We met up at Alankar Kerala Cuisine in Singapore's Little India. Jasmine said we are going to have "thread prata". I wondered what that is? ๐ค
Anyway, four of us, we had great fun together. Tried just a sampling from Alankar's quite extensive menu. We liked the food, were all well stuffed but I kept saying we shall be back for more dishes throughout the meal ๐คญ
It was a stormy, rainy evening. Some parts of Singapore even had flash floods from the sudden downpour. Luckily, the sky cleared at dinner time allowing me to walk from Tekka Centre to Alankar.
Found the restaurant easily at 4 Norris Street, one of the side streets of Serangoon Road.
The signboard highlighted two signatures - Malabar Biriyani and Chatti Choru.
Alankar's interior is quite compact but it is comfortable and has a homely warm ambiance.
The staff were all friendly and helpful.
When I came in, buddies were having papadum waiting for me ๐ฌ ✌️
The papadum was nice. Thin, crisp, not greasy, not overly salty, tastes nicely savoury. Served with three different curries - fish, chicken, vegetarian I think.
Started off with a suitable lubricant ๐ KF 8% ๐ป Yeah, they call the famous Kingfisher beer from India, KF for short.
I like this beer. Relatively strong at 8%, nice bitter taste, and not sweet. I don't like sweetened beers.
First up was Chatti Choru.
They say it's like Indian claypot rice but I thought it's more like nasi ambeng.
It's an Indian style claypot with boiled rice smothered in a blanket of many sides. I detected spiced mutton, chicken, fish, omelette, vegetables, various spicy relish.
I was in socialising mode enjoying conversation, so didn't pay great attention to the food details ๐ฌ✌️
The rice was soft, quite wet but not lumpy. There was a slight coconut taste.
The sides of chicken, mutton, fish, omelette and vegetables were all delicious. I especially love the well spiced, soft tender cubes of mutton.
We liked the fried fish so much that we ordered another four. The small fish were well spiced, well fried. The meat was soft tender and savoury with spice flavours.
Chatti Choru has a humble beginning. It was created to salvage food left over from meals. It was made with leftover sauces, curries, meats, vegetable, relish, with cooked rice thrown in together in a clay cooking pot. Everything was mixed together for a colourful riot of textures, flavours and aromas. Today, chatti choru is an icon of Kerala cuisine and signature of good Kerala restaurants.
Our stash of "thread" prata (actually Kerala parotta).
It's like regular prata (or roti canai in Malaysia), quite big about the size of a small plate. The outside was lightly browned with spots of deeper browning. The prata was not totally flat but looked thick, airy and wavy outside as it had many layers. It has interesting texture and tastes delicious.
Jasmine said "thread" prata, so we went looking out for threads in the prata.
The prata was not light as it was thick, but airy and almost fluffy. In the mouth, there was subtle crispness then a soft chewiness to the bite. It was not greasy and had a subtle taste of wheat like a plain biscuit. There were indeed "threads" like tender wiry strings.
The flaky prata was perfect for sponging up the curries they gave us.
We started with four and topped another two. Finger licking good ๐
Fried cauliflower wrapped in spiced batter.
Nice blend of tender, crunchy and crisp textures. Savoury with slight sweetness and spice taste.
We enjoyed ourselves at Alankar. The food was delicious, service was friendly, the place was comfortable, highly accessible, and the prices were reasonable. Thank you Sylvia for the treat and I learned new dishes today ๐
Will be back for more chatti choru, Kerala parotta and other dishes such as the Malabar Biriyani.
Making parotta in Kerala
You've captured it perfectly Tony Boey!
ReplyDeleteThank you, and thanks again for the treat ☺️
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