This fine diner has an unmissable monsoon menu

Monsoons in Chennai come a little later than most of the country but that doesn’t mean that we cannot sample some comfort food that is had primarily during the rainy season. To this end, we went to Savya Rasa to check out their monsoon specials. So we started with a soup, known as Mudavatukkaal Kizhangu. Touted as an immunity booster, this is made up of oak fern, shallots, crushed garlic and pepper.

Explore Savya Rasa's new monsoon menu

Sharp in taste and tasting quite spicy, this will surely open up any congestion you might have in your nasal passages or any other cold symptoms. Next on the menu was Andhra Mirapakkaya Bajji. These are big fat chillies scooped out and stuffed with either vegetables or chicken, coated with gram flour and deep fried. These again can be quite sharp to eat as the taste of the chillies intermingles with the stuffing. This reminded us of the Mirchi pakodas we have had earlier in Rajasthan.

Our next item was a very interesting one. Chettinad Yeral Paniyaram was about Paniyarams stuffed with a spicy prawn filling. Served with green coconut chutney, this had a brilliant spicy taste that worked quite well with the mildness of the Paniyaram to give a balanced flavour. One of the stars on the menu is definitely the Pazham Pori with Mutton Roast, which is supposed to be Kerala’s favourite snack.

Bananas cut lengthwise and deep fried in batter pairs with a slow-cooked mutton curry to give a delicious taste – again, it’s the spices in the mutton that balance beautifully with the sweetness of the banana to give a wholesome taste, and now we can see why it is so popular. We also tried another wholesome dish – the Kari Kanji is a traditional comforting porridge, made with split yellow lentils, coconut milk and tender mutton, in a gruel that’s very lightly spiced and quite comforting.

Time for dessert and we settled with Chakka Surul Appam, basically Surul Appam a traditional sweet prepared in Thanjavur region. It is nothing but stuffed and rolled sweet pancakes. Surul appam is prepared with coconut, sugar and flour as the main ingredients and in our case, stuffed with jackfruit. It has a smoky caramelized exterior, and is quite sweet, though. The stuffing is also an acquired taste, but for those who have a sweet tooth, this is actually quite nice.

The Monsoon festival at Savya Rasa has some familiar flavour profiles, which gives you the idea of eating comfort food that is beneficial to you as well. This is a place where you should take your family as the taste is something that is actually like home cooked food and the portion size is enough to satiate you completely. Interestingly, the Monsoon food festival is running both in Chennai and Pune simultaneously!

Meal for two:  INR 2,200++ (approximately)

Till July 6^th, 12pm – 3:30 pm (lunch), 6:30pm – 11 PM (Dinner).

At Savya Rasa, Kotturpuram

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.