South Bombay is mostly inhabited by communities which migrated to the city
in its early days. Maharashtrians who came from other parts of the state and
who have not moved to the suburbs, Gujarati business families, affluent
Marwaris and Punjabis, Goan and East Indian Catholics and the Muslims of the
Byculla to VT belt. Keralites or 'Mallus' as they are commonly called, have
never formed a major part of its population.
Mallu-owned restaurants serving authentic Kerala cuisine are a big part of the crowded food scene of the Fort area of South Bombay though. Part of this can be explained by the demand created by Keralites working in offices in the area. But a bigger reason for these restaurants coming into existence was the mad rush of youth from Kerala stopping over in Bombay on their way to work in the Middle East. While that steady clientele has now dwindled, with major airlines now flying to the Gulf directly from Kerala, many of the restaurants have survived to this day. When I counted last, there were at least seven Kerala restaurants in the Fort area, some of them located right next door to each other and still managing to draw packed houses at lunch. I have eaten at most of these but will introduce the three that I like best in this post.
Hotel Deluxe takes some finding, located in a small lane behind the Citibank building in Fort. An easy way to look for it is to get to the more famous Mahesh Lunch Home and enter the adjacent lane. It serves a long list of Kerala specialties in addition to a killer Sadhya meal for lunch. It shares the lane with its arch rival 'Taste of Kerala' which is its main competitor for the title of the best Kerala restaurant of Fort.
One fun aspect of Kerala cuisine is pairing the breads with the many curries/stews/roasts. Idiyappam is a bunch of steamed rice vermicelli usually served for breakfast with chutneys. It is my favorite among all the various sources of starch that are part of the Kerala food universe. Hotel Deluxe is kind enough to serve Idiyappams all day and I was more than glad to order it one evening with their superb Chicken Roast. I don't know if this is the ideal combination, but it sure worked for me. The fiery hot Roast loaded with green chilies and curry leaves was perfectly complimented by the light Idiyappams.
Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam and is a term used to describe a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf. It is a feast served on festivals like Onam and occasions like weddings and religious ceremonies. The number of items served on the leaf varies along with the significance of the occasion. At Hotel Deluxe, the biggest Sadhya is served on Onam and getting a seat at the restaurant during the festival is near impossible. A smaller but sufficiently elaborate Sadhya is served on Sundays, while a basic Sadhya with the essentials is on the menu on weekdays for lunch.
I tried the scaled down Sadhya at Hotel Deluxe on a weekday lunch with two of my colleagues and had absolutely no complaints. Here is all that was served
Boiled brown rice
Thoran (sauted cabbage with grated coconut)
Avial
Pineapple Pachadi (a sweet Khichadi)
Olan (a preparation made with pumpkin, coconut milk and ginger)
Sambar
Rasam
Garlic Pickle
Puliyinchi (a paste made of ginger, tamarind, green chilies and jaggery)
Pappadam
Parippu Pradhaman (green gram Payasam)
This mini version was quite the feast as well, what with the waiters
constantly refilling items on the leaf. Wonder what Sundays and Onam are like!!
While the Sadhya lunch is vegetarian, the fish and meat items can be ordered separately and I really wanted to try Karimeen (Pearl Spot), a fish which is very popular in Kerala and is found in large quantities in its backwaters. The whole fried Karimeen at Hotel Deluxe is loaded with spicy marinade and costs more than anything else on the menu, but is worth a try.
Taste of Kerala is the only-so-slightly more upmarket next door neighbor to Hotel Deluxe. The menu here is very similar to the neighboring eatery - the banana leaf vegetarian lunch and a long list of meat and fish specialties - but it also serves Chinese and North Indian fare in a bid to attract a wider clientele. It obviously makes sense to ignore these new additions and head straight 'South'.
Appams are almost synonymous with Kerala cuisine and are usually paired with a stew. At Taste of Kerala, the Appams are made fresh at a counter in the dining area itself. And they are best enjoyed with the Fish Naadan Curry. This is basically chunky pieces of Kingfish (Surmai) cooked in a curry made with thick coconut milk. Using your Appam to soak the last bits of curry is a joy any Kerala food experience would be incomplete without.
Taste of Kerala serves some beef preparations as well, but you will not find these on the menu. The reason according to them is to avoid spooking customers. Ask one of the waiters however, and they'll list the Taste of Kerala beef specialties in characteristic style. Beef Chilly is a big favorite among Keralites and is commonly served in the very popular toddy shops in the state. Taste of Kerala serves a great version and it is best had with the flaky, layered Kerala Parotta.
