Neithal, which refers to the sea and places associated with it in Tamil, is also the name of the latest seafood-based food festival at Malgudi in the city. Prominent dishes — more than 100 of them, in fact — found in seaside towns in the five southern states of India were featured at the festival.
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Before we began tasting, we could not help but look at the sea-based decorations that were added to the restaurant, and right at the entrance, the team had even placed grinding stones!
We could not help but notice that all the dishes that were served to us were plated on a banana leaf cut to the shape of the plate underneath. And speaking of the dishes, we began with a Mutton Soup that got us all pumped up for the upcoming food with its warmth and strong flavours.
For starters, we tried the Kanyakumari Mundhiri Kothu, which is a batter-fried green gram dumpling with coconut and jaggery stuffed inside. It was an amazing starter that had a very good texture to it. We particularly liked the coarse texture of the filling inside!
After popping a rather bland Pesara Punukulu, a crispy fried green gram fritter, into our mouths, we moved on to the Baby Lobster Polichathu and Era Chinna Vengayam Kal Varuval.
The lobster came wrapped in a banana leaf, and it turned out to be a delicate dish with a lot of masala. Had it been served with some freshly made rice, it would have been perfect.
As for the other starter, the prawn skewers, we were floored by them. Grilled on a tawa with shallots and masala, the dish was as delicious as its looks would make one believe and is definitely a must-try.
Moving on to the mains, we opted for the Malabar Fish Biryani, a Kerala-style seer fish biryani made with short grain rice. This dish deserves a separate mention, for it reminded us of a traditional homemade fish curry dish and was tasty to the core. We tried the biryani with the catch of the day, which was a Sea Murrel that was deep-fried and succulent.
Although we had eaten to our hearts' and tummies' satisfaction, Chef Murugan (who was there with us to help understand the dishes on the menu) did not let us leave before we had a dessert. So, we tried the Thoothukudi Muskat Halwa made with Samba wheat, which was simply yummy.
INR 1,500++ (for two persons). Lunch and dinner. On till December 23. At The Savera.