Visesham’s new weekday lunch thali exists for the office-goer who wants something real in the middle of the day and the curious eater who has always suspected that South Indian food is considerably more varied than any single region lets on. Chef Kamal Kannan has built a four-week rotating menu running on weekdays, pulling from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the dishes shifting enough from week to week that lunch never becomes repetitive.
Our meal begins with Paruppu podi rice alongside crackers, which is the right way to start: nutty, roasted lentil powder with melted ghee, aromatic and grounding before anything else arrives. The thali arrives in all its glory, with a myriad of classics. Carrot beans thoran from Kerala: tossed with fresh coconut, curry leaves, and mustard seeds, homey and rich and a very good place to begin understanding what this thali is doing.
The Kadhambam sambar, from Tamil Nadu, is tangy and hearty and lentil-rich, a medley of vegetables in every spoonful in the way the name itself suggests. The dal tove from coastal Karnataka sits alongside it: mild, creamy toor dal with a gentle heat, the dominant flavour different enough from the sambar to make the contrast worthwhile. The tomato rasam arrives in a copper tea pot and is light, peppery, tangy, and refreshing simultaneously.
The Kozhi varutharacha curry is the Kerala chicken dish and an absolute must try: a thick roasted coconut gravy with pepper and coriander, the chicken inside soft and succulent that it pairs well with chapathi. The Mutton uppu kari is dry and peppery, cured meat with roasted spices, tomato and crunchy cashews, the Kongunadu preparation distinct and confident. The Pollachi kari kuzhambu is veggie-rich, drumstick and brinjal in a robust spicy gravy that takes its time and rewards the patience. The Kori gassi, Tulu cuisine from coastal Karnataka, is creamy and mildly spicy, the coconut gravy deeply aromatic, a complete contrast to the drier preparations elsewhere on the spread.
The Semiya javvarisi payasam is layered and delicately sweet, vermicelli and sago in a silky finish. And then the Vethalai ice cream arrives alongside a banana, and this is the ending the meal deserves: cool, creamy, herbaceous, the betel leaf note present and distinctive, the banana as palate cleanser doing exactly what centuries of South Indian meal tradition always knew it would.
Rs 1,300 for vegetarian thali and `1,500 for non-vegetarian thali.Available from Monday to Friday. 12 pm to 3.30 pm. At Visesham, Nandanam.
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