Saravanaa Bhavan - Restaurant Review

My sister was craving some Parotta today, so we decided to go to Saravanaa Bhavan - a south-Indian vegetarian restaurant. Even though I love my meats and try hard to avoid vegetarian food at most times, Saravanaa Bhavan is a regular stop where I enjoy vegetarian meals. Regardless of the numerous south Indian/Sri Lankan restaurants in Tooting, this restaurant is the one restaurant I would recommend to people, who want to try some authentic south Indian cuisine :)

Silver Tumbler

I love it how they have silver tumbler cups just like in India; gives the restaurant a very authentic feel. The general atmosphere in the restaurant is very nice and the staff are polite too. My sisters and I didn't have to look through the menu for very long as we all knew exactly what we wanted lol. We ordered Panneer Fried Rice, Poori Masala, and Parotta.

The parotta came with a side of potato masala and pureed cauliflower curry. Parotta is a type of a flat bread commonly eaten in south India. It's usually made with maida flour, to which eggs and ghee are added. The dough is rolled and folded several times and grilled in a round shape. The unique feature of Parotta is that it consists of thin layers. As innocent as it may look, it is high in calories though, so watch how much you are eating =P

I'm not a big fan on the potato masala, that comes with the parotta, as it is too dry for my liking...but the cauliflower curry is a very good accompaniment. Surprisingly enough, the curry actually tastes like a non-veg curry!

Parotta

My little sister ordered some Poori Masala, which I quite liked. Poori is another type of bread, made with wheat flour. The dough is cut out into flat circles and deep fried in oil. During the process of deep-frying, the poori puffs up and gives it that round shape as you can see in the picture below. Again, the poori was served with the potato masala and cauliflower curry...yumm!!!

Poori

The last dish we ordered was Panneer Fried Rice. I was very disappointed actually. The portion size was very generous but there wasn't much panneer in the fried rice lol. It was very bland in taste and didn't taste anywhere near as good as it looked.

Panneer Fried Rice

Overall, the food was nice though. I won't be ordering the Panneer Fried Rice again, but the Parotta and Poori are always a must-try classic. Also a favourite classic of mine: Chilli Panneer...fried panneer, with a spicy aromatic taste...thought I mention it too ;)  The 3 dishes plus soft drinks came up to just under £20, which is a very good price if you ask me!

If you do get the chance to find a Saravanaa Bhavan branch near you, give it a try!

colds...coughs...and comfort foods

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that put a smile on our face :)

Caught a bad cold a week ago, and over the week my symptoms just got worse. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get an ear infection too -_- not very nice...but thank god it's the weekend, and I can snuggle up in my comfy pyjamas and enjoy my mum's home cooked food :) It's at times like these, we truly appreciate the comfort of home and food that's been cooked with love and care.

So this morning I woke up to this beautiful smell, so familiar...yet I found it hard to figure out what it was......my Mum was making some Spaghetti Bolognese. Mmmmmh that smell!! Mouthwatering! Boiling some pasta and making some bolognese sauce is not a challenging task. A very simple dish with so many flavours and textures. But most importantly, it is so filling and gives you a sense of nostalgia...bringing back childhood memories :)

Look out for my next post, with my mum's yummy Spaghetti Bolognese recipe =D

So what is Elakkai?

Elakkai is Tamil for Cardamom. It is a key spice in the Tamil cuisine used in a variety of dishes from curries to sweet treats. Growing up in a Tamil household, the sweet spicy smell of Cardamom always lingered in our kitchen. My mum would always have Cardamom pods in stock in the kitchen. On special occasions, she would make Cardamom infused milk tea....absolutely to die for!!! But too much of anything can only be bad haha...

So why did I decide to call my blog 'The Elakkai Project'? My bestie, Thulasi, started calling me Elakkai lately and not only does it sound very adorable, but every time I see/smell cardamom now, it reminds me of her :)  So when I was looking for a name for my blog, Elakkai was the first name that came to mind.

Since I'm talking so much about Cardamom, here is a little background of the exotic spice.
Cardamom (Tamil: Elakkai) belongs to the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Even though this spice is native to India and Sri Lanka it is currently used world-wide in several cuisines, especially in Scandinavian baking. The pods can be used in whole, or the seeds can be extracted, ground and added to dishes for flavour. It is a very intense flavour so a little goes a long way!

Cardamom is used in curries, baked goods, tea, indian desserts, soups or any rice dishes to add a sweet/spicy flavour.

In addition, this super spice also has health benefits. It can be beneficial for digestive disorders or respiratory problems. My dad would always tell me how he used to chew on Elakkai to get rid of any bad breath when he was younger in Sri Lanka.

I'll be signing off now and make myself some nice Elakkai tea =)

Here goes the intro

Here I am...Sabtha...a crazy food addict with a passion for cooking, baking and most importantly eating! I've started this blog as a means of keeping track of my food addiction and to review food/restaurants/takeaways/patisseries I come across everyday :) I will be posting any new creations or remakes of any recipes in my kitchen here too.

I LOVE FOOD, there's no doubt about that =D 

Love food from all over the world, always want to explore new cuisines and quirky places in and around London. 

Since this is my first post, I'll keep it nice and short :)

S x