Trivandrum eats.. (and so do I)... Pt II

I sometimes think where all i would go when i were to visit TVM in the future.I would probably take a room at the KTDC Chaitram,see Kovalam( everyone does,you come to TVM you see Kovalam,its mandatory),and what else..TVM kinda sucks balls, not much to do, yes there are the beaches and ayurvedic resorts, guess i will spend time there.I know where i will eat.Thats been all decided before hand.The breakfast is inconsequential,but if it has to be,there is an excellent thattu kada near Pazhavangadi.There are also several OK udupi style restaurants, which could serve as Plan B.Dinner has to be at Zam Zam if only for the memories and the good times.And lunch??Now we are talking..
About 2 Km from our college,near technopark lies this little hotel called Ashwathi.Its basically a hole in the wall eatery that has become legendary in the region for its excellent TVM style meals.All the techies( several northies too) from Technopark come here,so do lots of students from my college and then there is the regular stream of locals.There were even talks of shifting the eatery inside of Technopark, its that famous.
The meals consist of rice with four basic curries ie sambar,pullisherry,meen curry, and parripu.You get three side dishes or thooku which has an achaar,a raita type dish and an avial.You also get pappadams,curd and buttermilk.But the clincher,people, is the fish fry and Kappa( Tapioca).The fish is dipped in a secret batter and deep fried to get a crip exterior and a just right inside.The batter crumbs make for an interesting side dish in themselves.Normally there are 2 or 3 fishes a day,but the regulars are matthi,churra,ayilla and kozhiyalla.My favourite is Matthi , which is served in threes.I start of with parripu or pullisherry, and proceed onto kappa,fish fry and meen curry.This combo coupled with a single omelette is a really tantalizing mix.I mix the Kappa with the rice and add meen curry,while the fish fry, batter crumbs and omelette serve as side.I am telling you it is something to be tried.I do, almost everyday.Most people follow it up with sweets from the store opposite to it, a habit i gave up when i put on braces.
Initially there was just this young guy and his son who did the servng,aided by two old men at the counters.The hands behind all this magic are of his invisible wife, to whom he barks orders of parcels at regular intervals.Lately two new waiters have joined the bandwagon.One used to be an auto driver who would do some serving to get a free meal.He soon gave up the other job and joined full time.The food is homely and you know its been made with dedication and care.Another thing that adds to the charm are the servile and efficient waiters, a dying breed in TVM.I first heard of the place from Luke,who told of a hotel that had excellent food at real low prices.I forgot about it later, but the interest was rekindled by some classmates who made a trip there.Soon i set off with Naveen but could not spot the place, and had to contend myself by eating someplace else.Again it was the Jimson-Eappen duo who located it and returned to tell everyone their exploits.Soon the hostel was addicted.
There are people who swear by its meals,myself included.You get the most powerful siestas after eating from here, God knows how many i have had to stifle, sitting in the period after the lunch.

PS: sometimes it worries me how I intimately describe my food habits, and how it fills me with glee.But other times it reassures me of my Gourmet-ness.

Trivandrum eats.. (and so do I)... Pt 1

When i came to Trivandrum 4 years ago, i was disappointed with a lot of things (i did not protest much those days, but this is how i would like to it to be remembered, so retconned).The saving grace was theatres- Rs 30 for a balcony seat is a good idea- And then there was shawai( more on theatres later)

The menu all over Trivandrum is uniform, its the same thing everywhere with even the prices more or less the same. There’s chicken biriyani for 30/-, chicken fry/chilli chicken/chicken curry for 30/-, veg fried rice for 25/-,chapathi and parotta for 2.5/- you get the gist. And it’s the same everywhere. Hotels change hands, they are renamed, cooks fired but this... This stagnant menu has not changed. The only change was that the chicken biriyani shot up to 35 after 2 yrs and now it recently got increased to 40.Well why would you change something that works so well rt??It can get to you at times... Eating the same thing day in and day out. But around the end of the first year i started hearing rumors.. There were talks of a place that actually had something different. This something actually changed lives and eating habits in our hostel.. While once we survived on 40-50 Rs a day, that amount seemed trivial with the new developments.

It began with 2 of my hostel mates-Jimson and Eappen-spotting a fancy restaurant near there church in the city and deciding to experiment. They saw whole chickens rotating behind a glass case, it intrigued them, and like children they were drawn to this new sight.
" what wonderful delicacy is this, my good man, do pray tell" they asked the waiter.
The waiter looked back at them, with an unsurprised expression.
He replied" this, you silly fellows, is... SHAWAI CHICKEN"

That incident really changed our lives that coupled with the arrival of several bikes in our hostel, making no distance short for us. We became regular frequenters of this “fancy restaurant" called Zam Zam-the well of satiating waters. Shawai chicken was nothing but grilled chicken, something i had seen in Delhi several times but never bothered to try. It’s an Arabian dish brought to the Malabar Coast by the migrant keralite. Its served with a bread similar to a thick naan called kuboos and a katori of mayonnaise. And i must say it is divine. There are few words to describe the taste of a mouthful of chicken, wrapped in a piece of kuboos, with a dash of mayonnaise. As i said it’s divine. and beautiful and godly and heavenly.mesmerising.delicious.delectable.scrumptuous.

We now spend ridiculous amounts of money at this place, which also has a great range of ice creams- they call them ice fruits- and almost everything on the menu is excellent, though priced a bit high, but you will never hear anyone in Trivandrum saying Zam Zam is expensive. That would be blasphemous. Zam Zam stands along side 4 other restaurants- another restaurant called Zam Zam , noor Mahal and sindhoor palace. The others all basically suck. But recently the old Zam Zam got renovated and has a better ambience than the previous one. So we shifted base, it’s the same menu (it’s owned by the same people) so no guilty feelings there. Now that my eyes have opened I see shawai counters here and there... I have experimented, but none matches the splendor and charm of ol’ zam, zam.. Except...

Except Kazhakootam shawai. Which actually is a bakery called Bake World (welcome to the world of yummy delicacies!!). This too was discovered by Jimson- it’s near his bike service centre. And apart from the really brilliant shawais, you get unlimited refills of mayo... That really was a drawing factor as recently Zam Zam had started charging for extra mayonnaise. And it was nearer to home… so we added this to our regular haunts..

Jimson has to be the most active shawai gulper in our group. He is without doubt the reigning champ. I guess the second place would be tied between me and Eappen. And the rest of the guys behind us.we have had lots of memorable times in Zam Zam, many treats have been given here, birthdays celebrated, and bad days forgotten.I have always thought to myself when I come back to Trivandrum some time later in life where all will I go and eat?? This is on top of my list... this and one more place...(Wait for part 2)