YOU
BangaloreMirror
|
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2011
26
www.bangaloremirror.com/you
K
umarakom is better known asa tourist destination in Kerala,located near Kottayam, andwith the Vembanad Lake as itsbackdrop. The Kumarakom chain of restaurants also has its origins inKottayam, where Sojan and Mercystepped into the hospitality businesswith outdoor catering. After starting arestaurant in Black Thunder, the watertheme park at Mettupalayam, theyrelocated to Chennai and started thefirst Kumarakom restaurant atNungambakkam. Now multiple loca-tions in Chennai play host to therestaurant. True to the Malayali spirit,there are also a couple of outlets in ourother homeland – Dubai. The restau-rant at HSR Layout is their first ven-ture in Bangalore, and has an ambi-ence that immediately transports youto Kerala, with a décor that includes afew mural paintings, a charupadi insome areas, a chuttuvilakku, and evenright down to the boat-shapedsalt’n’pepper holder on the table.
Appetisers:
The menu does provide arange of options from traditional Keralacuisine, and if for some reason, those failto impress you much, there are someTandoori and Chinese options! In casesoups work better for you, the mildlyspicy Kozhi Kurumulaku soup (chickenand black pepper corn respectively)would be a good bet.
We ignored the Veg Spring Rolls,Chicken Lollipops and Katti Rolls anddecided to go for the ‘Chenda MuriyanKappa with Mulaku Chammanthi’(tapioca with chutney in case you areMalayalam challenged), Stuffed SquidFry and Green-masala-fried fish. Thelast two items were not available, sowe switched to the more standardKoonthal (squid) Fry and promoted amain course dish ‘Karimeen Pol-lichathu’ to opener status. I was ini-tially quite dismayed on account of the minuscule Chammanthi (chut-ney) provided with the Kappa, butsoon found that they had perfectlynailed the spicy green chilli-saltflavour, a small quantity of which canlast several rounds of Kappa. The tapi-ocas too had been boiled to perfection.The Karimeen Pollichathu is priced ac-cording to size (so ask beforehand) andcost us Rs 400, but the Pearlspot fishgrilled perfectly, with a banana leaf wrap, and a spicy sweet and tangy ‘se-cret masala’ was totally worth it. Thesquids in the Koonthal Fry were per-fectly fried and the masala had per-meated enough to make the dishwholesomely flavourful.
Entree:
The main course is easilyskewed towards non-vegetarians,though the creamy, coconutmilk-based Vegetable Stewwould find favour withall. It is difficult toidentify a favouriteamong the non-vegmain course dishes,because the masalasinvolved were onlyseparated by fine nu-ances. I would pick theDuck Roast, for its co-conut milk-based mildlyspicy, thick gravy, and meat thatwas tender. The Mutton Roast, a drydish with a tasty curry leaves flavour,would be a close second. The NaadanKozhi curry is also a coconut milk-based preparation and is a thinner ver-sion of the Duck Roast. The Meat Roastcould’ve been better, as the masala wasmore fluid than usual, and missed thegenerous coconut sliver presence thatmakes the dish special. The Prawns Frygot the frying part right, but lacked thezing that the squid’s masala had pro-vided. The Fish Moilee was a bit of adisappointment on account of itsblandness. The soft appams withcrispy edges proved to be a favourite,and the amazing pace at which theyappeared at the table was onlymatched by the speed with which theydisappeared soon after. The ‘alcoholic’version – Kallappam (Kallu = toddy)managed to get the flavour,albeit mildly. The Porot-ta was also perfectwith just the rightamount of flaki-ness. The Puttu wasa mild disappoint-ment as it was a tadtoo powdery. TheThattu Dosa was un-available for com-ment.
Afters:
On paper, thedessert options would make yousalivate in anticipation – Ela Ada,Ethakka Appam, Ethakka Roast, Jack-fruit with Coconut and Paani, and soon. But we were brought back to earthwith the now familiar ‘Unavailable’.The Caramelised Dried Ethappazhamturned out to be a bit too syrupy andhad less-than-ripe bananas and the AdaPradhaman was quite insipid too.
In all:
Kumarakom does quite a goodjob of delivering authentic Kerala cui-sine, and considering the portionsizes, the pricing is also just right. Thenon availability of certain dishes is thankfully compensated bythe tastiness of those that made it tothe table.
From top: Kappa Chammanthi, KoonthalFry, Duck Roast, Karimeen Pollichathu
BM VERDICT
Bangalore Mirror
reviews anonymously and pays for meals
Food
Kerala cuisine, withTandoori and Chineseadded for good measure!
