Street food and homey food are celebrated at Chennai’s Yuva Restaurants

In a plush, tree-lined alley of Alwarpet, in a neighborhood accustomed to buttery croissants and French-pressed coffee, there is a tiny corner mess where you can eat unlimited amounts of rice, dried fish sambal, meen kuzambu, chicken curry, rasam, can. Sambar, Kutu and Poriyal in just ₹160. At lunchtime on a heat-stricken weekday, all five tables are full under a cool humming AC.

“It is heartening to see walk-ins from every demographic: from security guards to officers in big SUVs,” says 30-year-old Vikram Reddy, one of the four entrepreneurs at Karam Karaikudi Mess. He stops mid-conversation to say goodbye to an elderly guest with a cane, being gently helped by a young fellow – both regulars since the two-week-old restaurant opened.

Repeat customers – and the patronage of established chefs and a few celebrities – are proof of Vikram that he was right at the base of his core business: “Everyone remembers simple traditional food, and wants to eat it with ease. ” It is a base that may not be surprising, but is only now gaining momentum among the food entrepreneurs of Chennai.

To that end, Arvind Suresh and Richie Richard, 23, have spent the past eight months serving Clay Pot Fish Curry in the most comfortable setting: your home. The duo’s brand Meen Satti gained popularity in several areas of the city during the entire lockdown, with a simple, fuss-free offering: a family-sized box home packed with rice, fish fry and Meen Kuzhambu in mud. Delivery. sattis. “two different” sattis: one in which Meen Kujumbu is cooked, and one in which it is packed,” clarifies Arvind.

Rising popularity meant that Meen Satti needed a bigger kitchen earlier this year, so Richie and Arvind moved to Ekkattuthangal. Opened less than a fortnight ago, the new Meen Satti space features an “experience store front” that seats two groups of diners at regular tables and pre-bookings only at a raised floor table.

Chennai-based restaurateurs Richie Richard and Arvind Suresh of Meen Satti. , Photo Credit: Velankanni Raj

What’s the experience here, you ask? “We have a dine-in expert to guide guests on the right way to eat fish heads, and things like that,” says Richard. This team is clearly serious about the fish.

mom knows best

The frills are minimal, and the biggest reason for the success of these food stores is the recipe. While Vikram and his partners Vaishnavi Ravi Shankar, Anush Rajasekaran and Sweta Rengasamy rely on the expertise of traditional cooks bringing in cuisine from Madurai and Chennai, Meen Satti has just one person to thank: Aravind’s mother.

“Our curry is based on tamarind, not tomato based, just like my mother used to make in Cuddalore. We’ve checked and measured the amount of ingredients she would instinctively use; We have written it all down,” says Arvind.

Inti Bhojanam owner Rakshit Ramesh

On the other hand, 29-year-old Rakshit Ramesh, a first-time foodie, spent weeks traveling to Hyderabad and Vijayawada in search of the right chefs and caterers to bring the nuances of Andhra Pradesh cuisine to Chennai through Inti Bhojanam.

The month-old restaurant has more varied, traditional Andhra fare in Vijayawada tradition than Hyderabadi. This means the famous Guntur chili, but less red and more green – “we had to turn down the heat for Chennai dinner” – the perfect blend of lots of tamarind and just ground spices. Think everything from coconut and chickpea-stuffed brinjals Gongura mutton is made from the iconic, sour green leaves.

“We are probably the only people in Chennai who will serve you the traditional combination” paruppu [a mild dal] With pachu pulusu [tamarind water with the flavours of jaggery, fried green chillies and onion] On a banana leaf, the way it was supposed to be,” says Rakshit, “Most of the menus are made up of dishes I grew up eating.”

A meal at Inti Bhojanam, Chennai | photo credit: special arrangement

Apart from vegetarian thali and non-vegetarian la carte dishes, Inti Bhojanam also serves Dum Biryani and Meetha Paylam Pongal.

Prices have been kept deliberately low, explains Rakshit, “We are a little more high-end than a regular mess. We want everyone to feel comfortable going in,” Rakshit says from his seat, facing the glass wall that spans the entire first floor, offering a tree-lined view of the SIET College and office buildings. does, both provide steady streams of customers.

Accessibility is also an important factor for 25-year-old Aniruddha Rao. In his newly opened teru, the average price of the articles is ₹60. This is because Teru (meaning “street” in Tamil), true to its name, is all about street food from South India. And Anirudh is well aware that “no matter the quality of oil, water safety and comfortable seating, customers will always be aware that they can buy something similar for ₹20 or ₹30 right down the road.” If they don’t, don’t enjoy the taste here.”

Teru has an interesting menu with popular street food from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. “I am currently working on Kerala cuisine as well,” he says.

Besides being one of the rare places in Chennai to make a Mangalore bun halfway through, Teru’s USP lies in its durable packaging – which includes small bagasse cups and lids for chutneys. Andhra-Style Stuffed mirchi bajjis, rice based from Karnataka akki rotiS, and Salem’s Classic thattu promise That tightly packed sandwich set with a filling of beetroot and raw mango, all in breathable packaging withstands a day’s test of crunchiness and flavor.

business support business

Such consistency is key to Anirudh’s ambitions: “When you think of packaged North Indian street food, several well-known brands come to mind. I want to make something similar for us in the South,” he says.

For this they have started tying up with home cooks for many packaged products. Teru sells Guntur-style podis and pickles made by a home chef based in Nandanam, as well as coffee from an estate in Chikmagalur. It also offers traditional lunches for offices and office goers on pre-order, based on tie-up with verified home kitchens in different parts of the city.

Meals at Karam Karaikudi Mess | photo credit: special arrangement

On the other hand, for the Meen Satti, the business ties are spread across multiple cities. “We have tied up with cooperatives in Chennai, Kundrathur, Madurai and Vellore to provide us sattis. They were excited by the idea of ​​stable, long-term orders for a restaurant,” says Arvind. “We have to place orders with them three months in advance, and order about 2,000,” says Richie. sattifor every month. ,

While the Meen Satti duo is trying to persuade their customers to see the benefits of reusing these pottery and traditional packaging, Anirudh has found a more traditional icon inspired by: “Our buttermilk what inspired Peacock Thatha Thiruvanmiyur,” he says with a sly grin, acknowledging that the original is unique.