July 22, 2010

From God’s own country!















It was one of those odd rainy days when instead of wanting to curl up with a hot steaming cuppa, I was in the mood for another kind of steaming kappa; only this one is called tapioca. And when my part Palakkad roots start tugging for attention, I can’t help but give in. To make matters worse, I had just finished seeing Michael Madana Kama Rajan and Kameshwaran and Tirupura Sundari’s kitchen adventures/misadventures were fresh in my memory.

So, being the glutton that I am, I called up two of my fellow musketeers and ex-colleagues, and set a date to feast on some authentic Kerala cuisine. The destination of choice? Well, Ente Keralam it had to be, after all what’s more authentic than a place that translates to ‘My Kerala’ right?

I’ll be honest here. I’m really not one who is rooted in tradition; my loyalty to Kerala lies in my patronage of toddy, my views on the Marxist party and a few Mammootty and Mohanlal movies. But what I absolutely love about Kerala is the cuisine. I don’t know how better to explain it, so I think it would suffice to say that everything tastes fresh, pure and unadulterated.

Anyway, coming back to where it began – Yes, my craving! There I am, standing like a buffoon, rain drenched and waiting for my friends, fuming, my eyes doing a poor imitation of the Kathakali, when the two of the finally arrive, profusely apologetic. Determined that nothing should come between my kappa and me, I brush aside their apology and we enter the warm abode of Ente Keralam. The antique oak wood pillars and fragrant flowers beckon you and the palatial old-style bungalow serves as the perfect restaurant setting, even as ‘chechis’ and ‘chettans’ smile warmly and offer you a seat.

We start of by ordering some banana flower cutlets, karimeen polichathu and chicken fry. All arrive piping hot and while we make a mad dash for crisp, spicy and juicy chicken and cutlets, it was the karimeen that had my Bong friend raving! Three down and many to go, we decided that main course would be Moplah biryani, my revered and beloved kachi more, kappa and meen curry, white rice and mushroom curry. The biryani which arrived looking like a bed of plump white rice sprung a surprise when we found it be decadently layered with subtle spices and meat. While I wolfed down the kappa, my friend went at the meen curry and white rice; her verdict? “If this is not living the good life, then what is?” And not only did the rest of us agree, we decided to be brave, show solidarity and order some more.

And then arrived the creamy jackfruit ice-cream! Now I’m really not a big fan of this spiky guy, but honestly, this is what I love about Ente Keralam. That even the most ordinary and smelly fruit can be made to something so luscious and wonderful! Cheque paid, the three of us sunk into their comfortable seats and sipped on our suleman chai, not talking, but just listening to the music instead. And what do you know, with food so good, even the usually horrible Malayalam rap music was music to our ears!

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