Served with grace

In its 25th year, Annalakshmi reaffirms its commitment to serve food with love

September 22, 2014 07:10 pm | Updated September 27, 2014 04:02 pm IST - COIMBATORE

Sweets for Deepavali festival being displayed at Shivanjali Sweets Photo: M. Periasamy

Sweets for Deepavali festival being displayed at Shivanjali Sweets Photo: M. Periasamy

Hot rice, ghee that has melted over it and a karandi of karuvepillai kuzhambu poured into the well I have made in the rice on my plate. If I were a poet I would have written paeans to it, but all I can do is beg the recipe off Rajalakshmi Mami who has made it for the 25th anniversary lunch of Annalakshmi.

After being treated to melodious bhajans, we have moved in for lunch where in between serving guests, Mami graciously shares the recipe with me ( see box ). She promises to also give me moru rasam recipe at a later date.

Eating at Annalakshmi is like eating at a favourite aunt’s who is also a great cook. In fact the cooking is done by mamis and paatis from carefully preserved recipes. So when a craving to eat golden oldies such as the karuvepillai kuzhambu hits you, this is the place to head to. No wonder, most guests present on the occasion spoke of feeling ‘at home’ here.

“We come here to celebrate special occasions,” says one of the guests while his companion adds that it is “true blue comfort food.”

That was the idea of starting the restaurant — a place where simple vegetarian food is cooked with love and served with devotion. And going through the visitor’s book, there is one comment that runs right through, “Wonderful service”.

The cooking and service is entirely by volunteers, the followers of Swami Shantanand Saraswathi.

Movie stars, politicians, bureaucrats, musicians have all eaten at this restaurant and showered it with wholesome praise. They include L.K. Advani, poet Vairamuthu, renowned paediatrician Dr. Arnold Einhorn, Bombay Jayashree, actor Visu, who calls the restaurant “a wife away from home!”, Delhi Ganesh, Solomon Papaiah, Ashok Singhal…

I first visited Annalakshmi in the 1990s. We lived in the Nilgiris then and had come down to the plains to escape the rains and the cold up there. We ‘accidentally’ discovered the restaurant as we drove past. And, we couldn’t have enough of the morkuzhambu, paruppu podi, thokku, rasam, vendhaya kuzhambu…with hot rice and ghee, served to us with such affection under the benevolent gaze of the beautiful Annalakshmi idol. And, we have come back here time and again.

And somewhere at the back of the minds of all regular guests to the restaurant is the good feeling that Annalakshmi supports the Shivanjali Trust and its charitable activities, including women and child health care as well as the fine arts. Coimbatoreans have been treated to some excellent concerts with renowned musicians thanks to them. And taking the food experience further, Annalakshmi has organised workshops where the art of making murukkus and other traditional bakshanams have been shared generously with participants. What’s more, for those of us who have not dared to take on the task of making the special goodies for festivals such as Gokulashtami and Deepavali, Annalakshmi has come to our rescue by making them for us, or like Rajalakshmi maami did, generously sharing the recipes with us.

This morning, I made the karuvepillai kuzhambu. It lacked the magic touch of Maami, but came close.

Rajalakshmi Mami’s recipe

In a little oil, roast a tablespoon each of coriander seeds, urad dal, black pepper, half a teaspoon each of methi seeds and jeera and two whole red chillies. As it roasts, add a couple of fistsfull of washed, cleaned and dried curry leaves. Soak a lemon-sized ball of tamarind in little water to soften. Grind the roasted ingredients along with the tamarind. In a pan, heat a little oil, temper with mustard seeds add the ground masala, a little bit of jaggery, enough water to get the consistency you want. Add salt to taste and boil. Serve with hot rice and ghee. Or, as an accompaniment to curd rice.

The Thudiyalur and Vadavalli branches function on the concept of ‘Eat as you wish and pay what you feel’. Annalakshmi also has a banquet hall for functions as well as an outdoor catering service. It plans to start special music and food events on Pournami. It will soon offer packed working lunches to corporates. To know more call: 0422-2222142/4204213.

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