The New Paper

Chettinad specials AT first sight, it's difficult to set this one apart from the rest of the Indian restaurants dotting Race Course Road. Dated 23 July 2005

AT first sight, it's difficult to set this one apart from the rest of the Indian restaurants dotting Race Course Road.

It even serves fish head curry, a common denominator which seems to bind many of the Indian restaurants there.

But Anjappar, which opened on 1 Jul, has steered clear from such cliches, the fish head notwithstanding.

It is a speciality 88-seater restaurant, serving what is called Chettinad food. Chettinad is a region about 500km south of Chennai, the capital of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu

The food is nicely spicy, not something that will play havoc with your digestive system. And the five chefs imported from Karaikudi, one of the towns in Chettinad, do not rely on readymade ingredients for their curries. Instead, they grind and mix them themselves everyday giving the dishes a certain freshness. The great taste comes from there.

There is a wide range on offer, including about 12 different varieties of thosais, Indian breads, and of course the briyanis.

Chettinad cuisine has dishes unique to itself. Like the Chettinad Koli Rasam (chicken soup, $3). Fine chicken pieces cooked in stock and reduced with pepper corns, tomato and garlic paste.

The aroma and the broth blend so well with the meat which made it a wonderful starter.

Better still was the Special Anjappar Chicken dry ($5.50). Tender pieces of chicken marinated in chef's handmade masala and cashews and roasted to taste.

I moved on to another speciality, Chettinad Chicken Curry ($5). It was a good couple of steps ahead of the dry one, especially the gravy, thick and rich, the quality of the preparation just coming through.

I chose to eat this with kal dosa (thosai), not the usual thin, papery ones. It is round and thick and so soft that it just melted in the mouth.

Another dry dish, mutton sukka varuval (fresh tender cuts of lamb marinated in crushed pepper corns and fried with chopped onion, $6), was up there. However, given a choice, the chicken curry may well get the nod.

A Chinese touch to the menu came in the form of gobi manchurian (cauliflower and garlic cooked in soya and chilli sauces and chilli paste).

Paal paniyaram (deep fried rice flour with flavoured sweetened milk, $2.50) was a sweet way to round off the meal.

It's worth a second visit or even a third. If you feel the spice may bother you, the chefs can tone it down just that bit. But you won't need it.

Chinese Paper Article :- Dated 02-04-2006

Anjappar (Authentic Chettinad Restaurant)
#76,78 Race Course Road (S) 218576
Tel: 6296 5545
11:30 am to 10.30 pm; seven days a week