Every morning P. Rajendran, an accountant, rushes to the Nagapattinam Nei Mittai Kadai on the West Chithirai Street. He reaches 30 minutes before the shop opens to grab a packet of the simple potato masala packed in mantharai leaves. It is a must side dish for him with curd rice. It has been so for the past 50 years. And there are many more like him unwilling to forego the potato masala as part of their daily food.
The shop near the West Tower of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, bustles with activity through the day. But it is only and always at 10 a.m. that one sees an unusual rush here. That is when the shop opens to sell the potato masala and in no time it disappears off the shelf. The secret is in the magic taste, say the self-confessed addicts of the dish.
Like Rajendran says, “I started by taking the potato for my father as he insisted on having it as a side dish for lunch. Now it has become a ritual. The taste of the potato simply tempts.”
It is apparently the rich flavour of ginger-garlic with liberal dose of coriander and curry leaves that makes the potato preparation so special here.
“People from neighbouring towns also come for it,” says V.A. Venkatraman, a fourth generation member running the shop now.
It was his father Anantha Narayanan’s idea to introduce the potato masala for the working class. People carried ‘pazhaya sadham’ (cooked rice soaked in water overnight) and for side dish would invariably choose from a variety of pickles. “My father introduced the potato masala as an alternative to pickle and it clicked instantly. I have not changed the recipe,” he says.
People now also eat it with chapattis. A small scoop of the potato masala costs Rs.10. The owners daily prepare 1.5 kg of the potato masala and it gets over in less than an hour. Yet they are not interested in increasing the quantity. “Ours is essentially a sweet shop known for the halwa. We are preparing and selling the potato masala just as a service and therefore, priced it less,” says Venkatraman, who has trained the next generation cooks to retain the taste.
The masala is popular not only with old timers but also with youngsters like J. Ramachandran, an assistant professor in a private college. “My ancestral property is nearby and my grandfather used to frequent the shop. My grandparents cannot have their daily meal without this side dish,” he chuckles.
Obvious it is, proof of this potato masala is in the eating!
