Fine dining in an artfully recreated old house is a wonderful experience. There?s so much of sleek lines, ultra mod furniture, chrome, leather and fluorescent lights that one can take in! Rasam, the fine dining vegetarian restaurant that specializes in Konganadu cuisine is located on the top floor of this delightful old home which has gabled roofs, and coloured pane windows. The interiors are warm and inviting with an accent on green and reproduction antique furniture.
The restaurant is run by Shri Krishna Sweets, which has a large spacious outlet on the ground floor. The concept, interiors and menu were designed by Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar, for whom traditional South Indian food is a passion. Konganadu cuisine, which is native to Coimbatore and its adjacent areas like Salem, Erode, Tirupur and Palani, derives its distinctive flavours from the extensive use of sesame seeds, groundnuts, dry coconut and roasted turmeric. Jacob traveled extensively in the region to fine-tune the cuisine and has added his own special masalas to give it a unique flavour. Ask him the recipe of any dish and he will list out the ingredients ending with a broad smile saying, ?And then I?ve added one of my special masalas!? And what are those special masalas? Well, that?s a closely guarded secret!
If you plan to go to Rasam for lunch, skip breakfast (you could skip the previous day?s dinner too!). There are two thalis on offer - the Special Kongunad Thali and the Regular Kongunad Thali. Go for the former; it?s an awesome array of mouyth-watering dishes. The meal, which is served course by course, kicks off with a cool and delicious panagam (welcome drink) followed by a spicy rasam that will have you drooling. My favourite is the drumstick leaves rasam ? it?s a wonderful blend of spices. Next comes a tempting mini-thali covered with a bright green banana leaf holding two varieties of salad, a mini dosa, sambhar, vada and vazhaparai (banana) dosa. The banana dosa is lip smacking ? with a crispy exterior and a melt-in-the-mouth filling.
The main course is heralded by this huge thali filled with a dizzying assortment of katoris, each encasing a yummy curry, vegetable or rice offering - there is biryani, dal rice, kothu parotta, sambhar, rasam, a poriyal, thick velvety curd, and a multiplicity of curries. The dal rice is my personal favourite ? it?s just out of this world. As are the kothu parathas. This is followed by steamed rice, payasam, banana mixture and flavoured tea. (The tea keeps changing ? I?ve even had curry leaf tea. Sound yuck? Actually it tastes pretty good!)
Dinner offers an enticing selection from an a la carte menu. You can choose from an exciting range of uncommon dosas and idiappams ? like caulifower masala dosa, paneer masala dosa, kaaikari kothu idiappam, raagi idiappam and also from a variety of parottas. I love the paniyarams ? they make for great starters and come with a choice of three yum chutneys. Also highly recommended is the Kongu Kaalan Varuval ? deep fried mushrooms in a special masala powder; be warned ? it?s addictive! The Vethrilai Poondu saadam ? beetel leaves rice with huge pods of garlic - is just superb and is served with a piquant curry called Manikaaram. Don?t miss it! For dessert try out Rasam?s specialty - Ilaneer Payasam ? a lovely cool payasam made with tender coconut served cold. Another must-have is the Ilaneer Halwa, which is made with black jaggery and rice flour; it is sinfully rich. The Karuppatti Appam ? (the appam batter is mixed with black jaggery syrup), which comes with creamy coconut syrup, is an unusual and delicious dessert.
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