It is easy to miss Adukkala Café. Flanked by big brands, it is buried in the pathway of a commercial complex. The narrow space and menu, says owner Shyjal Shameem, are part of a trial run. The café opened over a month ago and serves quick bites. Naseema Khader, Shyjal’s aunt is woman behind the goodies— quintessential Moplah snacks. At the counter are displayed her specials for the day in earthen ware — macaroani chatti pathiri , unnakaya , Turkey pathiri , chemmen ada , ari kadukka and a lot more.
“We are testing the waters,” says Shyjal. “Over the past three years we had food stalls at various events. The idea is to sell what we eat at home; snacks with less oil and no artificial colour,” he adds.
The café for now is more comfortable as a take-away joint. Those who have a few moments to spare can slide into a corner to finish their snack. At a tiny kitchen a few feet away, Naseema shallow fries a new batch of stuffed mussels on an induction cooker. Fresh fare in small quantities is the café’s strength.
Over two days, I packed and sampled a range of their snacks. They have a limited choice of fresh juice and I chose orange. It was cold, not cloyingly sweet and allowed the tanginess of the fruit to remain.
Among Naseema’s snacks, the attention grabber is the ari kadukka . The traditional mussel dish with rice flour stuffing comes without the intimidating shells. So those not deft at the art of mussel demolition too can enjoy it. The mussels are supple and the spice mix leaves a trail of crispiness. Importantly, the stuffing is not overpowered by spice and is cooked just right. The Turkey pathiri (Rs. 25) is an egg puff with a twist. The wholesome flour parcel is packed with half an egg and masala. The flour wrap is not sturdy and easy to bite into. Chemeen ada is their steamed delicacy. Inside the ada is a stuffing of small prawns, lightly spiced, and with finely cut onions for company. A chunk of macaroni chatti pathiri (Rs. 20) is a meal in itself. Layered with flour and egg, the macaroni is plentiful and subtle. Beaten egg gives it a faint hint of sweetness. Beef kababs (Rs. 18) are the chef’s innovation. Meat and Bengal gram are mixed and minced and shaped into a patty with an egg slice at its heart. The meat is generous and a hint of pepper gives the snack a spike.
The vegetable cutlet is well-wrapped in crumbs and is not greasy. But the everyday-ness of the snack leaves nothing to write home about. The chicken snacks, be it the regular samosa (Rs. 8) or roll and erachi ada, though well-made, suffers from severe rationing of chicken. A little generosity with the meat will definitely take the snacks a few notches higher. It does not, however, take anything away from the erachi ada wrap — cracklingly crisp and light.
Shyjal says plans are afoot to accommodate limited lunch options and seating arrangements at the café. Till then, grab your bite and set off.
Adukkala CaféWhere: Elite Arcade (Bata building), Chakorathukulam, Kozhikode
Timings: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
