The familiar aroma of appam and coconut milk hits the busy Venkatachalam Street in Royapettah every morning around 7 am. “ Sollunga, enna venam ?” asks Karpagam, manning the stall erected in front of an apartment, to a man, he refers to as “bhaiyya” — the latter is visibly in a rush, probably on his way to work. “ Appam , coconut milk,” he says with a heavy accent.
A few others too, have gathered now, as Karpagam’s sister, Vatsalam, walks out with a steaming plate of idli and sambar from inside the apartment, where a temporary kitchen is set up. Breakfast, is what this family specialises in and the Kerala staple of steaming appams paired with generous helpings of coconut milk, is a hotseller.
The shop is quite popular for its appams
The nameless makeshift stall, is seen only during the morning rush hour — where many stop by to grab a quick breakfast on their way to work. As Vatsalam narrates their story amid making cloud-white appams on an iron wok, Muniyamma Vishwanathan, who started the stall 35 years ago, walks in with the air of a supervisor, yelling out orders to the kitchen where Vatsalam and Vanitha — her daughter and daughter-in-law — stand. Pointing to Muniyamma, Vatsalam says, “My mother started this business. I remember tagging along, ever since I was 10 years old. Back then, we used to sell four idlis for ₹1.”
Owing to health issues, Muniyamma stopped the business a few years back, and her family took over — but she is still involved in it. They also had a brief hiatus when the apartment behind the stall was being constructed, into which they moved in eventually. Now, specific roles have been assigned to the family members — while Vanitha cooks from their home kitchen upstairs, Vatsalam and others make hot appams in the temporary facility as Karpagam takes orders and serves the customers.
Many customers carry parcels to work, says Vatsalam. Others — mostly employees at nearby offices — drop in for a quick breakfast. Regular customers also get the luxury of telling them how they want the dishes done. “If people want their eggs half boiled, scrambled or otherwise, we get it done. Some of them also ask for mutta dosa which we prepare according to requirement,” she explains. Other dishes served are: vadacurry (with appam ), kurma , dosa, idli , chutney, sambar, omelettes and other egg items.
The stall serves, until 11.30 am — “sometimes it goes on till noon even,” Vatsalam says, as she serves more appams to the “bhaiyya.”
This fortnightly column explores the different street foods of Chennai
Next time you experiment with street food, let us know at metro@thehindu.co.in
