Have you tried aamras, the summer treat with ripe mangoes? Try the Gujarati thali, complete with fluffy dhoklas and shrikhand
What's not to love about aamras? Made by pureeing ripe mangoes into a smooth and silky pulp, this delicious summer treat is an ode to the flavour of ripe mangoes. We are dreaming about aamras as we make our way to Kanchan's Kitchen at Gujarati Samaj Complex in Mettupalayam Road. It's lunch time and the hall is packed with diners waiting for their turn to savour the delicious Gujarati thali with a side of aamras.
'Our thali is sweet, tangy and spicy. It's like having lunch at a Gujarati home and that's what draws our customers,' says K Mukesh adding that the vegetable sabjis are made with home-made masalas and ingredients they use in everyday cooking at his home. We start with a glass of refreshing buttermilk, and follow it up with fluffy dhoklas served with mint chutney and sweet imli sauce. The thali platter arrives with a bowl of the delicious ripe mango treat.
Gujaratis love a complete meal and the cuisine is known for its vegetarian options. 'Our thalis are an endless procession of flavours and texture. Sweet, salty, spicy, tangy and everything in-between. Aamras is one of our most loved dishes. It tastes best with hot pooris. We wait for the mango season to make it. For more than three months, every Gujarati household makes this drink in large quantities. It stirs a happy emotion in us, of happy childhood where there's always a shortage of aamras! We enjoy it with poori, phulkas and sometimes even rice,' says Mukesh, a Gujarati who moved to Coimbatore eight years ago from Mumbai.
He stocks up on best of the mangoes from March end when the season begins, for example Ratnagiri mangoes, particularly Alphonso varieties from Salem and Mumbai. 'I spend hours on picking the right ones that are naturally sweet with great texture and aroma to maintain a consistent taste through the season. During weekdays, we serve the thali with three sabjis, three phulkas, rice and dal, buttermilk and pappad. On Sundays, we have special meals with two sweets, two starters, mini wheat pooris, phulkas, three sabjis and dal, and aamras,' explains Mukesh.
Recalling the initial days, Mukesh says it was a dearth of restaurants that served authentic Gujarati food that led him to start Kanchan's Kitchen. 'I stayed here for eight days during my visit and I couldn't find a single outlet. I started one with six tables which has now grown to accommodate 50 people. Our customers love our phulkas. On Sundays, we have people coming from Pollachi, Tiruppur and Palakkad, just to enjoy a meal here. More that 70 percent of my customers are South Indians who enjoy authentic Gujarati food and our service,' explains Mukesh over plates of mini bondas, white dhoklas, jalebis and shrikhand. 'While the spongy yellow dhoklas are popular, we also make a variant in white akin to steamed idlis tossed in a dry masala,' he says as we sample the white dhoklas that are tangy and sweet. I round off my meal with a bowl of creamy and delicious shrikhand, a quintessential Gujarati treat.
A meal for two costs ₹400 approximately. Open from 12 noon till 4 pm for lunch and from 6pm to 10pm for dinner at Gujarati Samaj Complex, Mettupalayam Road. Also available are khakras, chivdas and other Gujarati sweets and savouries. Call 8610479793.
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