Owner(s)
Sojan and Mercy. TheBangalore outlet isrun by their daughterSharu Jose.
Chef
Retheesh
Alcohol
No.
Price range
`
800-900 for two.
Parking
Street parking.
Wheelchair
No
accessService
Friendly and helpful.
Sound level
Moderate. The musicmoved from Malayalam moviesoundtracks to 90’spop to lounge musicin a couple of hours.
Ambience
You’ll feel completelyat home, the home inKerala, that is.
Hours
Daily 12 pm – 3.30pm, 7 pm – 11 pm
Home delivery
Only in HSR.
Reservations
It does get crowdedon weekends, so reserving in advancemight be a good idea.
Manu Prasadbmfeedback@indiatimes.com
710
DURGESH KUMAR Y
Kumarakom,
No. 23, 14th Main R
o
a
d, 4th Se
ct
orOpp. BDA Compl
e
x, HSR Lay
outB
angalor
e – 5
6
010
2Ph: 0
8
0 650
0
0117/8
A taste of God’s own country
For balconies with ample sunshine:
Plants that you can start off with aregeraniums, frangipani, pentas, bam-boo, roses, fountain grass, euphor-bia, hibiscus and roses. Water liliesneed overhead sunlight and aregood for terraces. Night queens toogrow well with sunshine.
Semi-shaded areas:
Palms do well inthis area. Even in a sunny balcony,you could bunch up a few palmstogether in a relatively shaded cornerto create an arbour like scene. Ferns,sweet potato vines (purple flowers),impatiens, thumbergia, calediums,philodendrons (very popular in bal-conies for its foliage) and anthuriumsare some attractive options.
Indoors:
Rooms with dappled sun-light and dark corridors can be hometo Ficus, zamia, syngonium, peacelily, a few varieties of philodendrons(requires dappled light so has to beplaced near windows), zebrina pen-dula or wandering Jew (a trailer thatlooks lovely in hanging pots), moneyplant and Leea Coccinea Burgundyare good to brighten up dark corners.
AESTHETICS
Greening a balcony or terrace isabout understanding plants and aes-thetics. Though plants look goodwhen they are healthy and do notneed much help in the looks depart-ment, the choice of planters andtheir placement makes the spacelook attractive. “Choose terracotta planters overplastic ones as plants can breatheeasy in the former. Cement plantersare too heavy and when you arethinking of growing the garden,weight issues need to be consid-ered,” says Reena. Introduce somepretty distractions like figurines, yes,even the garden stork, and windchimes to add to the appeal. Waterfeatures can be added to the space.Some prefer a wall mounted featureto save space. Vines like sweet pota-to vine can be made to climb up anattractive bamboo trellis. Trellises aregood ideas to block off an unsightlyview. Add some furniture if there isspace, be it a small tree stump or agarden bench. A terrace or a widebalcony can hold an outdoor tableand chairs for convenience.
MAINTENANCE
According to Reena, some plants areknown for the problems that plaguethem, “For instance, hibiscus plantsare known to be frequently infestedwith white flies that show up as pow-dery white substance. “You can washeach and every leaf and the stem withcarefully diluted soap solution. Or else,you can make a spicy solution of chill-ies and garlic and mix it with soapsolution to wash away the pest. Anddon’t forget to quarantine the infectedplant for a week or till it gets better.”
TIP
Decorate a sunny window ledgewith small potted cacti. They arelow on maintenance and look good.
VEGETABLES
“I believe that the residents of apart-ments should grow vegetables inboxes on the building’s terrace. It is agreat community project. For individ-ual apartments, you need 2-3 hours of direct sunlight for vegetables to growwell. Peas should be grown in midNovember,” says Dr Vishwanath. Hegives some tips for growing vegetables:
»
Select the seeds properly. Go toreliable stores and buy the seedsrather than buying fancy, expen-sive packets.
»
Grow local varieties for betteroutput. “Although all vegetablesgrow in this weather, some exoticforeign vegetables will be difficultto grow,” says Dr Vishwanath.
»
Start off with one or two varietiesinitially.
»
Use proper potting mixture. (onepart soil and seven parts of thenourishment mixture – two partscocopeat, two parts vermi com-post, two parts raw coir powder).
»
After the first flower appears, puta handful of nourishment mix-ture and subsequently every 15-20 days till the flowering stops.
»
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24
Ihre Neugier belohnen
Alles, was Sie lesen wollen.
Jederzeit. Überall. Auf jedem Gerät.
Keine Verpflichtung. Jederzeit kündbar.