Lala Samosa Wala, East Kalmandapam Road, Royapuram

Walking along the streets of Royapuram the first time, I was counting the seconds until I found a nice snack shop or the other in one of these small lanes. Just when I was losing hope, I cross this small eatery. I was about to ignore it thinking they were the usual street Chaat shop, but I went back to give it a second look. It was a shop that made primarily Samosas! That delicious crispy evening snack that is filled with masala/salted potato mash.

                          Samosas - Flaky and yum.
Owner - busy at work with his son

                                                Somas - snack with a sweet rava filling

A grumpy looking Uncle, presumably the owner was busy frying them up. His son was making kachoris right next to him. That was a nice sight seeing the momo like dough shaped deftly by hand and stuffed with the kachori filling before frying immediately. I noticed they used good oil (Sunflower) from the container below. They also make Paal Kova, a sweet called Somas and some other sweetmeats which weren't prepared yet. 

I got just two Samosas (rs 10 each), one Channa (rs 25) and a Somas (rs 10 each) parcelled. It was only after 90 minutes that I was able to open up the packet in the comfort of home and taste these. But they held up excellently.

The Samosas weren't very oily and tasted very good owing to the good crunchiness and nicely spiced potato innards. The Somas' filling was like a hard rava ladoo and good too. The fact that everything was freshly prepared was easy to taste. Channa curry was also very tasty with some onions chopped and sprinkled. I refrigerated it and ate it for breakfast the next morning! 

Annam Cafe, Design Hotel by Justa - Chettinad Festival With the King of Fruit

Not many people know that there's an entire hotel with 26 rooms and a restaurant hiding in plain sight in Phoenix Mall, Velachery. Justa Hotels' Chennai avatar is the very interesting Design Hotel. This was the second time I'd visited the hotel and like the first time, I was super impressed by the Hotel's architecture and aesthetics. The first time was during a food walk at Phoenix mall's restaurants which famous foodie Kunal Vijayakar had explored with us.


The Hotel has a separate side entrance for itself at the mall with its own elevator and baggage screening facility. If you're trying to find the entrance from inside the mall, it may prove to be a task since it's not very prominent.




The Hotel's Side Entrance

The Design

On entering the place, not unexpectedly, the design n decor is what strikes you at first, right from the hallways that lead to the guestrooms to the traditional yet modern interiors. Each hallway has a completely different theme and needs to be seen to be appreciated. The Maya hallway especially is one that's aptly named: "Maya" means illusion. I felt mildly uneasy from the effect it had. Very impressive design work! I am told even the hotel rooms along each hallway are designed thematically.

The ambiance is unique/quiet with comfortable seating (important) that includes sofas. There's a TV running silently and also an open counter bar-like setup. Once they get their bar license in some time, they should be able to serve liquor.

Chettinad Festival with the King of Fruit - Mango - The Food!

Note: The Chettinad Festival has since concluded (was from June 15-25th) so if you plan to visit now, you will find their usual menu that's found at Zomato. They have a typical Cafe menu with sandwiches but also plenty of restaurant fare like curries, parathas and a continental breakfast spread! They are expecting to receive a liquor license soon and could serve drinks so watch out for that announcement!

I was interested to see how they would use the mango in a spicy cuisine like Chettinad.


<-- Kozhi varuval with onion rings coated in a thick yoghurt

The menu seemed pretty familiar but there were surprises like the Broccoli and Cauliflower Chettinad Peratal ------->

...the Kothu Barotta and the Mango desserts. There was also a nice Ghee rice served up to pair with the Chicken and Mutton Chettinad curries.

Kozhi Varuval was also served up with menacing looking chillies but the spice level was not high. Although the spice mix was decent, the overly tart flavour of fresh tomatoes (excess tomatoes/ needed more cooking) disappointed. But it was freshly made and the onion rings that accompanied had a unique coating which had thick yoghurt blended in. Nice touch.

A refreshing mango juice was brought before the main course which had a nice sour taste of mango in it. I correctly guessed that the chef had mixed up some nice mango pickle to give it that nice spicy kick. Good one. 

The Chicken and mutton Chettinad gravies shared the same base and were tender and nice enough to eat with the barottas and ghee rice topped with well-fried onions. The mildly flavored Nadar style mutton korma was better suited to go with the ghee rice of course and went well it did.

Dat cutlery though..

The Barottas were good and served crisp. Kothu Barotta which is a favorite Southern local dish made by ripping up a barotta, adding a spicy chicken or mutton gravy and egg sometimes and going crazy mixing it all up was good too. There were good chunks of mutton in it but a local version usually has smaller bits of meat.

<--- Kothu Barotta

The dessert session was lively and Chef Suresh was hands-on, preparing the elaborate plated versions of Mango Pannacotta and Baked Yoghurt. Both of the desserts were very nice indeed with every form of mango showcased from the raw diced to the baked and pureed form. It was hard to stop eating spoon after spoon.

All in all, the menu was a compact one with some good dishes and local items mixed in too. The dessert was lovely. However, I expected lot more mango influence in the main course. So would be nice to see them developing some more interesting mango dishes next season! Drop in to Annam Cafe and explore the menu in their comfy, quiet setting right in the heart of Phoenix Mall.

