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From God’s own country

I was at the INA Market the other day, in search of some good tiger prawns. Once I had got what I was looking for, I thought I’d go and look up Dominick at Malabar restaurant in the market. I hadn’t been to Malabar for ages, but it was the place where I had eaten some of the most delicious Kerala fish curries ever. So I went through the maze of lanes in the market — and found that Malabar had, alas, shut shop. That was a blow, for Malabar had all kinds of good Kerala dishes, including the famous pothu fry. But INA Market had another Kerala restaurant called Nadan, so I went there. And, surprise, surprise — Nadan was not there either. I finally went to the third Kerala restaurant, called The Kerala Hotel, and found that it had become completely parochial: all the signs were in Malayalam.

I was wondering what to do when I suddenly spotted a very energetic man in front of another restaurant, urging passers-by to step in. He reminded me of all those people who stand in front of dhabas on the highways and near railway stations, trying to attract the attention of all and sundry. I went in — and found that it was another Kerala restaurant. This one is called Annas Hotel. It’s in the quadrangle abutting INA Market, which once housed the Super Bazar. The address is 205, Mohan Singh Market, INA. And the phone number is 65829226. It’s run by a man called Anish Sebastian (9868453097). Sebastian wasn’t there, but I talked to his representative there, and found that they had everything on the menu you could ask for, from crab fry to crab masala and mutton curry.

The man was quite enterprising. A customer came in, asking for Chettinad food. “Oh, Chettinad masalas take time,” he replied glibly. “You need two or three days to get those masalas,” he added. The customer decided that he’d have crab fry instead — which, of course, the restaurant had in plenty. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I couldn’t wait for the crab fry, much as I would have loved it! Instead, I took some fried meat home, and served it as an appetiser to friends who came for dinner. It was hot and spicy, with a trace of ground saunf, or fennel, in it, which gave it an aromatic touch. But I have to go back there for the crab.

A plate of crab fry is for Rs.99, and crab curry is for Rs.130. The prawn curry is for Rs.120, and mutton curry is for Rs.55. They have a Malabar special chicken (16 pieces, says the menu, but I am not sure whether they cut one chicken up into 16 small parts or give you two chickens!) which is for Rs.300. Each porotta — that wonderful flaky bread of Kerala — is for Rs.4.

But it’s certainly good to know that while Malabar and Nadan’s have sadly shut shop, we have Annas to turn to. God’s own country has its able representative in Delhi — and I hope it flourishes.

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