This cafe in Hyderabad will take you back to Kanchipuram

The café and brewery industry is mushrooming in Hyderabad with a new joint opening up in every street of Jubilee hills, Banjara hills and Gachibowli. While it is safe to say that part of the city is oversaturated, the other side of town, Kompally, is also picking pace. There is a considerable market for people who find comfort in the authentic tiffins. A streaming hot plate of idli can do wonders to the stomach and the soul.

This week, we visited one such joint, Kanchi Café in Kompally which transported us to the temples of Kanchipuram. As we walked in a large space with Athangudi tiles, we were welcomed by the sanctity of a small temple set up on one side, and the aroma of freshly brewed filter coffee from the other side.

The authenticity of this vibe got us excited to try the Kanchipuram flavours. They offer a wide array of tiffins, rice varieties, parottas, beverages, and the thali. Jumping straight into the main course, we first tried the Malabar parotta and bun parotta, served with korma. Both with a tinge of sweetness, were very flaky, rich and addictive. We just couldn’t stop eating this delight.

We then tried the Open butter masala dosa and the Ghee podi masala dosa. Similar in taste, both these scrumptious preparations had the dominant taste of podi that filled our hearts. The Thatte idli, a little on the denser side was also filled with ghee and podi. This spongy preparation was served with Coconut and mint chutney, alam chutney and sambhar.

Taking us back to the temples in Kanchipuram, the Variety rice was a plate filled with different kinds of rice, catering to all taste notes. From Shakkara bhath and temple rice to Avakai rice, the latter stole our hearts. Transporting us to our ammama’s house, this creamy, rich preparation made us fall in love with the charm of simplicity. Next on our table was the thali, an epitome of ‘less is more’. A plate of a mosaic of flavours from rice and rasam to sambhar and sweet, each dish was made to perfection. the flavours were not too extreme, and just enough to make our hearts smile.

No South Indian meal is complete without a steaming hot cup of Filter coffee. this concoction, served in a brass glass and dabara was the crowning glory of our hearty meal.