. People are ready to invest more than Rs.5oo per week on nuts in the hope to provide healthy snack options for the family. Nuts should not be consumed roasted in oil as it denatures the nutrients and increases the fat content. Nuts treated to be coated with sugar also should be used sparingly.

• Almonds: 23 nuts 160 calories 6 grams protein, 14 grams fat , Rich in calcium, Vitamin E and anti-oxidants to fight inflammation.

• Cashews: About 18 nuts; 160 calories; 5 grams protein, 13 grams fat.

• Pistachios: 49 nuts; 160 calories, 6 grams protein, 13 grams fat.

• Brazil Nuts have a lot of selenium.

This helps in preventing prostate cancer. Brazil nuts (about 6 nos.) contain about 190 calories, 19 grams fat, and 4 grams protein.

• Pecans aid in preventing enlarged prostate glands. About 20 halves contain about 200 calories, 21 grams fat, and 3 grams of protein.

Macademia and Pecan nuts are very high in fat calories and have to be portion-controlled.

• Walnuts: 14 halves contain 185 calories, 18 grams fat, 4 grams protein. They have the highest content of Alpha linoleic acid which is good for heart health.

• Peanuts: 30 nuts contain 170 calories, 7 grams protein, and 14 grams fat. It is rich in folate and can be added in a vegetarian diet. It has brain boosting healthy fats and rich in Vitamin E. (With excerpts from Judy Caplan, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics).

Restaurant Rounding

When Faux is better than real Taj Coromandel’s in-house oriental eatery Golden Dragon adds a range of innovative and must-try mock meat dishes to its menu What: The Golden Dragon Where: Taj Coromandel, 37, Mahatma

Gandhi Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai

The Place

Impeccable service and a cosy ambiance, trademarks of all Taj restaurants, is an integral part of the Golden Dragon. The restaurant known for offering its patrons a wide choice of authentic Chinese fare now seeks to upgrade its already comprehensive menu by adding a few niche items. The highlight of this a la carte selection is the introduction of mock meat dishes that taste even better than the real thing.

34 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Starting Off

The exotic dishes have been selected

by Chef Radi Prakash, in consultation with Golden Dragon's Master Chef William Ho. First up was the Temple of Zen, a combination of crispy Mandarin pancakes and hunan spiced avocados arranged pagoda style. Not only were we impressed by this unique arrangement, we were completely hooked to its umami taste. Next we tried the stuffed jumbo lotus root with tangy

The surprise of the day was the delicious faux chicken spring roll which would have conned even a meat connoisseur into believing that it was authentic plum sauce, which were a crunchy and exotic treat. The assortment of dimsums was a veritable burst of flavours - the steamed delicacies were stuffed with mushrooms, leeks, chives and peas. The faux caviar served alongside peppered the dish with a royal touch. The surprise of the day was the delicious faux chicken spring roll which would have conned even a meat connoisseur into believing that it was authentic. Served almost simultaneously with a real chicken salad, it required quite an effort on our part to distinguish the genuine from the pretender. Then came the mock golden fried prawns served with peanut sauce. Though easier to identify as faux, they tasted as good as the bona fide crustaceans.

Among the soups, we opted for the 5

element soup which as its name suggests represents the 5 components of life: earth (peanut butter powder), fire (bird’s eye chilli), spirit (cilantro), human (mock chicken pieces) and water (the broth). The abundance of nutrients aside, the piping hot melange was an Oriental delight. The raw papaya salad and the kimchi whetted our appetites for the main course.

Mandarin Delights

The main course was a journey away from the familiar. As we savoured the chicken fried rice cooked in XO sauce, Chef Radi informed us that XO (short for extraordinary) sauce, a speciality of Chinese cuisine is believed to have originated in Hong Kong’s Spring Moon restaurant. The mains included the crusty Wok fried mock lamb in black bean sauce, the melt-in-the-mouth braised faux chicken with chilly oyster sauce and the perfectly flavoured crisp Norwegian fish cooked sans salt. But the dish that warrants special mention is the Legendry vegetarian Peking duck. Served in traditional style with thin pancakes, À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 35

spring onion and Hoisin sauce, the mock duck, crisped and seasoned to perfection, outclassed the original thing by miles: an absolute must-try.

Sweet Ending

Bringing the wonderful dining experience to an ideal finale were the dreamy desserts. The chilled coconut and pandan pudding with stewed fruits is low on fat but high on taste, helping you enjoy your dessert without the fear of piling on

The mock golden fried prawns served with peanut sauce tasted as good as the bona fide crustaceans the kilos; the chocolate dumpling filled with sinfully gooey cocoa is the perfect way to indulge the child in you. Imbibe the goodness of dry fruits and spices while feeling a sugar rush with the apricot and nutmeg roll.

Green Goodness

Reminiscent of Chinese heritage, each course was paired with a steaming cup of green tea in different flavours, starting with the mildest (peach and chamomile) and going up to the strongest

(peppermint). The tea bar near the entrance boasts of some inimitable blends ranging from the vanilla flavoured silver tea to the monkey picked oolong hailing from Fujian, China. Boosting your metabolism aside, the golden green brews refresh the senses, aiding you in relishing your meal.

What we liked the most

The tantalising sauces were an indulgence in themselves. They were served not just as add-ons; they formed an indelible part of the dining experience. Be it the viscous sweetness of the tangy plum sauce or the rich, almost ‘coconutty’ taste of the spicy peanut sauce, each of the condiments had a touch of the exotic to it. We were told that almost all the ingredients that go into the making of the sauces are

sourced from abroad with Chef William Ho making annual trips to Hong Kong to handpick some of them.

On our next visit

We would definitely like to try the range of egg dishes. Though they looked tantalising on the menu, we had to reluctantly bypass them for lack of space.

The chilled coconut and pandan pudding with stewed fruits is low on fat but high on taste, helping you enjoy your dessert without the fear of piling on the kilos

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 37

In the Know

Ask Sabita

Sabita Radhakrishna is a well known food columnist and cookbook author. Our readers can find answers to all their cooking related queries here.

What is Quinoa?

And how is it used?