Tapioca, known as Kappa in Malayalam is a popular source of food in Kerala. It is eaten as an accompaniment with meat and fish curries and chips are also made out of it. Kappa Biryani is a dish unique to Kerala, and is made by combining tapioca with beef. The Kappa Biryani at Taste of Kerala is better than what I've tried elsewhere.
After all that spice and cholesterol, there can be few better ways to end your meal than a bowl of Payasam. And at Taste of Kerala, they have variety when it comes to Payasam. There is Parippu Pradaman (Moong Dal Payasam), Semiya Payasam (Vermicelli), Ada Pradaman (made with jaggery, coconut milk and rice flakes) and my favorite the Paalada Payasam. This one is similar to the Ada Pradaman, but is made with milk and sugar instead. It is served in a glass and comes loaded with almonds and raisins and chunky rice flakes (Adas)....get me a couch already!!
Hotel Fountain Plaza is yet another Kerala restaurant in the Fort/Fountain area. While it is not rated as highly as Hotel Deluxe and Taste of Kerala, it ranks higher than the other restaurants in the vicinity. It is easy to find, located in a lane off DN Road and is known for serving Mappila specialties.
Pathiri is a steamed rice pancake, similar to the Mangalorean Neer Dosa and finds its origin in the Mappila cuisine of North Kerala. It is regularly served as Iftar food during the month of Ramadan in Kerala. At Fountain Plaza, the Pathiris are served in a generous helping of four per plate for close to nothing. At the waiter's recommendation I tried it with their Chicken Kerala Curry.
While the curry was good, I was left with one Pathiri at the end of it. I asked the waiter if I could order a small portion of something to finish it with, and he got me a small bowl of this plain curry.
That thing packed so much taste, it proved to be the best accompaniment to the Pathiri, even better than the chicken.
If there is one thing that this post makes clear, it is the fact that the Kerala restaurants of Fort cover a great variety of the state's cuisine. From toddy shop specialties and Onam Sadhya dishes to home-style cooking and Iftaar favorites, they've got it all. The offices may be moving North and the Gulf-bound youth may not be passing through Bombay anymore, but with food like this on offer, these places will never run out of fans.
Details of the restaurants covered in the post:
Hotel Deluxe: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/hotel-deluxe-fort
Taste of Kerala: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/lalit-refreshment-taste-of-kerala-fort
Hotel Fountain Plaza: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/hotel-fountain-plaza-fort
And a few more in the Fort area.
Bombay Restaurant: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/bombay-restaurant-fort
Rahmaniya: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/rahmaniya-restaurant-fort
Mallu-owned restaurants serving authentic Kerala cuisine are a big part of the crowded food scene of the Fort area of South Bombay though. Part of this can be explained by the demand created by Keralites working in offices in the area. But a bigger reason for these restaurants coming into existence was the mad rush of youth from Kerala stopping over in Bombay on their way to work in the Middle East. While that steady clientele has now dwindled, with major airlines now flying to the Gulf directly from Kerala, many of the restaurants have survived to this day. When I counted last, there were at least seven Kerala restaurants in the Fort area, some of them located right next door to each other and still managing to draw packed houses at lunch. I have eaten at most of these but will introduce the three that I like best in this post.
Hotel Deluxe takes some finding, located in a small lane behind the Citibank building in Fort. An easy way to look for it is to get to the more famous Mahesh Lunch Home and enter the adjacent lane. It serves a long list of Kerala specialties in addition to a killer Sadhya meal for lunch. It shares the lane with its arch rival 'Taste of Kerala' which is its main competitor for the title of the best Kerala restaurant of Fort.
One fun aspect of Kerala cuisine is pairing the breads with the many curries/stews/roasts. Idiyappam is a bunch of steamed rice vermicelli usually served for breakfast with chutneys. It is my favorite among all the various sources of starch that are part of the Kerala food universe. Hotel Deluxe is kind enough to serve Idiyappams all day and I was more than glad to order it one evening with their superb Chicken Roast. I don't know if this is the ideal combination, but it sure worked for me. The fiery hot Roast loaded with green chilies and curry leaves was perfectly complimented by the light Idiyappams.
Sadhya means banquet in Malayalam and is a term used to describe a vegetarian meal served on a banana leaf. It is a feast served on festivals like Onam and occasions like weddings and religious ceremonies. The number of items served on the leaf varies along with the significance of the occasion. At Hotel Deluxe, the biggest Sadhya is served on Onam and getting a seat at the restaurant during the festival is near impossible. A smaller but sufficiently elaborate Sadhya is served on Sundays, while a basic Sadhya with the essentials is on the menu on weekdays for lunch.
