South Indian Heaven at Saravana Bhavan

On Saturday, I had a late lunch after a tiring morning, at good old Saravana Bhavan in T.Nagar. Long back, on a temple trip, I had Tamil Nadu meals on a proper, huge banana leaf at Saravana Bhavan, Kancheepuram. That was a fantastic meal – a delicious break in a strenuous journey.

Coming back to Saturday – the meal was on a steel plate layered with banana leaf (makes the meal less messy) and came with little cups of the most familiar delicacies. I arranged the sambar, rasam, potato fry, paruppu thovaiyal, kootu, vathal kuzhambu, beetroot payasam ;-) (more like syrup), pickle, curd and buttermilk around my plate. The appalam proudly wore a cloak of oil, yet managed to look innocent.    

The sambar had a big drumstick piece and radish slices occupying most of the cup, so I decided to start with the rasam. It was simply delicious, with a tinge of sweetness. The spicy potato fry, laced with garlic complemented it perfectly. My father later told me that it was pineapple rasam. From that moment I became a fan.

I was so hungry that I tried out everything that looked interesting – I had kootu and thuvaiyal saadham. The thuvaiyal was tasty but not really ideal for saadham. My Mom said the pickle was very good, but by then I had become full. I plopped the curd onto my plate and ate it plain. It was yummy. I followed it up with the buttermilk.

The vathal kuzhambu and sambar were left over. I wished I’d tried vathal kuzhambu instead of thuvaiyal; but next time I will definitely try it :-).

As a conclusion, when you want a good old South Indian meal that is sure to make you go “Besh Besh” from the bottom of your heart, head to Saravana Bhavan. Skip your fork routine once in a while and enjoy the flavours & satisfaction that only a South Indian-style meal can offer.