We had friends coming over for dinner, but the weather was so muggy that no one wanted to enter the kitchen. I didn’t either, so I wracked my brains on where we could get some interesting food from.
I recalled that I had seen a sign about a place that focussed on fish, somewhere near Max Hospital in I P Extension. So I hotfooted it there, only to find that what they actually focussed on was butter chicken.
I was on my way back home all dejected when I remembered that I had seen a leaflet of an eatery in Madhu Vihar, also in the neighbourhood, which sold Kerala food. I did some investigations on the Net, and landed up at New Kovilakam.
I found the place with some difficulty, for it is tucked away in a small lane in Madhu Vihar, which is a maze of lanes in a bustling market in east Delhi’s IP Extension area. You have to ask for Galli number 5, and then look for Kovilakam. Or call up 9990417357, and someone will come from there and guide you to the restaurant.
It’s called a restaurant, but isn’t one yet. Right now, it is a take-away, but they expect to be ready with their restaurant soon. It is open from 10 am to 10 pm, and there is free home delivery, depending on how much you order, and where you are.
Reasonable rates
The menu is interesting, the rates are reasonable (though they will be raised a bit in the coming weeks, I was told). Fish curry is for ₹100, egg roast for ₹ 100, egg curry for ₹ 70, chicken masala for ₹150 and vegetable kuruma and parotta for ₹ 65. And there is something called chicken dry fry (which is placed inside a star on the menu) for ₹ 150.
I asked for Malabar chicken biryani (₹140), pothu fry (₹ 90) and Malabari parottas (₹ 7). All three were excellent. The rice in the biryani was light, and the chicken (two pieces in each plate) was spicy and hot. The pothu (buff meat) was not very hot, and had been cooked with kadhi leaves and onions. The meat was soft, but I missed the little bits of fried coconut that you can find in some pothu fry.
Kovilakam means an old house, a helpful man at the counter told me. The food is the kind you expected to be served in an old Kerala home. There is kadala curry – kala channa — (₹ 60) and kappa (tapioca) with rice (₹ 65). They have appam (₹ 8), but unfortunately no stew – at least not yet.
Morning fare
You can order your morning fare from here, too – utthapam, onion masala dosa, idli sambar and so on. The prices range between ₹ 50 and ₹ 70. For lunch and dinner, there are several rice-based dishes – such as egg biryani (₹ 100), kappa biryani (₹ 120) and kappa fish curry (₹ 120). There are also parotta combos, such as kadala curry and parotta (₹ 65).
What troubled me a bit was the last entry on the menu – rajma and rice (₹ 60). But then I thought, why not? Some Kerala food lovers may want a change now and then. Eat, and let eat – that’s what life is all about.