I tried the scaled down Sadhya at Hotel Deluxe on a weekday lunch with two of my colleagues and had absolutely no complaints. Here is all that was served
Boiled brown rice
Thoran (sauted cabbage with grated coconut)
Avial
Pineapple Pachadi (a sweet Khichadi)
Olan (a preparation made with pumpkin, coconut milk and ginger)
Sambar
Rasam
Garlic Pickle
Puliyinchi (a paste made of ginger, tamarind, green chilies and jaggery)
Pappadam
Parippu Pradhaman (green gram Payasam)
While the Sadhya lunch is vegetarian, the fish and meat items can be ordered separately and I really wanted to try Karimeen (Pearl Spot), a fish which is very popular in Kerala and is found in large quantities in its backwaters. The whole fried Karimeen at Hotel Deluxe is loaded with spicy marinade and costs more than anything else on the menu, but is worth a try.
Taste of Kerala is the only-so-slightly more upmarket next door neighbor to Hotel Deluxe. The menu here is very similar to the neighboring eatery - the banana leaf vegetarian lunch and a long list of meat and fish specialties - but it also serves Chinese and North Indian fare in a bid to attract a wider clientele. It obviously makes sense to ignore these new additions and head straight 'South'.
Appams are almost synonymous with Kerala cuisine and are usually paired with a stew. At Taste of Kerala, the Appams are made fresh at a counter in the dining area itself. And they are best enjoyed with the Fish Naadan Curry. This is basically chunky pieces of Kingfish (Surmai) cooked in a curry made with thick coconut milk. Using your Appam to soak the last bits of curry is a joy any Kerala food experience would be incomplete without.
Taste of Kerala serves some beef preparations as well, but you will not find these on the menu. The reason according to them is to avoid spooking customers. Ask one of the waiters however, and they'll list the Taste of Kerala beef specialties in characteristic style. Beef Chilly is a big favorite among Keralites and is commonly served in the very popular toddy shops in the state. Taste of Kerala serves a great version and it is best had with the flaky, layered Kerala Parotta.
Tapioca, known as Kappa in Malayalam is a popular source of food in Kerala. It is eaten as an accompaniment with meat and fish curries and chips are also made out of it. Kappa Biryani is a dish unique to Kerala, and is made by combining tapioca with beef. The Kappa Biryani at Taste of Kerala is better than what I've tried elsewhere.
After all that spice and cholesterol, there can be few better ways to end your meal than a bowl of Payasam. And at Taste of Kerala, they have variety when it comes to Payasam. There is Parippu Pradaman (Moong Dal Payasam), Semiya Payasam (Vermicelli), Ada Pradaman (made with jaggery, coconut milk and rice flakes) and my favorite the Paalada Payasam. This one is similar to the Ada Pradaman, but is made with milk and sugar instead. It is served in a glass and comes loaded with almonds and raisins and chunky rice flakes (Adas)....get me a couch already!!
Hotel Fountain Plaza is yet another Kerala restaurant in the Fort/Fountain area. While it is not rated as highly as Hotel Deluxe and Taste of Kerala, it ranks higher than the other restaurants in the vicinity. It is easy to find, located in a lane off DN Road and is known for serving Mappila specialties.
Pathiri is a steamed rice pancake, similar to the Mangalorean Neer Dosa and finds its origin in the Mappila cuisine of North Kerala. It is regularly served as Iftar food during the month of Ramadan in Kerala. At Fountain Plaza, the Pathiris are served in a generous helping of four per plate for close to nothing. At the waiter's recommendation I tried it with their Chicken Kerala Curry.
While the curry was good, I was left with one Pathiri at the end of it. I asked the waiter if I could order a small portion of something to finish it with, and he got me a small bowl of this plain curry.
That thing packed so much taste, it proved to be the best accompaniment to the Pathiri, even better than the chicken.
If there is one thing that this post makes clear, it is the fact that the Kerala restaurants of Fort cover a great variety of the state's cuisine. From toddy shop specialties and Onam Sadhya dishes to home-style cooking and Iftaar favorites, they've got it all. The offices may be moving North and the Gulf-bound youth may not be passing through Bombay anymore, but with food like this on offer, these places will never run out of fans.
Details of the restaurants covered in the post:
Hotel Deluxe: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/hotel-deluxe-fort
Taste of Kerala: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/lalit-refreshment-taste-of-kerala-fort
Hotel Fountain Plaza: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/hotel-fountain-plaza-fort
And a few more in the Fort area.
Bombay Restaurant: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/bombay-restaurant-fort
Rahmaniya: https://www.zomato.com/mumbai/rahmaniya-restaurant-fort