Pronounced “keen-wah”, these are seeds of a plant cultivated by the South-American Incas. It is now popular in the US and taken as a substitute for rice. It is also milled and the flour from it is used for baked goods and breakfast cereals.

It is low in fat and zero cholesterol which accounts for its popularity among the health conscious. Quinoa is cooked the same way as rice and could be substituted for rice in any dish, though it takes time to acquire a taste for it. Here’s what you can make with 1 cup uncooked quinoa: • One large chopped tomato, • ¼ cup chopped cucumber, • 2 spring onions chopped, • ½ cup chopped fresh mint.

• Add the cooked quinoa to the chopped vegetables.

Toss with dressing and serve.

For the dressing: Juice of one lime, 1 tablespoon extra virgin oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

38 • À LA CARTE •JULY • AUGUST 20132013

Can you give any onion specific recipe?

Ingredients: 3 large onions 1 teaspoon sugar l 2 tablespoons butter l 1 tablespoon maida l ½ cup red wine (optional) l 2 soup cubes (or 2 cups vegetable stock) l Cheese slices l Bread. l l

Method: Slice the onion thinly. Melt the butter in a pan and add sugar. Add onion slices and cook over a moderate heat till they turn golden brown. Add flour and mix well to avoid lumps. Pour in water, wine, and stock (or cubes mixed in water). Simmer covered for 10 minutes. Lightly toast four thick slices of bread. Ladle the soup into four soup bowls, and place one slice of bread over the soup in each bowl. Place a slice of cheese over the bread or grated cheese, bake in an oven (220 degrees C) for about 10 minutes till the cheese melts.

What does the term

‘al dente’ mean? I know it is associated with pasta…

How is roasted garlic made?

Take a large bulb of garlic and strip off any loose papery skin, and trim the stalk. Brush all over with olive oil, and wrap in aluminium foil and bake for half an hour at 200 degrees C. Cut horizontally and serve with crusty bread.drink at Murugan Idli Store was too sweet for my liking and paasi was chewy! But all the usual jigerthandas have orange colour.

What are the different kinds of onions available?

Onions have been cultivated for over 5000 years! What we use in India commonly is the globe or common brown skin onions. Some have different flavours and are quite strong while the others are mild.

The Spanish yellow onions are generally from Spain, but now the name is applied to the large red skinned onions. They are mild in flavor, tender and sweet and can be taken raw or cooked. White onions are large in size and tough, and are best eaten raw, because they are mild in flavor and sweetish. The pearl onions, which are known here as “sambarvengayyam”, is ideal for pickling, for stews and casseroles, and the Keralaites use them extensively for their fish curries.

Spring onions or scallions are used for salads and stir fries .

‘Al dente’ is an Italian expression, which literally means “to the tooth”! It signals the correct end point reached for taking off the pasta from the stove. Water is boiled and a little oil and salt are added. The pasta is slipped in and is usually cooked for less than 10 minutes. On testing it should be al dente, meaning still firm enough to bite and never over cooked or mushy.

Water is drained off by emptying the pasta into a colander, and generally refreshed by a cold water rinse directly from the tap. Pasta should be cooked just before serving, and once you have the sauces ready, it is just mix and serve!

Q

Grilled food is considered healthy. What is the correct way to grill food?

Grilling is a method of cooking by intense heat, and is usually adopted for meats, fish, or chicken. Vegetables can also be grilled, so can tofu and paneer. The nutritive juices get sealed in by the high heat, by the crust which forms on the surface. The traditional way of grilling was placing a pan over hot charcoal, but when electric or gas grills are used, top heat is used. The food to be grilled is brushed with olive oil or butter and seasoned lightly. A fine example is grilled fish. Fillets of fresh fish, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic paste, coated with flour and basted with butter or olive oil is placed under a hot grill. After five minutes the fillets are turned over and again brushed with oil or butter. It is ready to eat when it turns a light brown on both sides. Serve with tartar sauce.

À LA À CARTE LA CARTE • AUGUST • JULY 2013 • 39

Celeb Foodie

I swear by Indian food. Every part of India has something palatable to offer. As far as Kerala is concerned dishes made with Kappa (tapioca) and the fish curry are my personal favourites”

Karthika Nair

Be it the feisty journalist in her Tamil debut ‘Ko’ or the village belle in ‘Annakodi’, Karthika Nair has created an impression in all her movies. Not one to shy away from experimenting with roles, the lissom lass is carving a niche for herself in the Southern film industry. The pretty actor sheds light on her love for street food, her tryst with various cuisines, her mother’s biriyani and more...

What kind of food did you grow up eating?

Even though I spent my childhood in Mumbai, I grew up eating typical Malayali food. Puttu, Idiyappam and Apam are what I most often had for breakfast.

Your most frequented food joint during school days

My friends and I used to always hang out at the Cafe Coffee Day next to our school. Another place that I visited often was Cafe Mocha.

Best dish that your mom and aunt Ambika make?

My mother makes delicious biriyani.

My aunt Ambika is currently into diet food. It is amusing how she uses some rare vegetables to come up with some amazing dishes.

Do you ever don the chef’s hat?

I make good Maggi!

Culinary experiences abroad

We always end up eating at a restaurant 40 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

that serves authentic Indian food as my father cannot survive without it (laughs).

My mom and I are experimental.

We like to try out the local cuisine.

Favourite cuisine and what do you like about it

I swear by Indian food. Every part of India has something palatable to offer.

I love the Punjabi thali and the Parathas and Rotis from Mumbai.

As far as Kerala is concerned dishes made with Kappa (tapioca) and the fish curry are my personal favourites.

Most frequented restaurant in Chennai

The Thai restaurant Benjarong.

I have been visiting the place ever since i was a kid.

Your take on dieting to look slim on screen

I don’t believe in harsh dieting or starving. They can wreak havoc in the long run. I eat to my heart’s content and also sweat it out.

If i indulge in variety I keep the quantity minimal.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 41

Quick Fixes

F east

A Wholesome

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar where Muslims around the world spend the daylight hours in a complete fast. Though the festival includes fasting and sacrifices, the Muslims celebrate this occasion with a lot of joy. They have a meal called Suhoor before sunrise and Iftar after sunset.

