Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Onam Sadya @ Ente Keralam-Restaurant Review

Another Onam passed by.One of the most important thing we miss during Onam here is the Ona sadya.The variety of curries and savories and pickles,ah thinking about it itself is making my mouth water,and not to forget the payasams,most of the sadyas serve 4 of them!!I try and make Sadya every year with at least 1 payasam to get the Onam feel.This year though,we decided to relax and have it at Ente Keralam.

On Thiruvonam day,,along with a couple of my friends,we decided to recreate Onam festivity in Chennai,at least the Pookkalam/Flower bed part.Since almost all of us were novices,the outcome was nothing much to write home about,but we are quite proud of our effort:)
For lunch,we decided to head to Ente Keralam,one of the popular Kerala joints in the city.Dressed in ethnic Kerala attires,we were in for a shock when we stepped into the vicinity.There were hundreds of people waiting outside and all waiting for their turns.We almost decided to head back home,but what's a simple wait compared to a grand Onam sadya?
We got a table after almost a hour and a half wait.But credit has to be given to the manager who kept his cool and was very friendly,despite people breathing down his neck for their turns,including yours truly.
The sadya arrived almost five minutes later(which on regular days takes about 10-15 minutes),probably to serve more people.To be very honest,I was disappointed with the first impression.On normal days,the sadya is plated so beautifully,almost like a food pookkalam in itself.The pickles,curries and everything else causing a colour riot which soothes the eyes.As they say,you eat with your eyes first and then taste it.But here,it looked like it was done in a hurry-burry(which in reality could be the reason for the haphazard appearance).
A taste of everything and we were willing to let go the appearance and dived straight to the plate.We were quite hungry too so that could also be a reason.
As you can see from the pic above,the sadya was replete with all the regular Onam fare.My favorites were the madhura curry,koottu curry and the avial.Hungry or not,the meal overall was a delicious one.We glanced through the tables nearby and all of them were enjoying the sadya amidst serious talks about the rush waiting outside.Nobody wanted to finish their sadya in a hurry:)

Halfway through the sadya,we noticed that some of the regular sadya dishes were missing here.Like Olan,which is a main dish in sadya,instead of that there was a bowl of cut kumbalanga soaked in coconut oil which was something new to us.Also missing were Erissery,Rasam and Kichadi.But no complaints,the taste of whatever was served made up for it.

It was time for Payasam,the most awaited in any sadya.In fact,we restricted ourselves from having seconds because we wanted to have enough space left for the king of payasams and they didn't disappoint here.There were 4 payasams served.
We had a taste of each and were in a dilemma which one to finish first.Kept the paalada aside as we wanted to save the best for last:).Though we were not very happy regarding the quantity of paalada served,in reality,after the grand sadya,there's only so much payasam you can eat!!But we asked the server for a second helping and he obliged happily:)

The sadya is overseen by Thirumeni Unnikrishnan Namboodiri.One plate is priced at Rs.475+taxes.

On normal days,you can have regular Kerala Sadya,which is very similar to this.Make sure you reach there early for lunch as meals like these are best enjoyed when eaten in leisure.

Ente Keralam is situated at Kasturi Ranga Avenue 1st Street, Poes Garden and 5th Avenue, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar

Disclaimer-This is not a paid review.I liked the restaurant and thought of sharing my experience with my readers.

17 comments :

  1. Whoah, I want that spread! Never had an onam sadya before...

    And the pooklam looks fabulous, I have tried making tiny poo kolam,but never got it so well..

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  2. Thats a very nice read Divya..Belated onam wishes to you and your family

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  3. wow...That's wonderful...Love the poo kolams and the food served...

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  4. What an amazing spread! Feel like having sadhya again.

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  5. That's a lovely spread. Hope you had your fill.

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  6. One of the finest kerala restuarants. Try their appam - kadala curry on a normal evening :) Belated Onam Wishes!

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  7. Wow! Divya... totally enjoyed the Onam Sadya at least visually thanks to you :) Am very curious... is the Onam feast usually vegetarian only? Or do non-veg dishes also feature traditionally?
    And hey, I loved your Pookkalam! So pretty :)

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  8. wow thats really a visual treat,love the spread...Beautiful kolam.

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  9. Wowww... Wonderful spread dear.. simply inviting.. awesome job dear :)

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  10. Oh divya, even we did go there for onam sadya, we went on sep 2 at 12.30 so we could get seat immediately. But our plate was filled with all dishes, and it was very well done, but as rush started they did not come for second serving, we had to keep calling the waiter for everything.....as u said, taste was just mind blowing .When we came out, there was too much rush outside...
    btw i did see u in pondibazar , i was waiting to catch a auto, u were in you car.......

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  11. Wow..lovely deco and tempting feast, Divya! Happy Onam to you.

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  12. Wowww... Wonderful spread dear.. simply inviting..looks awesome

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  13. Wow..what a lovely pookalam..urs n hotel's too! Splendid photography-adorable props n beautiful post on the nonche! I guess I scrolled down two posts at a time..hence commenting 2in1..amazing n tks for the review! Hope u too had amazing Onam. :) Hugs.

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  14. really? i live right opposite! wish i"d known, I'd've joined you!

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  15. What a lovely spread...i am already drooling...

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Love,
Divya.

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