Come to think of it, not a single star hotel in the city has a restaurant dedicated to south Indian food. So when Taj Bengal announced that it was getting a Southern Spice festival to Calcutta — from the restaurant that opened in 1996 at Taj Coromandel — the city’s food fraternity was eager to know more. In fact, when t2 had met the hotel’s executive chef Sonu Koithara last May, soon after he had joined the Alipore hotel, he was visibly excited about the possibility of bringing to the table flavours from his home state Kerala.
TT Bureau
Published 29.06.16, 12:00 AM
Chefs Sonu Koithara and Shanmugam
Come to think of it, not a single star hotel in the city has a restaurant dedicated to south Indian food. So when Taj Bengal announced that it was getting a Southern Spice festival to Calcutta — from the restaurant that opened in 1996 at Taj Coromandel — the city’s food fraternity was eager to know more. In fact, when t2 had met the hotel’s executive chef Sonu Koithara last May, soon after he had joined the Alipore hotel, he was visibly excited about the possibility of bringing to the table flavours from his home state Kerala.
“Yes, we will have a Southern Spice festival in the months to come,” he had said back then. True to his word, chef Sonu has brought down chef Shanmugam, who was a part of the Southern Spice pre-opening team, and together they have set up a menu featuring dishes from the four states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. On till July 3, here are some dishes we recommend:
The Mirpakaya Kadi Kaalu (kadi means chicken) is a fiery Andhra-style preparation of chicken drumsticks. “Chilli powder is the main spice,” said chef Shanmugam. But not just any chilli powder — the Southern Spice kitchen has three varieties!
The tongue-twister Usilampatti Kari Kozhambu is simply slow-simmered lamb curry from rural Madurai made with poppy seeds. Here’s something you probably didn’t know — poppy seeds are banned in the Southern Spice kitchen in Chennai and replaced with cashew nut paste. At the festival, however, you’ll get the original recipe. The absence of coconut milk makes the lamb curry nice and light.
The flavourful Pachakari Ishtew from Kerala is made of seasonal fresh vegetables and potatoes with onion and green chilli, gently simmered in coconut milk. The gravy is the king here.
The Rasakaya is made of seasonal vegetables cooked in coriander, chilli, mint and coconut curry.
The Banana Dosa is a snacky meal of jaggery and cardomom-flavoured banana fritters. And one of the best-sellers at Southern Spice.
Text: Karo Christine Kumar
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
