After weeks of anticipation, caterers and customers reunite at the city’s sabha canteens. Revel in their familiar rhythm again over filter coffee and pizza idlis
Sri Sasthalaya Catering, Narada Gana Sabha
After two years, catering contractor Ramesh Krishnan and his team are back: and they are determined to make it a memorable Margazhi. Sri Sasthalaya Catering, who have been running sabha canteens for seven years, will be serving an elaborate lunch at the venue for the first time.
“We have been granted permission to serve ela sappad (a traditional lunch on a banana leaf),” says Ramesh Krishnan, the proprietor. He adds, “We usually serve mini lunch on plates, but this year we are looking forward to serving a freshly made, authentic kalyana sappad (wedding style lunch). The menu will be diverse, with different types of rasam, sambar, vetha kulambu and moru kulambu. There will be a variety of thogayal (lentil based chutnies) and payasams everyday.
He promises that the menus will be non-repetitive, with mavadu (tender mango pickle) and veppalakatti (a traditional dry pickle made with lime leaves) readied exclusively for the meals.
Starting from 6am, the canteen will serve piping hot Chettinad specials such as vella appam, kuzhi paniyaram, appam and idiyappam. They are also launching pizza idlis: idlis steamed in circular plates, topped with mixed vegetables and loaded with cheese. Still in a Mc Sabha frame of mind? Try their cheese idlis as well.
Of course all idlis, even the ones with American accents, must come with chutney and coffee. “We are serving ginger chutney, tomato kara chutney, Kumbakonam kadappa (a regional speciality made with moong dal, coconut, spices and mixed vegetables) and Chettinad masala kulambu (an aromatic gravy with vegetables, made with freshly ground coconut and spices),” says Ramesh.
As for dessert, as always he says their khoa jangri is what “steals the show year after year”. Pricing is deliberately competitive. “Sabha canteens are an opportunity for caterers like us to find new customers that may bring in business for the rest of the year,” says Ramesh. “Therefore my focus is to impress the customers with our food, and definitely not profit.”
Don’t forget to try the coffee, the kiosk is always a major crowd puller here.“We source high quality coffee beans from a single estate in Coorg and cow’s milk from local suppliers,” says Ramesh. “We start serving coffee as early as 5am.”
Although this has been a year of takeaway, Ramesh is determined to keep the experience personal, and packaging free: “We want rasikas to come to the venue, enjoy the fresh, hot meal served on the banana leaf and experience authentic Chennai hospitality. Therefore we will not be offering take away.”
@Narada Gana Sabha, TTK Road, Alwarpet. The canteen will run December 17 to January 5, from 6am to 10pm everyday.
Call 9500028384.
Sastha Catering Services, Mylapore Fine Arts Club
Last year, RK Venkatesan ran the sabha canteen despite the pandemic, even though there were no music events or concerts. And though people were nervous about crowds, it was comforting to experience at least one familiar note in a tensely unpredictable year.
This year they have started a week ahead of the season due to an overwhelming demand from customers. “People are now confident of leaving their homes and heading to the canteen,” says RK Venkatesan adding, “On day one (December 10) we served 300 lunches, which was rather overwhelming.”
Sastha serves a typical South Indian wedding feast on a banana leaf (₹400 per head). “In a wedding feast we normally serve a set menu such as potato roast, aviyal and usili. But I am trying to bring in more variety,” says Venkatesan. For example, he says, they serve poosanikka pulippu kootu, chow chow rasavangi (a thick gravy made with coconut, spices, with brinjal or chowchow) and other traditional home style dishes. “The focus is on using less oil and spices,” he adds.
This is the fifth year that the caterer is running a sabha canteen during the music season.
For breakfast, while there are the traditional ghee dosas, to keep things interesting, Sastha also serves pineapple dosa, beetroot dosa and spinach dosa. If you drop by in the evening, look out for their popular crisp vethala (betel leaf) bajji, Manglore bondas and paani puri.
“For the New Year, we will be serving a special lunch (₹500) where one can taste special items from Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka,” says Venkatesh.
Kumbakonam degree coffee is available through the day and is served in a brass davara set. Another novelty this year is a counter selling sweets and savouries. The caterer is known for his elaneer payasam, sapota kesari and Asoka halwa.
@Mylapore Fine Arts Club, Mylapore. The canteen will run till January 2, from 6am to 10pm. Call 8925361555. Food is also being delivered through Dunzo and Swiggy.
Mountbatten Mani, Hemamalini Kalyana Mandapam
Legendary cook and caterer, Mountbatten Mani, a trendsetter in the sabha canteen scene, turned 90 last month. His son K Srinivasan who runs the Mountbatten Mani Catering Services, catered at Sri Parthasarathy Swamy Sabha, popular for its elaborate sit down lunches, for a decade. Then, last year the pandemic halted most of the city’s Margazhi traditions, including their canteen.
Srinivasan has decided to try a new format this year by organising a Margazhi Food Festival at the Hemamalini Kalyana Mandapam. “We are running the canteen as a separate entity at the wedding hall this year,” he says, adding “This probably is the first time that a canteen is functioning without any concert or under the aegis of any sabha.” I am organising such a canteen only for sake of my loyal customers, as they look forward to our elaborate meals every year during the December Season.
His team specialises in traditional vegetarian meals, as well as snacks and tiffin. “I try to bring into the menu, what we normally may not find in the restaurant. For example, paal kozhukattai, vella paniyaram and badam halwa, which is my father’s secret recipe,” says Srinivasan. “The kalyana virundhu we serve has no onion, no garlic (₹525 per person) and we generally avoid root vegetables during the weekends,” he says, adding that “Most of us did not get to attend many weddings during the pandemic, so it is a chance to celebrate familiar flavours. Also, these Margazhi canteens break the monotony of life.”
@Hemamalini Kalyana Mandapam, Lloyds Road, Royapettah. The canteen will run from December 22 till January 4, from noon to 10pm. Breakfast will be served only during weekends. Call 9840024400. Food delivery via Dunzo.
