Experience a delectable fusion of traditional South Indian flavours at this newly launched restaurant in Chennai

The smell of fresh paint filled the air as we entered the newest outlet of Una Villa Traditional at Kavimani Salai in Mogappair. We were the very first customers at the restaurant that boasts four floors, including a banquet hall. We smugly took a seat facing the window overlooking the trees outside at the 180-seater restaurant that doles out some interesting fusion delicacies

Our forks were up and taste buds got ready as deliciousness began arriving at our table, one after the other. We were told that the first customer would be served the South Indian specialities, and thus the elaborate meal began with Nellikai rasam, which had soup-erb flavours that warmed our souls. What's interesting was the tangy touch of gooseberry toward the end, though it was quite mild to our liking.

We are not huge fans of Sura puttu, but this time around, the steamed shark fish tempered with vegetables and spices arrived in the spherical shape, accompanied by some soupy rasam. The dish was aptly called Suraputtu rasam. While the shark puttu was quite crunchy, the slightly dense version of the rasam gave it an interesting touch.

This was followed by Ghee roast mushroom and Gongura chutney on grilled corn. While the mushroom was fiery and was bursting with flavours, the gongura on grilled corn gave it a refreshing and astringent flavour, something we had not tried before. The next vegetarian delicacy on the menu was Paneer Monica, which looked enticing, courtesy of the Kataifi-style covering. We are not huge fans of paneer, so we took only a few bites of the appetiser, which would appeal to the vegetarians.

This was followed by Pallipalayam chicken, an Erode-style chicken fry made with shallots, garlic, and coconut. We have always had this as a dry starter, so when it arrived with a sauce, we were quite surprised. We were told that the sauce was actually chicken gravy, which was double-strained and churned out into a sauce. We quite liked this dish which would we think will be match made in heaven when paired with parotta, dosai or rice.

It was now time for some flaky adventures with bun parotta, one of our favourites. We tried the floury fantasy with Pollachi kari kuzhambu. We felt that adding a dash of spice would have completely upped the game and made for a delectable taste duet. Meanwhile, we also dug into Uppu kari cup, a traditional mutton stir-fry made in the state with red chillies and shallots. The uppu kari was stuffed in crispy parotta cups; we loved this flaky affair.

Our last dish in the main course was Kadamba gravy with rice. The gravy was a perfect medley of flavours and the tinge of tanginess made for a perfect combination with the rice.

Now, it was time to satisfy our sweet tooth with some Kavuni arisi halwa, a traditional recipe made by constant stirring of black rice paste in coconut milk. This provided a fitting finale to the southern sojourn.

Meal for one person: INR 700 onwards Timings: 11am to 11 pm

At Una Villa Traditional At Kavimani Salai, Mogappair

sangeetha.p@newindianexpress.com

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