Fire down under

This spicy South Indian restaurant in Saket is a serene oasis for the tired mall hopper

Fire down under

This spicy South Indian restaurant in Saket is a serene oasis for the tired mall hopper

Howu00a0many of us have missed the donut by looking through the hole? If it is easy for you to accept that you are a sloppy south Delhiite who ducks into one of the restaurants in the malls in Saket on a weekend, it won't be difficult for you to admit that you probably haven't paid Kaustubh a visit yet. Frankly, I surely hadn't until yesterday.

Dropping in at the south Indian restaurant tucked behind one of the malls in Saket was one chore I had procrastinated for a reason. If you are a proclaimed meat-eater, you wouldn't allow yourself to be caught in a restaurant which serves only vegetarian food. Simply sacrilegious! But as the Zen gurus say ufffd no snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. So there I was, victim to a series of uncontrollable events, sitting in a vegetarian place with a vegan friend doing the unthinkable.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0

Chettinad chargers
Kaustubh took me back to school, at least the spartan wooden table and chairs did, and all I had to do was wait for a portly mess-in-charge sporting a walrus moustache, to enter. Thankfully, it was a young man clad in jeans and T-shirt. Kunal, a rolling stone who among other things was running a star-studded resort owned by a union minister in Manali, floated the idea of a vegetarian south Indian restaurant two years back.

Having survived the game for almost two years now, Kunal introduced me to the success stories of his menu. The place serves mainly cuisines from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerela and Karnataka. The star among the starters was Cheese Kuzhi Paniyaram ufffd rice balls in melted cheese served with Madurai chutney.

This Chettinad snack undergoes an elaborate preparation process (I'm sure grannies nowadays aren't going to soak the rice in water for 2-3 hours or ferment the dough overnight) before it reaches your plate. Keerai Vadai is another thing you can't give a miss here. The keerai or the spinach is what makes this urad daal vada exotic to Delhi's palate.

Firing squad
To make sure Tamil Nadu doesn't hog all the limelight, I was served Kai Stew, vegetables cooked in coconut milk. The Chettinad magic worked and I ended up having Kaalan Masala. This button mushroom dish tossed in green chillies and tomato masala should be tried out with Malabari parantha. Another must have accompanimentu00a0 here is the Sanna. These fermented warm, soft and fluffy balls of rice are great with pork vindaloo or the Goan sorpotel, but here I tried it out with the vegetarian dishes and it turned out to be pretty decent. You can finish your meal with a Chakkarai Pongal (rice cooked with jaggery and cardamom). Have it as breakfast, a meal or dessert ufffd you can't go wrong with this one. Kaustubh is for the mall-hopper who seeks a little peace and simplicity after having tried out all the food courts and restaurants. It is your Zen oasis surrounded by the chaos of opulence. As they say, when the student is ready, the master appears. I have emerged a changed man after my tryst with this vegetarian restaurant. Are you ready?

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels