Here comes the rain...

Monsoon season is almost upon us. Rain in Calicut often means big puddles, waterlogged roads, dirty feet and with it a cool freshness that lends the coastal air a special zing. 

When I was in Wayanad, my favorite activity on a rainy day was to snuggle with a good book, enjoying a hot, steaming plate of good old Maggi. I am sure everyone has a food memory attached to rain. There are those who have stood outside college and feasted on hot Pakoras from the roadside vendor on a cold, wet day. There are of course some other friends (like Rani), who have enjoyed walking in the rain, eating cold Ice Cream. There are still others who would vouch on a Masaledar Bhutta (Corn) to make their day, during monsoon.

So, in Calicut, at the onset of monsoon let me guide you all to Noufal Cholayil's Shop. From Mavoor Road when you turn right to enter the RP Mall Parking, his stall is right there on the side. He sells Cauliflower Bajis and Chilli Bajis. From the cozy, air conditioned mall, out into the sun or the rain, Noufal's Pakoda Trolly seems to be rightly placed to help you absorb the shock. The spicy, tangy  flavours, subconsciously takes you back to your childhood, where you cherished freshly stolen, raw mangoes with salt and chilli powder (from my mango stealing stories, Jinu now perceives any mango tree in Kerala to be social property; so stealing a mango is not stealing as such, at the least it is dignified stealing).

Now back to Noufal's Bajis...we have tried bajis in other streets of Calicut as well but Noufal stands out for his unique presentation, heart-load of Calicut hospitality and near-perfect location. He serves his bajis neatly on a piece of banana leaf laid over a steel plate. He has Gobi (Cauliflower) Baji, Mulagga (Capsicum) Baji, Parippu Vada and Roasted Peanuts. Both the Bajis taste extremely good but we have had better Parippu Vadas else where.

To sum it up...

Tasty Tasty ???? Yes Papa
Costly Costly??? No Papa
Healthy Healthy ??? Who Cares Papa

Maniyettan's Naadan Oonu (Read as Mani (Bro's) Traditional Lunch)

Traditional Lunch Houses (Mess Houses as they are called) are places which are considered to have fresh lunch on a daily basis. They manage to be pretty close to our home made preparations and thus are considered to be safe. Usually open only for lunch they see heavy footfall from the average office crowd. Calicut's Amma Mess is a pretty popular place and is heavily crowded on almost all days.

Two Mess Houses that we have found interesting are the Brother's Mess in Chelavoor (though they call it Brothers Hotel) and Chaithanya (hope I have got the name right) at Vengeri Junction in the Kannur Bypass Road. But the best of all has been Maniyettan. Maniyettan, is a local chef who cooks for our 'rarely rare' official lunches and dinners. He is sort of a freelancer, if the term applies to catering as well (he does not run a hotel, but cooks for parties) and is a master in his own right. 

A one-line review on Maniyettan's Naadan Oonu, would be, "Its home made in its real sense".

Thanks for the photographs Arun!!!

Reviewing DownTown

  

Metropolitan cities, like the one I grew up in, have always offered to their youth a slew of coffee shops. They would range from the serene and quaint to the most happening places where you could go to catch up with your friends or spend some time reading a good book, at the same time, enjoying an excellent coffee. After my shift to Kozhikode, I missed the good old coffee shop. Its cousin, the Cafe Coffee Day, did not serve to help because I hated the food there and somehow it never seemed to me a comfortable place. I longed for a place where I could sit down to relax, enjoy and just have some good fun. 

Last year I chanced upon DownTown and thought my wish had finally come through. A swanky looking small place which first attracted me with its decor and later with its mouth watering pastries. I had finally found heaven!

This place has changed much since the first time I saw it, I love bits of it and there are bits of it I don't like. So, here's my honest review of this place.

The first time I walked into this place, I was caught up with the neat looking decor and the handsome waiters. I have now found out that the waiters who serve us are in fact directors/members of the board of this hotel, which is planing to expand to different cities in Kerala. These young boys look real cool in their black mandarian-style shirts and blue jeans. Somehow this personalized attention they pay to this chain makes you feel real special.

About the food, well we have tried many things here, if not all. We have tried the Filter Coffee - which is excellent and at Rs. 50, I think quite well priced. The Cold Coffee with Ice Cream, which is my personal favourite, the Mint Lime with its oodles of crushed ice, which gave Nirmal brain freeze and the Saffron Tea, which was specially liked by my friend from London.

The Cold Coffee with Ice Cream

Filter Coffee!

Their burgers are great. We especially like the Yellow Chicken Burger. What is disappointing here are two things - the sandwiches and the sizzler. The bread in the sandwiches (we tried the Chicken Club) I felt was dry and rough and were cut to amazingly small sizes. It just made our eating experience bland and frustrating. Similarly, the Chicken Sizzler we tried was (for want of better words) just not right. It was high on pepper and salt and tasted like one of those chinese chicken curries with cornflour.

Burgers (Courtesy: DownTown Facebook Page)

What I love about this place are the pastries. They are simply heavenly. I believe that with DownTown opening in Calicut the entire baking industry has gone for an upheaval. If you want to see some of their most innovative cakes, log on to their facebook page and be awed.

 

Some Samples (Courtesy: DownTown Facebook Page)

 They have for some time been promising Pasta and Lasagna on their menu but whenever we ask, we are told its not on yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

(Courtesy: DownTown Facebook Page)

One thing that I do avoid at DownTown are the takeaways. They have kept some good looking small pastries and some Caramel Donuts in boxes which can be picked up as desert choices when guests come home but they don't stand tall next to the fare served there. The last time I had guests I bought the Caramel Donuts to serve after dinner. After talking about the place for over half hour when I introduced the Donuts to  them, my guests were all excited. However, to our horror and later embarrassment, these donuts were flat out hard and very rubbery. When I put them in the microwave and reheated them, they were still not soft enough and we could barely taste the caramel. Their pastry takeout was another disaster, which luckily my husband and I tried out in the confines of our home.

Before I forget, now that the place has been hip and happening, I find crowd management to be a huge issue. Mostly because, you go to a coffee shop to lounge and chat and basically spend time. But, given the smallness of the place it often becomes too crowded and too noisy. The last time I went there in the evening, I found the music too loud and the place too crowded for me to enjoy anything at all. Hence, I have vowed to go there only in the afternoon's when I know, it will be just the way I want it to be.

P.S.: Oh! and I think I may have tipped a millionaire, 20 bucks.

Diversity @MGrill

Yesterday, we had a large party at home, our friends from Bangalore wanted something Continental; our parents wanted to have Parotta and some Malabari Curry; our mind was wavering to Italian - the only place in Kozhikode that offers such variety is MGrill at Focus Mall, so off we went.

Let me begin by stating the obvious, I love MGrill. It gives me a wide variety of food under one roof and rarely disappoints me. The bearers are very polite and always ready to help. I also love the whole ambiance, with the open kitchen and all. Somehow the sight of fresh food being made, the smell of different ingredients and the heat in the air (from all the cooking), adds to the food experience (for me). 

We began with our favorite, the Traditional French Soup, served in a bread bowl, it is creamy and very whole. I especially love the fried onions that are added to the soup, really enhances the flavor. If had alone, it is enough to fill one's stomach but since we were sharing, it managed to heighten our taste buds to enjoy the lavish dinner. My six-month old, loved the Soup and kept asking for more.

 

(Our photography skills are just developing, we apologize in advance for the sloppy pictures)

 (A picture from their Facebook page, looks more tempting here)

(I momentarily stopped feeding her, to take a picture...It didn't go down too well with her)

For the main dish, we all ordered diversely. Our friends had the Honey Balsamic Chicken and the Chicken Portobello, we had the Arrabbiata, while our parents shared Maida/Wheat Parotta with the Fish Mango Curry and the Kerala Prawns Curry. 

 

 (Honey Balsamic Chicken

Courtesy: MGrill Facebook Page)

(Our picture...It never looks the same does it?)

