It did not matter that Dr.R.Sudhir, a colleague’s diabetologist was standing in front of me as I tore apart the spongy appam (made from leavened rice batter and coconut milk) with melted cheese at its base and scooped up mouthfuls of chicken curry cooked in coconut milk. The spicing was robust and it fired up the taste buds. For neutralising the effect, he advised me to take in a pinch of the sweet onion relish seni sambol , ( caramelised shallots mixed with sugar and dry red chilli powder).
I did and it sent the taste buds crazy with desire. I knew I could eat more and he offered the haute version of egg appam. It was like a wafer-thin bowl of pancake with a fried egg within and strewn with pepper. Then came the string hopper (vermicelli pancakes) with the mildly spiced fish and coconut gravy to tip over it. Now what do I praise first? The joyous taste of various Sri Lankan curries that I discovered here slowly and beautifully cooked by a true expert in the form of Subha Gopal or the whole family who run the place and make you feel so welcome and pamper you as though you are eating at home?
Subha is Dr.Sudhir’s sister, who surely knows her spice. The family is pretty much known in the city and Sudhir says that many of his friends and even patients are both surprised and happy to see him here in a different avatar after clinic hours. “We have always been a family of people who love to cook and eat,” he says, and it is only now that the brother-sister duo is living their dream.
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When there is so much in-house talent, why not put it to full use? Subha’s daughter Vivitha quit her job last month to join the family-run restaurant and helps full time in the kitchen. Sudhir’s mother takes care of the desserts, his daughter has written a promotional poem for the eatery and his wife too drops in once in a while to lend a helping hand. “Essentially our home kitchen is closed,” smiles Sudhir, who pushed his sister to start this joint.
With the family so involved in every department, the experience of dining at Appams & Hoppers is a step above the rest. The inherent richness of the food is meant to inflame the senses, says the soft-spoken Subha. She measures and hand-pounds every ingredient and each of the recipes has the gasp of authentic and magnificent Sri Lankan cuisine. The menu has been deliberately kept small with only three non-veg curries of choice from fish/chicken/mutton as main dish accompaniment. For vegetarians, there is meal maker or kadala curry. Sodhi (coconut milk with a dash of spices) and pol sambol (the finely pounded coconut, dry chilli, small onions and mixed with lime juice) along with seni sambol are the permanent side-dishes with appams and hoppers. The flavours are pungent and the taste intense.
To keep some curiosity, there is a surprise item every day like maida puris with keema (minced mutton) curry or fish fry wonderfully marinated. Each of them is Subha’s masterpiece and is a mouthful of fragrance and balance. The same veg and non-veg curries are also offered as combos with parottas and dosai. From the short eats bits of the menu, crab omelette or prawn fry are equally tempting. Some items have a whisper of chilli and some are packed with tiny explosions. Whichever way, it is lick-the-plate good and a steal. With her single-handed quality cooking, Subha is pushing up the numbers you find waiting every evening outside the tiny 20-seater.
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But be sure to go only after reserving your seats because though barely a month old, Appams & Hoppers is suffering the reputational nightmare of all hot new places – the long queue especially on weekend nights. Opens only from 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Appams & Hoppers
@ 170 K.K.Nagar. Opposite A.R.Hospital near K.K.Nagar arch, Madurai
Hit: Authentic fusion
Miss: Opens only for dinner and the room is small
Meal For Two: Rs.550
Phone: 9500236621