Savour the flavours of Kerala as Chef Suresh Pillai brings culinary magic to Chennai

If you are craving for some hot, flavourful, and delectable Kerala food in Chennai, then you are in for a treat. Kerala’s renowned chef Suresh Pillai, popularly known as Chef Pillai is in Chennai to showcase his culinary delights in the city. We headed to the Spice Haat restaurant in Hyatt Regency to experience this gastronomic journey showcasing the rich and diverse flavours of the state. 

We started with Sweet potato chaat, which is a modern take on pazhampori (banana fritters) but with a different base. We also tried their pol sambhal calamari as well as the paneer kondattam.

While the paneer kondattam was a little too sweet for our taste palette, the calamari was crispy with a slight coconut flavour. An interesting starter out of the lot was the Inji puli chicken. At first glance, it looked like the normal chicken lollipop. However, it is essentially chicken wrapped in inji puli, which is a sweet-sour pickle made of tamarind.

We were spoiled with choices when it came to the main course. For breads we had the flaky Malabar nool porotta and the crispy, fluffy and slightly sweet vellayappam.

We first tasted the Kollam mutton curry. With the right blend of masalas, the mutton curry was simply mouthwatering. We also had their creamy Angamaly manga curry made of mangoes and coconut milk as base. 

If you are looking for something dry to have along with the curries, then you have the Beef maliperallan. Similar to beef kondattam in looks, it was spicy and chewy.  

However, the main highlight of the course was the chef’s signature dish, which is the Fish nirvana. Chef Pillai even did a live demonstration of the dish. Here the fish fried in spices is poached in a banana leaf which is then soaked in the coconut milk. It was heavenly and irresistible to say the least.

Coconut, the chef’s main ingredient, came through the desserts too. We were served the tender coconut pudding. Light, creamy, and bursting with coconut flavour, it was a perfect way to end the meal. We also had their pineapple chowari payasam, which is a porridge made up of sabudana, with flavours of pineapple.

August 23 to 25. 12.30 pm to 3 pm (lunch). 7 pm to 11:00 pm (dinner). Spice Haat , Hyatt Regency Chennai