Nigar Sultana, owner of Daawat-E-Biryani, shares a few Iftar recipes that can easily be made at home.

Agar Agar Dessert A simple yet tasty dessert known for its nutritive value and cooling effect wwChina Grass (Agar Agar)-10 gms wwWater -1 ½ cups wwCondensed milk – ½ cup wwMilk- ½ litre wwSugar- 4 to 5 dessert spoons wwVanilla essence- optional wwCrushed cashews for garnishing

Cut the china grass into small pieces & wash it. Soak it in 1 ½ cups of water for 15 minutes. Then place on stove on low heat and bring to boil.

Melt the china grass without any grains on stove. Meanwhile, mix the condensed milk, sugar, and milk in a pan and heat on low heat stirring continuously. When the china grass 42 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

mixture starts boiling and the strands have dissolved almost completely, pour into the milk mixture. Bring this to boil, let it simmer for 2 more minutes, and remove from fire. Add vanilla essence to this mixture. Strain this mixture to the pudding dish and refrigerate. It can also be poured in to moulds for various shapes. For toppings, use almonds / cashew slivers or pralines.

Rose milk with sabja seeds

Photos by: Divyan Varghese

This is one of the common refreshing drinks after a long day of fasting wwMilk- A glass wwSabja seeds- 1 tsp wwRose syrup- 2 tsp wwSugar – as per taste

Soak sabja seeds in water for 10 mins till it becomes transparent. In a glass add milk, sugar, and rose syrup and mix the sabja seeds, and refrigerate it for chillness. Serve chill.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 43

Semiya Biryani This is generally a common breakfast dish at Muslim households but relished just like the other biryanis wwRoasted Semiya- 500 gm wwKheema- 300gm wwOnion- 3 (big) wwTomato-2 (big) wwGreen chillies- 2 wwCurd- 1 cup wwGinger garlic paste- 3 tsp wwGaram masala-2 each of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves wwPudina- a few sprigs wwCoriander leaves- a few sprigs wwRed chilli powder- 1 tsp wwTurmeric powder- 1 tsp

44 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

In a cooker pour oil and add onions, garam masala. Once it sizzles, add tomato, green chillies, and ginger garlic paste, fry till soft; add, pudina, coriander sprigs and fry along with Kheema, red chilli powder, and turmeric powder.

Add water and now pressure cook till kheema is soft and cooked.

Open the lid, add curd and make the gravy smooth and soft, bring to boil and now add semiya and cover the cooker with a saucepan lid and cook it on ‘dum’ on a slow flame till the semiya is cooked, serve with sliced boiled eggs.

Roti with Mutton Khorma A filling and yummy dish!

For the Mutton khorma: wwMutton - 500gm wwOnions- 3 (medium sized) wwTomatoes- 3 (medium sized) wwGreen chillies-3 nos wwGinger garlic paste- 3 heaps of a tsp wwGaram masala-5 each of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves wwCurd-200ml wwMint leaves-a few springs wwCoriander leaves-a few sprigs wwPotato- 250 gm wwRed chilli powder-2 tsp wwTurmeric powder- ½ tsp wwDhaniya powder- 3 tsp wwLemon- 1

Take oil in a cooker add onions, tomatoes, garam masala, green chillies and sauté it. As it sizzles add ginger garlic paste, mutton, followed

by red chilli powder, turmeric, and Dhaniya powders. Add finely chopped mint leaves, coriander leaves. Add water, curd, salt to taste and pressure cook it till mutton is soft. Once it’s cooked, add lemon juice before serving.

For Roti: wwWheat Atta- 2 cups wwWarm milk- ¼ cup wwWarm water- ½ cup wwOil

Take a bowl, add atta, salt, warm milk, and add warm water as required and knead to a soft round ball. Allow it to sit for half an hour. Make proportion of five to six round shape balls, roll them out with the rolling pin, add oil, and form peda, and press, roll to form round shape rotis. Fry them on hot tawa on both sides with a dash of oil.

À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 45

Nombu Kanji This kanji tastes best with kheema samosas wwBroken rice – 150 gms (soaked and washed) wwMinced mutton 150 gms wwMoong dal- 50 gms wwGinger garlic paste- 2 tsp wwTurmeric powder- a pinch wwOnion – 1 medium sized chopped wwTomato- 1 medium sixed chopped wwMint leaves- a handful wwCoriander leaves- a handful wwGaram masala- as required wwCloves- 10 wwCardamom- 4 wwCinnamon – 3 wwCoconut – 2 tsp (finely crushed) wwGreen chillies- 2 wwOil as required wwWater as required wwSat as per taste

Heat oil in a kadai. Allow it to heat for a minute and add the chopped onions, turmeric powder and garam masala. Sauté for a few minutes until it turns golden brown. Now, add the ginger garlic paste and fry it for a while. Add the minced meat, green chillies, chopped tomato, and roast it over slow flame. Add some water to the base and bring it to boil. Heat till the meat is cooked. Now add the rice, moong dal and cook until it becomes soft. Once the rice is cooked add mint leaves, crushed coconut pieces and coriander leaves. Boil for 15 minutes and allow it to simmer till a broth consistency is formed. Add cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon for seasoning. Add salt as per taste.

Serve hot.

Juice Wagon On the

Although Fruit Shop on Greams Road began 19 years ago with a space of 200 sq ft, today it has 13 branches in Chennai and 6 in Dubai.

Krupa Shah chronicles its journey with one of its founders- Harris Abdullah.

Harris Abdullah is far from the austere ‘Juice Baron’ as he is often described. “We have had a lot of tough times when we started off but struggle is a part of life,” he says and settles deeper into his cane chair at Fruit Shop on Greams Road.

“Initially, when we started out, there weren’t many juice shops. In fact earlier, people did not have juices much. They would have juices once in a while either in a tea shop or in a five star hotel. There was a wide gap between the two. If you really wanted to have a good drink you couldn’t always go to a five star hotel and in a smaller store you couldn’t always be sure about quality. So we decided to bring in À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 47

something to bridge this gap,” says Harris.

