Mumbai: Enjoy Kerala soul food at this shack-like eatery in Juhu

Take a little water in your palms and sprinkle over it. It's not mandatory, just a custom," our friend who hails from Kochi tells us as we listen intently, running our palms over a green banana leaf. We are inside a shack-like space, dotted with brown chairs that look like they were drawn up by the designer for Nilkamal furniture after they visited the Fab India Experience Centre.

The space inside Nambiar's Kerala Kitchen, which opened a week ago, is much like a large circular balcony, and a sheath of plastic ivy running around its circumference serves as the wall. Even on a hot summer afternoon, it is surprisingly cool inside. And though the interiors aren't exactly an architect's dream, the ambiance is pleasant.

Parotta and chicken coconut curry

We settle at a table in one corner and pore over the menu, muffling a chuckle when we come across a section called "fired items". From there, we select the prawn dry fry (Rs 250). "I saw nethilli on the menu. It's like this small variant of fish [much like anchovy] that we eat back at home and I couldn't believe they had it. I checked... they're not serving it today," our disheartened friend shares. We assuage him by pointing to other authentic-sounding delicacies and pick the fish meal (Rs 350), prawn Thalassery biryani (Rs 290), coconut roasted chicken curry (Rs 250) and Malabar parotta (Rs 40 each).

The food arrives sooner than we expected and we dig into the "fired" prawns. They have a thick, coagulated coating that is flavourful, but which compromised the prawns that are now slightly overcooked. It's delicious all the same. The fish meal, or the meen thali, comes with brown rice, Malabar fish curry and various condiments. The helpings are generous and we enjoy the home-style flavours, the piquancy of the fish and the comfort of the avial, a light sabzi made with drumsticks and other veggies. But our friend points out, "The fish curry itself is not authentic in flavour, but the thali is a proper sadhya and the churakka pachadi [a mélange made with bottle gourd, coconut, chillies, mustard seeds and other spices] is spot on."

Prawn Thalassery biryani

We choose not to finish the thali to leave some space for the biryani, which comes next. "This is a win for me. They have made it with short-grain rice and it tastes far milder, just like a Thalassery-style biryani should be," he remarks, savouring each bite with thick raita (or in this case, raitha). We, too, enjoy the delicacy, even though imagining a biryani that does not feature basmati is a hard task for us.

Next up, we try the parottas, which are flaky and soft like play dough. "You would get this at a roadside shop in Kerala. It's the real deal," our friend tells us. We dip the fluffy parottas into the rich coconut chicken curry, relishing the dish, which is brimming with tangy and chatpata flavours. And while our friend enjoys the kozhambu [the gravy base], he says he would have preferred a milkier version that made use of more coconut.

Nambiar's Kerala Kitchen

Be that as it may, we are fully satiated, and our happiness is doubled when we get the bill since we won't have to break the bank to pay it. So, we guess it's safe to say that when a lavish lunch doesn't burn a hole in your pocket, the meal is definitely meen...oops, mean!

AT: Nambiar's Kerala Kitchen, Shiv Sagar Building, Juhu.
TIME: 8 am to 11 pm
CALL: 61736289

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates