The title will be familiar to Keralites or Mallus as we are referred to in Bengaluru😀; for the benefit of non-Keralites it literally translates to Tapioca Jackfruit Chilli.

Located in Koramangala, it’s the name of a new restaurant in the city serving a taste of Kerala in Bangalore. For a taste of home; we arrived at the place on a Saturday afternoon hungry and without making reservations.

“Table for 3 please” we asked.

“You will have to wait for 30 min, all tables are currently occupied; but you are first on the waiting list” said the host.

We chose to wait, soon there was a crowd waiting for tables in front of the restaurant. Couldn’t help overhearing the man speaking to a lady on the phone who wanted to make a reservation “Sorry madam, reservations are full, you will have to come as a walk-in only”. Hmm… arriving without reservations was not a bad idea☺️.

Finally we got a table; inside the restaurant is a single large dining hall; noisy, like a college canteen and even that has a certain nostalgia and charm. There is also outside seating on the balcony.

Soon the menu got our undivided attention and we couldn’t wait to start tasting. Inside the menu is a note by the Chef Regi Mathew saying he had to coax and cajole the grandmothers👵🏻 in Kerala to tell him the little secrets and combinations that make the dishes rich in taste🍛.

We wanted to try almost everything on the menu😋, but had to make choices, so here’s what we tried 👇

The dinner plate had a real banana leaf – wow !! I don’t remember that last time I ate on a banana leaf 😘. Lovely !!

Pazham Pori with Beef curry is a combination of sweet banana fritters and spicy beef curry.

Must taste Kappa and green chilli😋. The Kappa is boiled to perfection, bland until you dip a morsel into the green chilli chutney. Then it tastes divine !!

Pidi and Chicken curry is uniquely Kerala and you must have a taste !!

There are different types of puttu biryanis, you have to try one, we tried the Chicken Puttu Biryani. In addition to the chicken filling, there is also half a boiled egg in the middle of the puttu, to complete the biryani, served with pappadam and coconut chutney.

The Kol Ice cream brings back old memories🥰, the Kandhari Ice cream was delicious – had a kick of chilli. The drink Absolute Kandhari was way too spicy for me – maybe for not for the faint hearted.

While leaving the kid said that we didn’t try any of the fish dishes…true, next time and the cloud pudding too. A sequel is eagerly awaited. A good place to have a weekend brunch with friends and family. Try it out !!

Till next post, take care !!