Stepping stone “We’ve focused only on fruit juices because we thought the shop could complement our other plywood business. A gentleman offered us an area of 200 sq feet store at Greams Road and we named the place Fruit Shop on Greams Road because we wanted the name to be very simple.”

Harris and his business partner Salim, are both originally from Kerala but grew up and settled in Chennai. “I consider myself Tamilian because I love Chennai,” says Harris. “Salim and I have been friends even before we were partners.

We started the fruit shop with an investment of 48 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

a few lakhs. We never believed it would become so big but it became a passion and we never gave up.”

Fruit Shop on Greams Road is a very wellknown brand in Chennai today and is especially popular with youngsters.

“What makes us extremely satisfied is that people have told us that the quality has never varied except for one or two instances. We’re not

We started the fruit shop with an investment of a few lakhs. We never believed it would become so big...

very flamboyant and we focus on quality.”

Fresh is the word “We get our fruits from the wholesale market and have agents who supply them to us. We never cut the fruits previously and keep them. Though the process can be painful it is worth the trouble as the customer comes in for quality and we want the juice to be fresh.” Harris is also looking into bio waste for making fuel. “All the vegetable peels and waste in your home can be used for fuel and we’re trying to see if we can do the same thing with fruits so that we can cut down on waste.” Even the plastic bags in which the juices are parcelled are

environment-friendly and disintegrate in 100 days.

Fruit Shop also has concepts like ‘Pick and Go’ which allows customers to pre-order their juices. “We had a bunch of IIT students who helped us set up the website and the whole front-end process.” “We also have a loyalty card now and I am trying to bring out a concept where I can do some cross promotion between India and Dubai. I am trying to see if I can give out gifts to build up some

customer initiative.”

Fruit Shop has numerous franchise enquiries in the pipeline and is also planning on bringing out a range of new products to complement the juices. “We want to make the place a complete destination.

It won’t be a restaurant but we want to bring in items that could substitute a meal.

Something that would allow you to not feel guilty - health does not need to be boring.

It can be fun,” he says.

The Midas touch Salim and Harris have dipped their hands into the practical process of juice making as well.

“Salim and I, we’re the chefs for the juices.

Somehow we have had the Midas touch and we were able to get quite close to what we had in mind without too much effort,” he chuckles and recommends the Jughead special in the milkshakes and Brimstone among the juices.

The founders have also started a company called Launchpad at Greams Road. “This is of course an initiative started more with a commercial angle but also for a cause.

We want to encourage young talent and people who want to start a new business or come up with something new. So we offer a platform where people can showcase their ideas.”

Among other achievements, Harris mentions Ford who used Fruit Shop for their campaign and also students of the Harvard Business School who came down to study the store’s operations for a week for a survey. The best part, he says proudly, is that he has heard the same compliment of consistent quality for the last 19 years. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 49

Listings

Info at your fingertips

54

61

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Desserts & Icecream

Hoi Yat Heen

Pan Asian

59

Grilled Chicken

Continental

Planning a birthday bash? Choose from a comprehensive list of bakers across the city Desserts, Bakers & Ice Cream P54 50 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Bars & Restobars Bars & Restobars Zara Tapas 74 Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

28111462 Anna International Airport, Meenambakkam.

22560779 Geoffreys 171 J N Salai, AnnaiSathya Nagar, Arumbakkam.

66778899 Opium Bar Hotel Royal Plaza 3E Road, Koyambedu.

23790066 10 Downing Street Kences Inn Boutique Hotel 50 North Boag Road, T Nagar.

28152152 Bike & Barrel The Residency Towers 115 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar.

28156363 Black & White The Residency 49 GN Chetty Road, T Nagar.

28253434 Regal Resto Bar Raj Park 180 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

42257777 The Leather Bar The Park 601, Nungambakkam Main Road, Nungambakkam.

42676000 Blend Taj Mount Road 2 Club House Road, Mount Road.

66313131

Chipstead Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakkam.

66002827

Le Pub Liberty Park Hotel United India Colony, 1st Main Road,Kodambakkam.

24725950

Crystal Bar Ranjith Hotel 15 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam.

28270521

Pasha The Park 601 Nungambakkam Main Road, Nungambakkam.

42676000

Distil Taj Connemara 2 Binny Road, Anna Salai.

66000000

Bay 146 Savera Hotel 146 Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

28144700

Dublin The Welcome pub Park Sheraton 132 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

24994101 Gallop Radisson GRT Hotel St Thomas Mount, 531 GST Road, Anna Salai.

22310101 H20 Harrisons Hotel 315 Valluvar Kottam High Road, Nungambakkam.

42222777 Havana The RainTree Hotel 120 St Mary’s Road, Alwarpet.

42252525 High Time GRT Grand 120 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar.

28150500 Poker Bar Hotel Shelter 19 20 21 Venkatesa Agraharam Street, Mylapore.

24951919

Transque Bar Hotel Abu Palace 926 Poonamalle High Road, Egmore.

26412222 Library Blu The Leela Palace Chennai 175 Sathya Dev Avenue Extn. MRC Nagar 3366 1234 The Cheroot Malt & Cigar Lounge ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000 Trantor Bar Breeze Hotel 850 Poonamallee High Road, Poonamallee.

26413334 Degree Pub Quality Inn Sabari IT Tech Park, 33 Omar Road, Navalur.

27435030 Zodiac The Accord Metropolitan 35 GN Chetty Road, T Nagar.

28161000

Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 51

Bars & Restobars Rhapsody Courtyard by Mariott 564 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

66764000 The Society Bar The Ambassador Pallava, 30 Montieth Road, Egmore.

28554476 The Pirate’s Esthell Continental Hotels & Resorts Royal Enclave, 1 Besant Avenue, Adyar.

24466240 Anchor Bar Taj Fisherman’s Cove Covelong Beach, Kancheepuram.

67413333 Q Bar Hilton 124/1 J.N. Salai, Ekkaduthangal.

22255555

Tequila Sunrise Tropicana Bar New Victoria Hotel 3 Kennet Lane, Egmore.

