This newly opened eatery serving Chettinad food, Thalapathy, took us straight to a Tamil home. It was quaint, decked up with minimal decor, and had a traditional dressing table in-sync with the rest.
Owner B Rajesh shared that he always felt a huge lack of variety when it came to South Indian non-vegetarian cuisine in Kolkata, especially the Chettinad version.
“I also wanted to break the preconceived notions that people usually relate to cuisines down South. We have a kitchen team from Chettinad, and we only follow recipes from The Bangala, a family-run hotel in Karaikudi. We have toned down the spice level of a few recipes, and we cook the recipes in half coconut and half vegetable oil to suit the palate of Kolkata food connoisseurs. We source all our spices from Chettinad,” he adds.
Trust us when we say we tasted the fluffiest and most flavourful Paniyaram in town, paired with tomato onion chutney. Even those who are not fans of this particular dish, should give this a try. We tasted a crispy Masala vada next, paired with the tangy tomato onion chutney. A batter made with Bengal gram and toor dal (pigeon pea) was whipped up well to make these crispy outside and soft on the inside vadas.
Since we couldn’t decide upon just one dish for the main course, we chose three — a plate of Mutton sukka, Chicken Chettinad and Toddy shop meen curry. We paired the chicken and mutton dishes with the flaky Madurai bun parotta, which was a great choice. The Chicken Chettinad boasted of fennel and star anise flavours, and the star spices of the dish, kalpa seeds, and Guntur chillies. But mutton sukka had our hearts. The shredded, well-cooked mutton tasted fragrant because of curry leaves and gave the right kick from pepper.
Being a rice eater, the Toddy Shop meen (fish) curry was a simple dish, yet felt like comfort on a plate. Steamed fragrant white rice, when mixed with a tangy, sweet, and salty gravy and a bite of bekti was a match made in heaven. As we write this review, we are reminded of the beautiful flavours that a simple tamarind paste, kalpa seeds, shallots and tomato gravy could create.
Meal for two: INR 700 onwards
On Rajdanga Main Road
Pictures by Anindya Saha