Nowadays, it’s usual for restaurateurs to pay as much attention to the décor of their restaurants as they do to making their menus as exceptional as possible. The folk at Khasak, a new restaurant at Jawahar Nagar, and a sister concern of Sindhoor restaurant, has clearly taken much effort to take an old tiled-roof house and amp it up to suit the taste of the nouveau riche foodies in the city.
A cascading fountain gurgles in a corner and blue lighting throws a shadow on the pretty terracotta painting on one wall of the house. Neat landscaped pathways, bordered by a water feature and lit by just by tiny lawn lights and green fairy lights above, lead to several pavilions that are good for outside dining. Inside the house, each of the rooms have been given a thorough, brightly lit makeover with panelled wood walls and neat wooden furniture. At the back, behind a wall of glass, is the airy open plan kitchen.
Eschewing the air-conditioned comforts of the interiors of the house, we decide to take advantage of the cool evening breeze and park ourselves in one of the pavilions. The menu (only halal meat) comes as no great surprise, if you are used to the fare at Sindhoor that is. It has none of the pizzazz of the décor but it does have ye old Indian, Chinese and Kerala vegetarian and non-vegetarian favourites - Schezwan chicken, Beef Manchurian, Chilli fish, Mutton rogan josh, Kadai chicken, Fish moilee, Fish tikka masala, Dal makhni, Palak paneer, chappathi, appam, phulka, puttu, et al.
It also has an interesting selection of tandoor dishes such as Kashmiri naan, Masala kulcha, Haryali kebab, Tangdi kebab and the like apart from signature tikkas in a variety of flavours. The most interesting section of the menu is, perhaps, the 'Thalassery classic' that features a selection of rich dishes made popular by the Moplahs of Malabar. All the dishes are available at surprisingly reasonable rates and as we found out later, inclusive of service tax.
Biriyani and ghee rice is too heavy for dinner, we feel. But we are tempted by Thalassery 'Chicken kassa curry'. Dragon chicken gets the vote as the appetiser, followed by mushroom butter masala and Kerala style prawn roast, both teamed with a selection of Indian breads. It was only while waiting for our order that we realised that the restaurant has a separate Mexican menu featuring quesadillas, tacos and burritos (vegetarian and non-vegetarian). How exciting! One vegetarian quesadillas too, please.
The appetiser was as good as expected. The chicken kassa curry had that distinct flavour of Malabar with tender, mildly spiced meat cooked in coconut milk. The mushroom dish was a reasonable imitation of chicken butter masala and there were actually lots of plump button mushrooms to supplement the rich gravy. The konchu roast with generous numbers of prawns added a much-needed dash of spice (courtesy pepper) to the meal. Just when we were about to finish the meal quesadillas arrived. It's something akin to a doughy pathiri stuffed with corn and potato mash and an acquired taste, if any, but enjoyable for the sheer newness of it.
Dessert options are limited to ice-creams of various flavours. For those who enjoy barbeque grills, the restaurant has a separate section with tables with built in grills, at Rs. 499 per person. The restaurant is at No.1, O- Street, Jawahar Nagar. It seats 140 people and is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Contact: 0471-2319494/2319090.
