A plate of hot steamed puttu served with delicious kadala curry is an irresistible combination for any foodie. One of the staple breakfast recipes of Kerala, puttu is an eternal favourite of Malayalis. Puttu Kada, a new fast food restaurant in the city, offers the celebrated dish along with a host of ethnic dishes.
Located inside Trivandrum Hotel, at YMCA Road, Statue, the eatery is not very crowded when I drop by for dinner. The counter and the kitchen is in an enclave – in typical fast-food restaurant style, with chairs and tables neatly arranged outside.
“The USP of Puttu Kada is our operating time – we are open from 12 noon till 3 in the morning,” says Praveen Raj, who is in charge of the restaurant. “The timing is ideal mostly for movie-goers, who are returning from second show screenings. We are sometimes at our busiest after 12 a.m.,” he says. Puttu Kada is not just about puttu, though. “We also have an assortment of dishes popular in Kerala such as meals with or without fish curry, porotta, chappathi, kallappam and idiyappam, plus chicken, mutton, beef and vegetable curries,” he explains. One can dine in the restaurant or get the food parcelled.
I scan the menu to select my dishes for the day. From the name of the eatery, I was expecting different varieties of puttu – only to be slightly disappointed. The traditional nadan puttu was the only variant of the dish available. However, this was made up for by an assortment of curries served along with it. My options included ‘Ammachees’ chicken curry, beef curry, egg roast and chilli chicken, among others. There were also those ever-popular combo options, puttu with kadala curry and puttu with payar (pulses) and pappadam. All dishes in the menu were moderately priced.
I decide to start off with puttu and the curiously-named Ammachee’s chicken curry. “Ammachee’s (mother’s) chicken curry is a traditional perpetration, which, as its name suggests, will remind you of the chicken dish prepared by your mother at home,” says Morris, the chef. The quantity of puttu (the traditional chamba wheat flour variety) was less than usual. There was nothing extraordinary about the puttu as such but it was definitely delectable, especially when eaten along with the chicken curry, which requires special mention. I must admit, the taste did remind me of my mom’s chicken curry! There were sufficient pieces of meat, which were tender and succulent. I also ordered an idiyappam and a porotta, which also went well with the curry. I concluded the short, but satisfying meal with a glass of hot tea.
