It is the perfect filler. Margazhi is off-season for weddings, so established caterers are cooling their heels. The month moderates the temperature; rains dip it further, making silk-wear warm and welcome. Music is in the air and a host of sabhas promise the best in music and dance. Put it all together, and what do you get? Sabha canteens, where you can spend time critiquing performances, catching up with regulars, collecting “I saw X” bragging rights — all of it over sumptuous food and superlative coffee. So if you’re sabha-hopping this Season, here is a food guide to sustain it.
At the Music Academy , I meet N. Murali, president. “Canteens are an important part of the music Season in Chennai. Rasikas who spend hours here need good, healthy food, which we provide. We all eat here during this time,” he says. The umbrella tent is all set to serve from 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. from December 15 to January 1 and again from January 3 to 9. Caterer Padmanabhan, who has been here for eight years, has gathered a sizeable foodie fan-following. Breakfast is south-Indian, and lunch is kalyana saapadu on a nuni vaazhai elai with mini meals as an option.
The tent gets packed by 3.30 p.m. with visitors tucking in for the long evening ahead. Choices include arisi upma, adai-avial, kuzhi paniyaram , masala and nei -roast dosai, poori kizhangu . “We serve a total of 2,000 plates daily; tiffin alone touches 500,” says Padmanabhan. No compromise on quality, he says repeatedly. “Many well-known personalities and artistes will vouch for it. Charges are from Rs. 50 While dosais are priced between Rs. 50 and Rs. 55 the noon means costs Rs. 200. “I want people to enjoy the food as much as they enjoy the high-quality music.”
At Mylapore Fine Arts Club , the food kutcheri is neatly aligned with the sabha’s music timetable. It starts at 8 a.m. with an idli-pongal-vadai-sweet breakfast, accompanied by sambar-chutneys. Lunch begins at 11.30 a.m., tiffin goes on from 3 to 9 p.m. “I’ve set up shop at this hall for 15 years now,” says K. Baskaran of Meenambika Caterers. “My ashoka halwa, double-decker idli and ammani kozhukattai haven’t lost their popularity.” At Rs. 150, his lunch is popular too, with people from nearby offices lining up for the sweet, pachadi, kari, kootu, vathal, podi, mixed-rice combo he serves. “It’s difficult to satisfy Mylapore rasikas,” he says, “but that’s how you establish your brand and get on top of the competition.” Most of the music greats have stepped in for snacks. I’ve served Nithyasree, Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan, Ghatam Karthick, Bombay Sisters and others.”
At the Brahma Gana Sabha (MCTM School), S. Ravi of Shenbagambiga Marriage Catering Service, is serving Nalli Kuppuswami Chetty, politician L. Ganesan and friends, and wondering how his vazhapoo vadais are going down with them. “Excellent,” says Nalli Kuppuswami. Open since December 3, the place, which seats 25 people, has prices fixed at a flat Rs. 40 per plate of vadai, methi puri, chappathi, Andhra pesarattu and more. “I trained under Mountbatten Mani Iyer, and have been catering for 25 years,” is Ravi’s testimonial. He is a first-timer here, and has his wife managing the bill counter.
The divine aroma of crackling mustard and curry leaves wafts through the longish canteen on the side of Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha(Vani Mahal) . A special feature of this place is you can watch vadai sizzling in oil, vegetables stacked in shelves and heavenly-smelling sevai being mixed. “We are Gnanambika Catering Service, West Mambalam,” says Rajan, whose family has been in this business for 35 years. In his 13th year at Vani Mahal, he considers eating at the sabha canteen before, between, and after hours of classical music. He proudly serves his signature rava pongal, sweet kesari, kasi halwa, keera vadai, poori-masala, dosai and coffee from December 9 to January 7. Prices range from Rs. 30 to Rs. 40, but dosai prices go up to Rs. 50 to Rs. 80, with pesarattu at Rs. 90. “Ask Yesudas, O.S. Arun, S.Ve. Sekar or R.B. Chowdhary about the food,” he laughs.
Rassa, the year-round Sri Krishna Sweets restaurant at Krishna Gana Sabha takes good care of the senior citizens among the concert-lovers, says Y. Prabhu, son of the founder R. Yagnaraman. “My father inaugurated the first KGS canteen in 1989; I was 15 and coffee sold at Rs. 2 per cup.” The menu now includes ammani kozhukkattai, morkkali, pidi-kozhukkattai, dal and masala poli that are light on the stomach, apart from chaats, polizzas and dosais you’ll find regularly at branches of Krishna Sweets. “It’s amazing how people remember if you offer them good, traditional food.”
A much sought-after canteen opens on December 14 at the Parthasarathy Swami Sabha , supervised by manager K. Sreenivasan, son of Mountbatten Mani Iyer. “Coffee-breakfast from 7.30 to 10.30 a.m., and lunch from 11 a.m. 2.30 p.m.,” he informs me. The food is is no-onion, no-garlic, no-north-Indian masala fare. “You’ll enjoy authentic kalyana sapaadu, served on thalai vaazhai with chitrannam and plenty of vegetable dishes.”
His New Year special lunch is a favourite with rasikas and singers, and one of the reasons his contract has been extended beyond the usual three years. Winner of several citations, his kitchen constantly experiments with food like ragi/kambu dosa, vaazhaithandu dosa, tomato-oats adai, kalkandu vadai, cheese cutlet, pineapple jalebi and chocolate dosai.
Parking nightmares, crowds that come for the food alone, marked-up prices, high-decibel chatter — nothing will deter Chennaiites from checking out the comparative merits of the different caterers. Whether at the sabhas for music or for “ mookkappidikka sappadu” (roughly translates to eating till you can’t breathe), for a sit-in or a take-out, tasting the traditional vegetarian delights by expert cooks is a cultural experience you don’t want to miss.
