Tuesday 28 August 2018

When it comes to spicy Tamil cuisine, all of us know nothing beats Chettinad cuisine. But are we sure we are talking about the right term? What does spicy denote here? Are are we talking chilli or peppers? Most restaurants that serve Chettinad cuisine involves only the use of chilli. However, the authentic Chettinad food is created using a fine balance of chilli and peppercorns. It's not the burning sensation that is Chettinad, rather its the hot after effect that represents the authenticity of the food.

With commercialization the key in today's food scene, a new restaurant has decided to make taste and originality their key. Mango Tree, a recently opened restaurant in Nungambakkam focusses on introducing authentic Chettinad home cuisine to folks in Chennai. Located near Valluvar Kottam on a by-lane, the restaurant is a remodeled house that replicates the ambiance of a Chettinad house. The decor too is in line with what you would expect in a regular Chettinad house. It really felt like being in a Chettinad house with the expectation that the food also follows suit, unlike other so-called Chettinad restaurants that leave you burning after a meal.
(Kari Uppu Kari)
(Kari Kola Urundai)
The starters that were served included the 'Kari Uppu Kari', 'Karuvepilai Paneer', 'Beetroot Kola Urundai', 'Erai Varuval', 'Kari Kola Urundai'. Kari Uppu Kari is one of the signature dishes along with Kari Kola Urundai. They were both very simplistic and full of flavour. The Kola Urundai served here comes sans the wrapping of the urundai with dried plantain fibres making it a bit easier to eat. The other standout dish was the Erai varuval. Though being deep fried, it was not at all greasy and had a very distinctive spiciness to it that made me feel just a subtle hotness which was instantaneously overcome by the aroma of the masala. 
(Karuvepilai Paneer) 
(Erai Varuval)
(Beetroot Kola Urundai)
A Thali is one of the best ways to understand how the fare in a restaurant is as invariably it includes most of the basic dishes that can otherwise be ordered a la carte. Keeping this in mind, I ordered a 'Karaikudi Special Thali' while my friend ordered a 'Mutton Biryani combo'. The Karaikudi thali was indeed special as it had about 19 items all beautifully plated in a big thali. If anyone can actually manage to finish everything in the thali, I'm sure they wouldn't even think about dinner. There was  fish, chicken as well as mutton curry along with rasam, vegetable kootu, a poriyal and masala fried whole egg. As accompaniments, the thali had parotta, variety rice, steamed rice with ghee served along with curd, pickle and appalam. A neer more accompanied the thali and a payasam to finish it. On the other hand, the Biryani combo was also huge. The combo consisted of a full portion of Mutton Biryani along with Raitha, masala fried egg and appalam. But what made it more interesting is the fact that the biryani combo also had parotta, Kari masala and some salna. This made it a perfect combo for hardcore carnivores like me. 
(Non Veg Karaikudi Special Thali)
(Mutton Biryani Combo)
Most of you by now know how much of a dessert fan I'm, so how could I skip desserts even after such a sumptuous meal. So we requested a dessert sampler plate. Although not part of the menu, the restaurant obliged us on the same. The plater consisted of 'Kauvn Arisi' and 'Aadi Kumaayam'. Both were distinctive in their taste and consistency while at the same time being very simplistic in composition.

Now comes the most important question amongst all. Did my palate burn at the end of the meal? Absolutely not. Does that mean my meal wasn't spicy? Of course, it was spicy but the sort of spiciness that leaves a lasting tingling effect and not the one that ends up burning you. This I'm told is the characteristic effect of an authentic Chettinad meal. And the secret to this is the fact that all masalas used in the preparation at Mango Tree are home prepared and grounded to avoid contamination with any elements that have an commercialization attached to it.

Mango Tree is located at 31, Jambulingam Street, Off Valluvar Kottam High Road in Nungambakkam. A meal for two would approximately cost you about Rs. 1200 while that Thalis are priced from Rs. 160 for the Executive Veg Thali to Rs. 340 for the Non-Veg Karaikudi Special Thali. The Biryani combos are priced from Rs. 290 for Veg to Rs. 420 for the Mutton Biryani combo.

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Monday 6 August 2018

Pumpkin is a dish that is seldom given the importance that it deserves. Most restaurants in Chennai do not even have one dish that champions Pumpkin. Being a very versatile ingredient, it can be used in a multitude of dishes ranging from soups to mains to desserts. But if you are that hardcore Pumpkin Lover, Chennai has a restaurant dedicated to Pumpkin amongst others. 

Aptly called 'Pumpkin Tales', this elegant restaurant in Alwarpet is truly a pumpkin lovers paradise. Every course on the menu has at least one dish that uses pumpkin as the core ingredient. To name a few, at Pumpkin Tales you can experience dishes such as P.E.L.T (their take on the well-known BELT sandwiches), Pumpkin Taco and Pumpkin Mutton bowl amongst others. 

We started our evening with some 'Pumpkin soup' and 'Carribean Chicken soup'. Having pumpkin as their hero ingredient, the pumpkin soup was fabulous with a perfect balance of earthiness and creaminess. The chicken soup too was nice in its own ways albeit being a little on the hotter side. We served with some in-house baked sourdough bread accompanied with butter to pair up with the soups.
(Pumpkin Soup)
(Carribean Chicken Soup)
For starters, we tried out the 'Grilled Tempeh' along with some 'Harissa Chicken Wings'. I was personally keen on savoring the tempeh as I've never tried it before. Tempeh is basically fermented soy cakes that are made in-house at Pumpkin Tales. The tempeh was grilled with some chili and cumin and had a crunch in every bite. It was definitely unique and a good alternative to those who are bored with soy. The chicken wings were the usual fare excepting here it was oven roasted rather than deep fried.
(Sourdough Bread)
(Grilled Tempeh)
As for the mains, we decided to try a couple of crowd favorites. First up was the 'Grilled Prawn Taco'. I was expecting a hard taco on the table but apparently, the dish is a soft taco dish. With a sumptuous quantity of prawns on each taco, this dish was refreshing definitely a great health eat. The taco was followed by a 'Mexican Chicken Bowl', just to continue with the cuisine. The bowl was loaded with rice, refried beans, vegetables, and salsa. However, I felt the dish could have been a little more generous on the cheddar and avocado as it definitely highlights the cuisine at hand. Post the Mexican fare, we went Mediterranean and ordered the Mediterranean Lamb Plate. We had a good quantity of lamb that was roasted served with some lemon butter potato, greek salad and a bread. The last main on the table was ordered based on the request from a fellow diner whose favorite it was. It was the famous Korean dish 'Bibimpap' and the variant that we ordered was the Tofu version. The Bibimpap was very close to the authentic one and is definitely one of the best in the city.
(Bibimpap)
(Mains)
With the mains done, it was now time to treat ourselves with some great desserts. We ordered a Mango Sorbet, Tiramisu Gelato, Pumpkin Pie and a regular Tiramisu. Trust me, the desserts were all out of the park and were amazing in their own ways. The Tiramisu can rightly be placed among the top 5 in Chennai. The Mango sorbet was as close to nature as it can get.
(Tiramisu)
(Mango Sorbet)
Overall, Pumpkin Tales is a great place if you want to enjoy soulful organic food. Adding to it, if you are Vegan, then this is the place you need to be frequenting as they have a huge number of dishes that can be prepared Vegan.

Pumpkin Tales is located at Bava Salai, Alwarpet and a 3-course meal for two would cost you about Rs. 1500.

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