Organic Shandy, Alwarpet

The word "Shandy" comes from the Tamil word "Sandhai" meaning farmer's market. And that is exactly what happens at The Shandy, located next to MCTM school, Alwarpet. Every day, organic farmers from all over TN and India send their precious produce here to be displayed and sold wholesale (to other organic stores) and retail. 

The place hides in plain sight right on the main road. Walking along Luz Church road one evening, I came across this house buzzing with activity, crates of fruit n veggies everywhere. There was no board of any sort so I kept walking thinking it was a storehouse. But then curiosity got the better of me and I headed back and enquired. They said it was an organic fruit and vegetable store. 

So what's so special about this place you ask? Aren't there tons of organic branded stores selling like hot cakes now? 

Well, the difference is that this place's owners are passionate farmers themselves who have been growing "organically" for more than 2 decades now.  Much before the word organic got into the Indian mainstream. Mr. Hari Sethuraman and Mr. PB Murali started off growing organic mangoes and paddy in their land in Punnamai village outside Chennai and since then have become very involved in helping other farmers grow their produce as "naturally" as possible. 

Prices of organic products at the Shandy are kept affordable since the owners believe organic should be a social movement. Many of the customers who buy from here are also farmers who sell their produce here. 

  

Organic mangoes - They ripen quick and seem to spoil faster than normally grown mangoes (with chemicals/pesticide). 

Jaljeera and Ginger Nectar!

The fridge also has some other interesting items like freshly made cheeses!

That's Mr. Hari (R) and Mr. Murali (L) - the Founders

                                                                                       Organic vegetables on display! 

There was a busy man coordinating who was luckily the founder, Mr Hari. Once I started speaking to him, it was apparent this was not the usual organic shop but much more than that

He explained to me how the soil has the capability to regenerate itself through intelligent planting that mimics natural ecosystems. Their farm uses Integrated farming techniques that naturally preserve (through natural microbial interactions) the soil's chemical balance rather than blindly using NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) based fertilizers. 

The outlet has no AC, just one fridge n freezer for milk products, everything was out in the open and there were plenty of mangoes everywhere. Came to know later that this is because refrigerating produce is against organic principles! 

A Chat about Growing the right way...

I spoke at length to Mr Hari the younger of the duo about their journey over the years. Unlike the other big organic stores, the owners of The Shandy know most of the farmers personally over the years. In fact, they have helped many farmers grow food without pesticides with their know-how. Ask him about any food on the shelves and he would wax eloquent about its speciality and the story behind the farmer who cultivated it.

Like he told me about the sulphurless sugar treated with roots of Okra (rs 90 per kg), the superb grapes that come seasonally from Nashik grown by a passionate farmer (only their dried grapes/raisins are available now), the wild cashews that grow free range and the Ginger nectar that is made through an elaborate process in-house. Since I wanted a healthy breakfast alternative, he recommended the millet mix that can be made into a porridge. 

When to buy

Veggies are sold every Tuesday, Wed, Thursday. Seasonal fruits are sold on all days. Sunday - Holiday.

Foods I bought

Since their speciality is mangoes, I decided to get a kilo of Baganapalli mangoes which were smelling heavenly. rs 90/ kilo. Mine had to ripen for two days before I had them. Lovely taste even though I cut them open a day early. The sweetness was just perfect. They also have other variants of mangoes.

Sulphurless sugar: Rs 92/kg

Organic sugar where the molasses is removed without using sulphur. Instead they use Okra root (ladiesfinger) to remove it naturally. It has a coloured tinge to it and taste different to the usual white sugar.

Milk (Vanam brand) 70 per litre

The milk is kept frozen along with butter. I got a litre of it to check it out since it was recommended. However, since I bought a non frozen packet and travelled for an hour I felt it had gone slightly sour. Tasted very different from the Aavin milk we buy lots of flavor. The cow breed whose milk is sold here is predominantly Sahiwal among other native breeds and yes, they are A2 milk! Will be trying the milk again. Be sure to get the frozen packets to bear travel in the heat. While I was at the Shandy, the owner of the dairy farm came to get their veggies n fruits!

Dry Grapes/Raisins: Rs60.

While talking with Hari, he was all praise for a passionate farmer friend from Nashik who apparently cultivates amazing grapes and sends them over. Asked him if they were available but unfortunately no. But they did have stock of dry grapes/raisins made from those grapes which were sun-dried. I bought a packet of them to try. He wasn't kidding, the raisins were unlike any I've had before. Dark raisins with a deep, complex flavour and big sized, I finished it off in a day! Must try if in stock.

Jaljeera from The Warm Brown - rs 70 for 200 ml

Noticed this cute Jaljeera bottle in the fridge next to an even cuter bottle of Ginger nectar (rs 150) with a cork stop. Impressed with the lovely mild flavors. I've found other brands too strong for my liking but this one was great. Great for the tummy as well. The Shandy stocks only a few outside organic brands that they can vouch for. In fact, some of the companies on their shelf source the raw fruits/nuts from them and sell back the finished product to The Shandy.

Millet Mix: Rs. 120 for 500 gms.

This was recommended when I asked for a healthy breakfast item. This can be prepared like Oats and had in the mornings he said. Yet to try it. Smells like ragi ladoo. :D

Broken Wheat Rava - rs 35

Yet to use this one as well.

In conclusion, a very nice place to try if you're looking for actually organic consumables. It's been running for years now.