Southern detour

Chef Rahul Desai whips up mini idlis with Sri Lankan curry at his Lower Parel kitchen. Pic/Bipin Kokate

From the power brekkie of idli, medu vada and uthappam that cycle-top stalls offer, to the filter coffee-laced addas and rice plates at the many udupis dotting the city, Mumbai has an intimate relationship with South Indian food. One that's built on subsistence, feeding the working-class Mumbaikar. Hailing from a Jain family, Bandra-based chef Rahul Desai, too, grew up on a diet of South Indian breakfast fare. Banking on Mumbaikars' soft spot for this cuisine, the former chef of Indigo, Taj and Masala Library has started his delivery venture, Vanakkam Cafe, which serves both OG staples from various parts of South India, as well as thoughtful twists to the same.

Born amid the second wave, the deli is a re-invention of his Malad restaurant by the same name that had to shutter due to the pandemic. The 2.0 avatar came to life under The Taxi Incubator programme, started by Lower Parel-based restaurant London Taxi's managing partners, Pawan Shahri and Dhaval Udeshi. The programme aims to give a leg-up to small entrepreneurs looking to open a cloud kitchen. "I've worked with Shahri and Udeshi for a while now [Desai is also the executive chef at London Taxi], and they had eaten the food at Vanakkam. They knew that it held the potential to become a 100-chain brand. So, I pitched the idea to them for the incubator project," shares the 29-year-old. With the cloud kitchen, Desai hopes to spread the word about the diversity of South Indian food and its roots in the five states. "The idea is to also redefine South Indian flavours," he adds.

(From above) Mini idlis in tandoori skewer and ghee podi style, and with Sri Lankan curry; pineapple sheera; and coconut, pineapple and tomato chutneys

On offer is a host of fun idli options - tandoori, satay-styled, Andhra masala-laced and with Sri Lankan curry on the side, to name a few. Rava, sada and masala aside, there are dosa options such as paneer Chettinad, open pizza and coconut potato saagu. And we spotted a medu vada burger, too. Despite apprehensions, our meal travels well from Lower Parel to Vakola, encased in eco-friendly dabbas, and with a roll of banana leaf to our delight. The molgapodi and white butter dosa (Rs 150) comes in a DIY set-up with a sweet-smelling batter yielding five, fluffy pancake-style dosas that we generously smear with a flavour-bomb podi and their in-house butter. Full marks for the chutney spread - tomato, pineapple and coconut (Rs 40, 100 gm each). The pineapple one stands out with its sticky, tangy sweetness and can be savoured alone.

The meals come with a banana leaf

The mini tandoori skewer idlis (Rs 200; 10 pieces each) hit the spot with a spicy masala base. The ghee podi mini idlis (Rs 180) are your standard fare, but the real winner is the comforting, buttery mini idlis with Sri Lankan curry (Rs 200). They're perfect to liven up gloomy, rainy days like the ones that we've been witnessing. The pineapple sheera (Rs 200) is aromatic and has little chunks of the fruit, but we would like to see more options for dessert at this deli that's easy on the pocket, filling and a delicious way to make a quick, southern detour.

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