Now, discover the flavours of Madurai in the coronary heart of Chennai. At Madurai Kullappa Mess, the menu is constructed round meat: ghee mutton chukka, mind masala, liver fry, and head and trotters curry. However, it’s the seafood right here that appears to pull the most crowds, from crisp netheli fry to their Sunday-only ayira meen kuzhambu (a tamarind-based gravy made utilizing this freshwater fish native to Tamil Nadu. These are tiny and slender fish usually present in canals alongside agricultural fields and ponds. Due to their dimension, they’re usually cooked entire.)
Promoted by Jeyanandh Dinakaran and helmed by managing director V Sivasankaran, this restaurant brings the daring, rustic flavors of Madurai to the metropolis, with a menu that celebrates every little thing from biryani to meat-based gravies.
We visited this newly launched restaurant on a sunny afternoon to strive their non-vegetarian set meals (₹299 andveg ₹225). The meals include limitless rice and 5 gravies, together with crab, fish, rooster, mutton and a strong karuvadu thokku (a semi-gravy made with dried fish) .
As we waited for our order, Sivasankaran defined that the masalas are made in-house, with the lamb meat sourced from Thiruvallur district. The ghee, chilly pressed groundnut and gingelly oil are introduced in from the Delta areas, alongside the river Cauvery in Tamil Nadu. “Our signature dish is ayira meen kulmabu which is served only on Sundays and viraal meen varuval, available everyday. We get ayirai meen from Madurai, which we transport in aluminium cans on buses. This dish sells out quickly, so we recommend pre-booking,” he says.
Simmakal Seeraga Samba Biryani
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Special Arrangement
We strive the viral meen varuval together with the Simmakkal-style seeraga samba biryani. The biryani is moist, clumped collectively and never fluffy owing to the texture of the native rice. It was fairly underwhelming. It is accessible in rooster and mutton variants, priced at ₹310 and ₹410, respectively.
To spherical off the meal, we order mutton ghee chukka and mutton uppu kari — two basic Madurai-style dry preparations. When the set meals arrive, I style all the gravies, and the mutton kulambu and karuvadu thokku stand out for his or her depth of taste. The viraal meen is crisp on the exterior and moist inside, completely fried. Uppu Kari, Sivasankaran explains, makes use of the naked necessities: purple chilli, shallots, garlic, pepper, and salt, all slow-cooked in gingelly oil. The mutton nei (ghee) chukka has an intense flavour and tender meat. Though the dish carries the wealthy aroma of ghee, there’s none in the cooking — solely the purple chillies are roasted in ghee earlier than being added.
Viraal meen fry
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Special Arrangement
Madurai Kullappa Mess gives Chennai diners a style of Madurai’s hearty, meat-centric delicacies. While the gravies in the set meal had been extra subdued than anticipated and didn’t depart a long-lasting impression, the dry meat and seafood specials shine with daring, rustic flavors.
Non-vegetarain set meals is priced at ₹299)
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Special Arrangement
Madurai Kullappa Mess, T Nagar. Open from midday to 11pm. A meal for 2 is ₹800. For reservations, name 6385123456 .