28193638 Mustang Bar Green Park Hotel NSK Salai, Arcot Road, Vadapalani.

66515151

365 A.S. Hyatt Regency 365 Anna Salai, Mount Road.

61001234 Flame, Le Club Le Royal Meridien 1 GST Road, St Thomas Mount. 22314343

Upperdeck Comfort Inn Marina Towers, 2A Pooniamman Koil St, Egmore 28585454

Arcot Bar The Trident Hilton 1/24 GST Road, Meenambakkam.

22344747

Xzubarence Bar Raj Park 180 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

42257777

Madera The RainTree Anna Salai 636 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

28309999

52 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Vintage Bank Hilton 124/1 J.N.Salai, Ekkaduthangal 22255555 The B Bar Somerset Greenways MRC Nagar, Santhome, 044 49001010 Winchester Bar Radisson Blue Hotel 2, Ethiraj Salai, C-in-C Road, Egmore 30404444 Minus 1 Hotel Park View 125 Valluvarkottam High Road, Nungambakkam 9025110838

Food Chains Food chains South Indian Adyar Ananda Bhavan 70/241 Ramakrishna Mutt Road, Mylapore 23453031 Nungambakkam 23453037 Anna Nagar 23453048 Koyambedu 23790403 Mogappair 42845074 Pondy Bazaar 23453041 Vadapalani 42013008 Parrys 23453044 Tambaram 42034949 Sangeetha Restaurant 24/2 South Mada Street, Mylapore 24643898 Nungambakkam 42137300 Greams Road 28294081 Choolaimedu 23744041 T Nagar 42121170 Parrys 25341745 Adyar 24426554 Hotel Saravana Bhavan Spencer Plaza, 769 Mount Road, Anna Salai 28495577 Egmore 28192055 R.K Salai 28115977 Mylapore 24611177 Purasawalkam 26616699 Anna Nagar 26269721 Ashok Nagar 24892466 KK Nagar 24745577 T Nagar 24345577 Vadapalani 24817866

KFC Spencer Plaza, 769 Mount Road, Anna Salai 45514447 T. Nagar 43042222 Taramani 42666061 Nungambakkam 43562222 Anna Nagar 42612222 Marrybrown 133 Pondy Bazaar, T Nagar 42023704 Anna Salai 42116777 Mylapore 45535362 Nungambakkam 42032923 Anna Nagar 46218777 Koyambedu 421790372 Kodambakkam 42135553 Shenoy Nagar 43532721 Subway For delivery call 45600600 Located at Nungambakkam, Egmore, RMZ Millenia Tech Park, Express Avenue, Spencer Plaza, Citi Center, Besant Nagar Pizza Corner 64 CP Ramaswamy Road, Abhiramapuram 43009502 Nandanam 42131333 Nungambakkam 42139566 Anna Nagar 42172300 Meenambakkam 42064151 Tambaram 22390647

Adyar 42187666 Velachery 22552172 Domino’s pizza Spencer Plaza, 769 Mount Road, Anna Salai 28494444 Mylapore 28474444 Purasawalkam 25322333 Teynampet 24355890 Anna Nagar 42014444 Ashok Nagar 24714555 Mogappair 26536455 Perambur 25518888 Adyar 24424444 Tidel Park 22540221 Velachery 22431777 PitStop 1, Jay Nagar, Panayur Kumaran Nagar Indian Oil Petrol Bunk,OMR Chemmancherry 24501499 /1699 Kancheepuram 27470399 US Pizza 152 Abirami Mega Mall, Purusaiwalkam 42371111 Pizza Hut Spencer Plaza, 769 Mount Road, 39883988

Vasant Bhavan 10 Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore 4281 Mount Road 28418693 Mylapore 24936666 Nungambakkam 28222233 Tambaram 22264441 PIZZAs, BURGERS, SUBS...

Mc Donald’s 106 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar 9566022866 Taramani 45556008

Garden Fresh Veggie Pizza

Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 53

Desserts, Bakers and Ice Cream Baker’s Basket Savera 146 Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

28114700 Fresco For queries call 456000600 Located at Nungambakkam, Egmore, Express Avenue, Citi Center, Besant Nagar Delicatessen @ Chamiers 45000008 Tuscana Delicatessen Located in Tuscana on Chamiers 89 Chamiers Road, Alwarpet, Diagonally opp.

Park Sheraton IN GATE 45000008 Muffin Tree Courtyard Marriott 564 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

66764000

Blueberry Muffins Desserts, Bakers and Ice Cream Ambrosia 11, Cenotaph Road 45002099

Amadora Gourmet Ice Cream 23, Wallace Garden, 3rd Street 42323482 Hot Breads 74 Cathedral Road Gopalapuram 28110345 Mylapore 28112760 Kilpauk 26444212 T Nagar 28153998 Thiruvanmiyur 24485080 Saidapet 22200850 The Leela Cake Shop The Leela Palace Chennai 175 Sathya Dev Avenue Extn. MRC Nagar 3366 1234 54 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Nutmeg The Gourmet Shop ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000 Sandy’s Chocolate Laboratory 14 1st Cross Road, Off Greenways Road, R.A Puram.42303852 Nungambakkam 42134000 Emilios Gelateria 22/1 2nd Main Road, 5th Cross Cit Colony, Mylapore 43535544 Neelankarai 24495010 Anna Nagar 43016680 Besant Nagar 45511226 Snow Field Dessert Pub 1 Cathedral Road, Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

28116416

Milkyway 24 G7 Wellington Estate, Ethiraj Road, Egmore.

28251194 La Boulangerie 21 Arundale Beach Road, Kalakshetra, Besant Nagar 9566099917 Valluvar Kottam 42222777 French Loaf T46 A 7th Avenue, Anna Colony, Besant Nagar 32216628 Chetpet 32216618 Mahalingapuram 32216627 R.A Puram 32216625 Spencer Plaza, Anna Salai 32210936 Parfait 3 16 Manikeshwari Road, Kilpauk 25321601 Velachery 22432022 Valmiki Nagar 24405588 Anna Nagar 26288822

Desserts, Bakers and Ice Cream Ecstasy 8, Sathyam Cinemas, Thiru-Vi-Ka Road, Royapettah.

