S, B and I went recently to Windsor Pub our once hallowed haunt, till the city fathers played tic, tac, toe and made the roads ’one way’. Have you wondered what would happen if the authorities realise their ultimate fantasy and turn all our roads to one ways? Scary thought, right?
Anyways, isn’t it odd that you get the best nadaan ‘erachi olathiyathu’ (beef fry) in a pub that has such a fancy propah name, Windsor Pub? I have always been intrigued by the item in the menu card called ‘bad word curry’, I will ask for explanations next time. S loves the ‘veddi erachi’, surely for the taste and also for the fact that he can use the word ‘veddi’, without the fear of achayans looking to see who his companion was. One cannot say ‘veddi erachi’ in Kerala loudly like you can at Windsor for obvious reasons.
For those who want to have some good food to go with beer here are my recommendations. Try the crab meat balls, and of course ‘veddi erachi’. For the main course, we usually ask for the appams and ‘erachi olathiyathu’ we request the polite stewards to retain some gravy in the beef. It is a great combo, you can also try appams with the pandi curry. We have also tried the non-veg executive lunch, the sausage dishes and fish fingers. For the veggies, the cheese toast is recommended as starters.
Kalpaka, on Kammanahalli Main Road about 100 metres from Nilgiris, is another place that serves near authentic mallu fare at very decent prices. Check out the spicy red fish curry, a speciality of Central Travancore. The morre and Kerala sambhar is pretty good too. Try the meals with the fish curry and the seer fish fry, brilliant. They serve it with avial, cabbage/beans thoran and coconut chamandi, not as good as the one Amachi makes, still good enough. If you are lucky you may get mashed tapioca as well. However, the erachi olithayathu has always been a disappointment, the meat always falls short. The place doesn’t boast of the best decor so be warned before you take guests for ‘authentic Kerala cuisine’.
Last Sunday I took SK and his colleague V to Karavalli at Taj Gateway. As soon as I met them V said that all through the flight SK was talking about having some good sea food like prawns and shrimps. We ordered meen polichathu (fish cooked in banana leaf) as starters. They loved it, I am not very fond of it for the fact that it is too westernised – appears red and scary but limp when it comes to taste. SK wanted kulcha to go with shrimp curry and the steward looked at me for deliverance. (SK is a confused NRI, born in Africa, studied in UK, worked in South Africa and India. So authentic Indian food for him is kulcha and butter chicken.) I suggested appams, the safest bet and they agreed it was a very good combo. My view of Karavalli is that it is a place with great settings and good variety, with some astronomical prices, but really not worth it.
Coconut Grove is good once a year, for the Onam lunch. Otherwise it is an apology for Kerala cuisine. I have also tried ‘Ravi’s Kitchen’ at Koramangala, pretty decent.
Two things that Bangalore needs is a beach and a good kallu shaap.
Hey Dave…also remember the cheese stuffed mushrooms we used to eat at Windsor? Those were great too. But nothing beats the great revelation we heard from A that Christmas lunch, i am convinced that he was lying through his hat.
Yes the mushrooms and the cheese toast used to vanish before it was even kept on the table
. A, for sure, was high on beer.
No, i think he was just showing off