Our friend's young son, who ate the Chicken Portobello said, "The chicken is quite nice", which is huge praise coming from a 12-year old. The Honey Balsamic Chicken was also awesome, I especially liked its smoothness. 

 

We enjoyed the Arrabbiata, the pasta was very well made and juicy. The olives were well blended and added zing to the spiciness of the tomato-based sauce. To the Parotta and Malabari Curries my parents replied, "Kozhapam Illa", which is awesome, 'cause they rarely like eating out.

Why no deserts, well I would have loved to try some Choco Mudpie but my daughter was past her sleeping time. Somehow toddlers never appreciate food over good sleep. Hence, had to leave in a hurry. 

For some the prices at MGrill may look a little high but for us this lavish dinner came to about Rs 250/- per person, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

Our benchmarks for a good food place

Nirmal Reporting:

Our general theory on Kozhikode's food places is that the one who cant pay justice to a 'Kozhikodan Biriyani' does not deserve to run a hotel in this paradise for foodies. Many of our friends from the south of Kerala, find this part of the State pretty laid back in terms of aspirations (May be, they haven't looked at the latest socio-economic statistics). But all them agree to the taste that even the smallest hotel establishment of Kozhikode ensures. For us, anybody who finds Kozhikode's food (Malabari food in general) not for his/her taste buds, should better get their tongues tested.

Our food experiences here have ranged from the most Traditional to Continental. The Tattu Dosa made in front of New Tops Bakery, Malapparambu (there has been some rearrangement in their placement these days, we are yet to figure it out); Nattholi Fry at Dolphin Restaurant in MM Ali Road; Traditional French Soup at MGrill, Focus Mall; Goan Fish Curry at King's Bay; Beef Biriyani at Rahmath Hotel; Chicken Ala-Kiev at Sea Queen; Fish Fry at Amma Mess; Traditional Lunch (Uunu) at Brother's Hotel, Karanthur, have all been heart stealers. They have surprised our palates and left us wanting for more. Surprisingly, there are many more that deserve our attention, we hope our blog will give them their due.

Kozhikode, however is no food haven, you can easily lose your way if you are not guided well. We have had our share of sob stories to tell. We were once served Chicken Strogonoff, when we ordered Chicken Ala Kiev at the Sea Queen Hotel, even as the bearer kept insisting that it was Ala Kiev. On 'summoning' the restaurant manager, he first defended the bearer saying, "Chicken Ala Kiev can be made this way as well". Unfortunately for him, we didn't agree and he had to replace the dish with the original. Though he did later come to clarify, he said, "People in Kozhikode like the Strogonoff version better, so we don't serve the other thing." Another story of regret, was our time at Garlic Routes, first with their burnt Sizzler and then a second time with their sticky, overcooked Biryani, made us very angry. We have not yet forgiven them for the Biriyani. Copperfolia disappointed us on our wedding anniversary with their portion sizes and ambiance (or should we say, the lack of it).

In short our culinary journey has had good and bad times, but predominantly they have been good. For a long time we had been planning to jot down these experiences..and now here is where we have found the space.

And so we begin...

When I first came to Kozhikode (3 years ago), I had no friends and absolutely no clue as to where to go, to get good food. Having been a foodie all my life, I turned to the Internet for respite but found nothing, no blog posts, no recommendations, no discussions and whatever it is that you expect Google to magically show you when you type, "Kozhikode" and "Food". The one place people kept talking about was Paragon, beyond that nothing emerged.

Considering the diverse and extraordinary food tradition of Malabar, this ignorance is a huge loss.

My husband and I, took it upon ourselves to explore the city and over the course of 3 years have visited about 70% of the eateries here. So, on our 3rd wedding anniversary, we have decided to begin a food blog. Considering our ambiguous nature, combined with my computer illiteracy, I don't know how long this interest is going to last. But in our time here, we hope to reacquaint our followers with the food culture of Malabar, introduce you to eateries in Kozhikode and give you a common wo/man's opinion about food.

I hope you enjoy this experience as much as we do.