43920444 Cake Walk 10, Montieth Road Egmore 28553811 Besant Nagar 24917022 MC Renett A9 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar 64551011 Kodambakkam 64551012 Mandaveli 64551022 Teynampet 64551027 Nungambakkam 64551028 Parrys 64551036 Purasawalkam 64551014 T.Nagar 64551019 Creamy Inn W396 School Road, Anna Nagar West Extn.

26150080 Anna Nagar 26220080 Chetpet 28362255 K.K Nagar 23663939

Strawberry Smoothie Freeze Zone 33 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

24661839 Jelly Belly E37 2nd Avenue, Besant Nagar.

24460777

La Patisserie Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakkam.

66002827 Cakes N Bakes 70/32 Nungambakkam High Road, 28277075, 28205554 Thoraipakkam 24580809 Velachery 65610502 Baker’s Cottage 6th Avenue, Anna Nagar.

9884532326 Maple Leaf Chocolate Lounge 9 Harrington Road, Chetpet.

43561666, 43561333 Brio - The Cafe Shoppers Stop Chetpet 42664471 T. Nagar 42024415

Banana Split Sundae

The Baker’s Code Kebab Court Complex, Velachery.

22591275 Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 55

Desserts, Bakers and Ice Cream · Indian · South Indian Fruit Shop on Greams Road Greams Rd, Thousand Lights 23450871 Besant Nagar 23450876 Anna Nagar 23450872 Kilpauk 23450877 Spencer Plaza 28490083 Cathedral Road 23460986

INDIAN CUISINE

Jamavar The Leela Palace 175 Sathya Dev Avenue Extn. MRC Nagar 33661234 Royal Vega ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000 Once Upon A Time Green Park Hotel, 183, NSK Salai, Arcot Road,Vadapalani 66515151

Vrindavan Restaurant New Woodlands Hotel 72-75 Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

28113111 The Raintree Taj Connemara 2 Binny Road, Anna Salai.

66000000 Jakob’s kitchen 28/18, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 42032808 Chennai Woodlands 20 2nd Lane Beach, Parrys.

25214343

Meenam Harrisons 315 Valluvar Kottam High Road, Nungambakkam.

42222777 ID (Idly & Dosa) Sathyam cinemas, 1s floor, 8, Thiru-vi-ka Road, Royapettah 23920346 Maya 32 Platinum Building, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam.

42137774

Annalakshmi Restaurant 804 Mount Road, Anna Salai. 28525109

Southern Aromas The Residency Towers 115 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar. 28156363

Malgudi Savera Hotel 146 Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

28114700

Dakshin Park Sheraton 132 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

24994101

South Indian Southern Spices Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakkam.

66002827 Amaravathi Restaurant No.1, Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram 28116416 Madras The RainTree Anna Salai 636 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

28309999 Ponnuswamy 24 Ethiraj Salai Egmore 28270784 Curry Leaf The Chariot 4 Tirumalai Road, T Nagar.

28341212 56 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Idiyappam with Madras Fish Curry

South Indian · Kerala · North West Frontier Nungambakkam.

42664222 Moti Mahal 7 Jaganathan Road Nungambakkam 42137539 Kabul 1/200 Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore 24996761 Palki 1, Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

28111794

Chemmen Roast Anjappar 7/2 JP Tower, NH Road, Nungambakkam.

28256662

Ente Keralam Kasturi Estate, Poes Garden, 1st Street, Alwarpet. 42328585

La Shaakahari 20 Pycrofts Garden Road, Nungambakkam.

28265000

Rasam 25 Raja Annamalai Road, Purasawalkam.

9789062857

Kottaram 9/2 Taramani-Perungudi Link Road, Perungudi.

24540660

Kerala

NORTH INDIAN

Barbecue Nation Shri Devi Park Hotel 1 Hanumantha Road, North Usman Road,T.Nagar 60600000, 64530160,

Thalassery W77 4th Street, AnnaNagar 26207853

Sigree Hotel Aruna Annexe 144-145 Sterling Road,

North West Frontier

Minar Savera 146 Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

28114700

Kumarakom 27/28 Vijayanagar Ext, Velachery Main Road, Velachery 42022277 Nungambakkam 42605677 Anna Nagar 42172217 Adyar 42034203 Ramapuram 22496109 Coconut Lagoon 1 Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

42020428 Tharavad 6 Bay View Drive, Kottivakkam, ECR. 9840075355

Hyderabadi Pulao Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 57

North West Frontier · Chinese Copper Chimney 74 Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

24980819 Mouthful 12/20 Raghaviah Road, T.Nagar. 42124260 Mast Kalandar 17 2nd Sashtri Nagar, MG Road, Adyar.

42018382

INTERNATIONAL Chinese Barbecue Chicken Navaratna Le Royal Meridien 1 GST Road, St Thomas Mount.

22314343 Olives Hotel Deccan Plaza 36 Royapettah High Road, Royapettah.

66773333 Mughals Zaika Restaurant 8 Rajarathinam Street, Kilpauk.

42858901

Peshawri ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000 The Great Kebab Radisson Blue Hotel 2 Ethiraj Salai, C-in-C Road, Egmore, 30404444 Tandoor Aruna Hotel Annexe 144-145 Sterling Road, Nungambakkam.

28262626

The Cascade 32 Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam.

28333836, 42137767 Besant Nagar 42019372, 24461625 3 Kingdoms 3rd Floor, 20B Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 28333388, 28333390 Equinox 9-B 1st Floor, Kakani Towers, 34(15), Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam 43084708, 9566167736

Beyond Indus Taj Mount Road 2 Club House Road, Mount Road.

66313131 Up North The Raintree Hotel 636, Anna Salai Teynampet 28309999 Rajdhani Shop No.5, Express Avenue Mall, 49 Whites Road, Royapettah.

28464422 58 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Grilled Mutton Kebab Skewers

Chinese · Continental Stix Hyatt Regency 365 Anna Salai, Mount Road 61001234

Golden Dragon Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakam 66002827

Rangis Continental Chambers 142 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam.

42144933 Wonton 39 4th Street, Alwarpet 32513335, 43009700 Nungambakkam 28332002 Anna Nagar 26264633 Adyar 42116364 China Town 74 Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram.

