Put Kadalai, the newest snack bar in town, is working its way towards peanut domination
If you are a youngster who grew up in Tamil Nadu, you’d know that there was no escaping the phrase Putting Kadalai, had you been found talking to someone from the opposite gender. Using the slang verbiage quite literally, the city’s newest concept café offers a space for good uninterrupted conversation over some spicy peanuts and coffee, all day.
American corn, who?
This cosy little café is nestled between trees in Race Course, and since its launch a week ago, it has turned out to be the latest hangout for kids and elders alike. Run by two friends Nisha Venkat and Vidhyaa Senthilkumar along with some help from their spouses, Put Kadalai has peanuts for everyone and peanuts in everything. “We wanted it to be a concept café and one day over dinner, we just stumbled upon the idea to find an alternate for American corn, and decided to make the good old peanuts the hero of our café,” says Nisha.
After a year of research, the duo created a carefully curated menu, featuring a wide variety of flavours that vary from simple boiled peanuts to flavoured ones. With wonderfully quirky names like Side Dish, Beach Kadalai and Raja Masala, the café brings back some fond memories of eating kadalai at the beach or sharing a mocktail with friends over spiced peanuts. And for those who crave for something a little fancy, the joint offers a range of gourmet flavoured peanuts like cinnamon and ginger, peri peri and chipotle honey. “The peanuts are sourced from different parts of India like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat as they all have different flavours. Our produce is farm fresh and there is no preservatives or additives in it,” says Nisha.
Spoilt for choice
The sugar chilly nuts pack a punch once you pop them into your mouth, while the cinnamon ginger flavour has a mild yet distinct taste of spices. The peanut bhel is the perfect accompaniment to your evening coffee with its crisp chilly coated peanuts garnished with onions, coriander and lemon. The café also serves sandwiches, cotton candy, milkshakes, classic filter coffee and desserts with peanuts as its base. “Apart from the peanuts, our signature dishes are the bunny chow, a home-made bun with a spiced filling and a cold-pressed green juice menu which has a different flavour every day,” adds Nisha.
Kadalai pop-up
In an attempt to woo morning walkers and joggers in Race course, Nisha says the café will soon be open from 6.30 am. “We initially thought we would attract young crowds, but we were surprised when a lot of elderly walkers started frequenting our café with their own nostalgic stories about peanuts,” she says. Soon, the café will also have weekend pop-ups where chefs from different parts of town will visit the café and curate their own version of a peanut dish.
Cost of a single portion of peanuts begins from `30.