28112246

Dynasty Restaurant Firm Tower, W121 3rd Avenue, Anna Nagar.

26212699, 42026609 Oriental Blossom Radha Regent 171 Jawaharlal Nehru Salai, Arumbakkam.

24757788 China XO The Leela Palace Chennai 175 Sathya Dev Avenue Extn. MRC Nagar 3366 1234 Mandarin 19 Thiruvedian Street, Gopalapuram.

28117431

Flower Drum Prince Plaza, 46 Pantheon Road, Egmore.

30228822

Continental

Mainland China Hotel Aruna Annexe 144-145 Sterling Road, Nungambakkam 28238345 Teynampet 45000236 Chin Chin The Residency 49 GN Chetty Road, T Nagar.

28253434

Eden E37, 2nd Avenue, Besant Nagar, 24460777 04424463777 Anna Nagar 26221010 Nungambakkam 42222777 Ox and Tomato 145 St.Mary’s Road, Alwarpet 43060009

Above Sea Level The RainTree Hotel 120 St Mary’s Road, Alwarpet.

42252525 Yoko Sizzlers 20B 2nd Floor, Khader Nawaz Khan Road Nungambakkam 42180888 9043043090 Giorgio T29 7th Avenue, Besant Nagar.

24461828 Tangerine 5 Murrays Gate Road, Alwarpet 42110888 Kobe sizzlers 10 Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 28332711 Kipling Cafe 14 L. Jey Avenue, Akkarai, Sholinganallur, ECR. 24530040 Ashvita Bistro 11 Bawa Road Alwarpet 42109990, 42031982

Lemon Grass The Rain Tree 120 St Mary’s Road, Alwarpet 42252525 The Canton Kaveri Complex, 96 Nungambakkam High Road,Nungambakkam 28272197, 28214445

Crispy Sesame Chicken with Gingered Beans Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 59

Continental · Italian · Japanese · Korean · Malaysian Italian

Sam’s pizzeria 7 Jaganathan Road, Nungambakkam 33703370 The Pasta Bar Veneto Old No.59, New No.32, Burkitt Road T.Nagar 42126680 Egmore 42145534 Fresca Pizza by Sandys 32 Platinum Building, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 42068484 Rhapsody Courtyard by Marriott 564 Anna Salai,Teynampet 66764000, 66764488 Focaccia Hyatt Regency 365 Anna Salai, Mount Road. 61001234 Smoking Joe’s 31, Burkit Road, T.Nagar 24350505 Papa John’s Pizzeria 29 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam 42075656 Bello Ciao 140 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam 24511130 ECR 24511130

Tuscana Pizzeria No.19 3rd Street, Wallace Garden, Nungambakkam 45038008 Ottimo Cucina Italiana ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000

Japanese Teppan at Benjarong 146 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

24322640, 43009161 Dahlia Kauvery Complex, 93 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam.

28265240 Akasaka 128, Grd Floor Lattice Bridge Road, Thiruvanmiyur.

24453424

Korean In Seoul 530 TTK Road, RA Puram 42081998 Kyung Bok Gong 10 Chamiers Road, Nandanam. 42113346/7

Prego Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakkam 66002827 Little Italy Eldorado Building, 1/2 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam.

42601234, 66246178 60 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Hummus with Pita Bread

Malaysian

Pelita Nasi Kandar 16 17 18 Appaswamy Towers, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar.

24335759 Bee’s Kopitiam Express Avenue Mall 49 Whites Road, Thousand Lights.

28464088

Mexican Don Pepe 73, Cathedral Road Gopalapuram, Chennai 04428110413 Texas Fiesta 17/2, Shaffee Mohammed Road, Off Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 43087882

Pan Asian Hip Asia Taj Connemara 2 Binny Road, Anna Salai. 66000000 Pan Asian ITC Grand Chola 63, Mount Road, Guindy 22200000

Mexican · Pan Asian · Thai · Mediterranean Azzuri Bay 13 First Crescent Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar.

42115253 Kefi Taj Mount Road 2 Club House Road, Mount Road.

66313131 5 Senses Oyster, 9, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 30062010 The Upper Deck Taj Fisherman’s Cove Covelong Beach, Kancheepuram.

67413333 The Crown The Residency Towers Sir Thyagaraja Road, T Nagar.

28156363

Rava Khoya Laddoo Chap Chay The Raintree 120, St. Mary’s Road, Alwarpet 42252525

Lotus The Park 601 Anna Salai Nungambakkam Main Road.

42676000

Thai

Mediterranean

Sweets

Silk Asiana Hotel 1/238 Old Mahabalipuram Road, Semmencherry 67411000

Aqua The Park 601 Nungambakkam Main Road, Nungambakkam.

42676000

Gangotree 42 Cathedral Road, Gopalapuram 28111664 Adyar 24452422

Baan Thai 10 Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam.

28332611, 28332612 Benjarong 146 TTK Road, Alwarpet.

24322640, 43009161

Azulia GRT Grand 120 Sir Thyagaraja Road, T Nagar.

28150500 Estia Aloft Hotel 102 Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Sholinganallur, OMR 45925500

Kryptos by Willi 24 Yafa Tower Khadar Nawaz Khan Road Nungambakkam 45038001

Shree Mithai 18 Dr TV Road, Chetpet 42809999 Spencer Plaza 42134455 The Grand Sweets 2nd Main Road, Gandhi Nagar, Adyar 42054466 Besant Nagar 45006464 Anna Nagar 42634422 T.Nagar 42124466

Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 61

Sweets · Coffee Pubs · 24 Hour Dining Sri Krishna Sweets Soundarajan Street, CIT Nagar, Theyagaraya Nagar 42616161 Adyar 24413805 Anna Nagar 26191222 Ashok Nagar 24850808 Mylapore 28112827 Nanganallur 9789062861 Purusawalkam 26616667 West Mambalam 9789062860 Mishtee 112 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam.

43084984 Adyar Anandha Bhavan 9 Lattice Bridge Road, Adyar 23453045 Anna Nagar 23453043 Nungambakkam 23453037

Coffee Pubs Amethyst Whites Rd, Royapettah Entrance next to Corporation Bank 4599 1630 Robustaa 24/67 Halls Road, Kilpauk. 42858412 Anokhi 106 Chamiers Road, Opposite Oryza 24311495 Cafe Chokolade 10/1A3 Montieth road Egmore 42126461 T.Nagar 42606532 Barista 4 Khader Nawaz Khan Road Nungambakkam 42138567 Besant Nagar 42019455 Tea Lounge Radisson Blue Hotel 62 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

2 Ethiraj Salai, C-in-C Road, Egmore 30404444 Café Coffee Day Montieth Road, Egmore 28546981 Kilpauk 42175621 Ispahani Centre Nungambakkam 64627082, 43577231 Coffee World Abhiramapuram, 64 CP Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet.

43009499 Coffee Central 11 Dr B Narasimhan Road, Opp GN Chetty Road, T Nagar.

28152045, 9840111298 Café Pascucchi Express Avenue Mall 49 Whites Rd, Thousand Lights.

09840922895 Café tapas 47B Ground Floor, Ramana Nursing Home Complex Velachery Main Road, Velachery.

42325165 Café Zha 25 2nd Main Street, Kamarajar Avenue, Adyar.

42116027 High on Caffeine Mitsubishi Showroom, LB Road, Adyar.

42116482, 9003034049

Paprika Courtyard by Mariott 564 Anna Salai Teynampet.

66764000 Main Street The Residency Towers Sir Thayagaraya Road T Nagar.

28156363 Spectra The Leela Palace Chennai 175 Sathya Dev Avenue Extn.

MRC Nagar 3366 1234 Seasonal Tastes The Westin 154, Velachery Main Road, Velachery, 22553366 Water’s Edge Café GRT Temple Bay Mahabalipuram.

27442251, 27443636 Cilantro Le Royal Meridien 1 GST Road, St Thomas Mount.

22314343 Anise Taj Coromandel 37 MG Road, Nungambakkam 66002827

24 Hour Dining

601 The Park 601 Nungambakkam Main Road, Nungambakkam 42676000

Est Hilton 124/1 J.N. Salai, Ekkaduthangal.

22255555

Caramel Asiana Hotel 1/238 OMR, Semmencherry 67411000

24 Hour Dining · Seafood · Multicuisine Fisherman’s Fare Casa Major Road, Egmore.

28194840 Sea Shell Greams Rd, Thousand Lights 28295789 Wharf GRT Temple Bay Mahabalipuram.

27443636 Bay View Point Taj Fisherman’s Cove Covelong Beach, Kancheepuram.

67413333 Samudra Trident 1/24 GST Road, St Thomas Mount.

22344747

Mixed Vegetable Broth Anytime GRT Grand 120 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar.

28150500 Garden Café Radisson Blu Hotel 531 GST Road, St Thomas Mount.

22310101 Rainbow The Raintree Hotel 120 St Mary’s Road, Alwarpet.

42252525 Club House Taj Mount Road 2 Club House Road, Mount Road.

66313131

The Kitchen The Raintree Anna Salai 636 Anna Salai Teynampet. 28309999 Verandah Taj Connemara 2 Binny Road, Anna Salai.

66000000 Seagull Taj Fisherman’s Cove Covelong Beach, Kancheepuram.

67413333

Seafood

Coast to Coast Radisson Blue Hotel 2 Ethiraj Salai, Egmore 30404444

Kayal Le Royal Meridien 1 GST Road, St Thomas Mount 22314343

Multicuisine Fusion 9 Aruna Centre 145 Sterling Road, Nungambakkam 42664299 The Right Place The Residency 49 GN Chetty Road, T.Nagar, 28253434 The Kitchen The Raintree 636, Anna Salai, Teynampet 28309999

Want your restaurant to be listed? Give us a call. À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013 • 63

Multicuisine · Health Food · Arabian Cream Centre 55 2nd Main Road, RA Puram 42815777 Nungambakkam 43561777 Ashvita 11 2nd Street, Dr R K Salai, Mylapore.

28476063 Rain Forest Gandhi Nagar 1st Main Road, Adyar. 42187777 Duchess 1/200, Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai Road, Mylapore 24996762 Oasis Radisson Blue Hotel 2, Ethiraj Salai, C-in-C Road, Egmore, 30404444 Mash, The Grill House 3/2 Haddows Road, 2nd Street, 28211555 Crimson Chakra 13 First Crescent, Gandhi Nagar Adyar 09677277900 Nungambakkam 64500 500, 97866 55845 Piano Hotel Savera 146 Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai,Mylapore, 28144700

Five Senses Oyster, No. 9, Khader Nawaz Khan Road, Nungambakkam 30062010 Drizzle No. 1, Sultan Ahmed Street, Neelankarai, ECR. 32219966 Seven Comfort Inn Marina Towers 2A Pooniamman Koil St, Egmore, 28585454 Ayna Hilton 124/1, J.N.Salai, Ekkaduthangal 22255555 Burgundy’s Somerset Greenways Serviced Residence 94 Satyadev Avenue, MRC Nagar.

49001000

Health Food Cholayil Sanjeevanam 97/45 Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam. 64508427 Mahamudra 117 Luz Church Road, Mylapore. 43535555

Vasco’s Hilton 124/1, J.N.Salai, Ekkaduthangal, 22255555 La Shaakahari 20, Pycrofts Garden road, Nungambakkam 9940415747 Dewberry’s The Resto-Café 6/29 Rajasekaren Street, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, 28473439 64 • À LA CARTE • AUGUST 2013

Chicken Shawarma

Arabian Escapade 361 Shakti Garden Road, Okyampettai, Thoraipakkam.

9884051456 Zaitoon No.1, Vintage Plaza, L B Road, Adyar, 24527778, 24527779 YallaYalla Radisson GRT Hotel St Thomas Mount, 531 GST Road, Anna Salai. 22310101 Al Arab 131 Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore.

45130000 Arabian Delights A46 3rd Avenue, Anna Nagar East.

42172047 Palmshore Foreshore Estate 111/108 Santhome High Road, 42102244 By the Bay T55 Elliots Beach Road, 6th Avenue, Besant Nagar 24461922