Discover Erode-style delights at Satti Kari in Chennai
This newly-launched restaurant on the ECR is hard to miss, with its bold red and yellow signboard with a rooster. Specialising in Erode-style Kongu cuisine, the focus here is on flavourful country chicken dishes. The farm-style ambience is pleasant, with a thatched hut setting in an open-air dining space, complemented by a limited air-conditioned section.
After scanning through the menu, we settle down for their non-vegetarian meals (₹250) for lunch. Gayathri Kannan, co-founder of the establishment had travelled across the Erode region, where she dined at a wide range of eateries, from roadside stalls to well-established restaurants, immersing herself in local flavours.
The chef eagerly recommends we try their Kongu-style biryani. The non-vegetarian ela sappad has rice, meen kulambu (fish curry), nattu kozhi kulambu (country chicken gravy), karuvadu thokku (dry fish gravy), pacha puli rasam (raw tamarind rasam), chammanthi and thalicha moru (garnished butter milk).
Over here, the specialty nattu kozhi dishes can be ordered in quantities of your choice. Nattukozhi kaattu varuval is available in 250 grams, 500 grams or even one kilogram portions. In addition to this, the menu offers an array of regional special dishes such as nattukozhi Nallampatti varuval, nattukozhi pachamilaga varuval and nattukozhi milagu varuval. We decided to try 250 grams each of kaattu varuval, pacha milagai varuval and Nallampatti varuval.
Kongu cuisine stands out because of their use of indigenous ingredients such as fennel, pepper, coconut, groundnuts and turmeric. Each chicken dish we tasted had a distinctive personality, and our favourite was pachamolaga nattu kozhi, bursting with the vibrant heat of green chilli, which was balanced by fennel and coconut, and nattu kozhi kaattu varuval, that had very few spices, yet delivered a bold flavour, which can be attributed to a generous addition of red chilli and chinna vengayam (shallots) — a signature of Kongu-style cooking
The mutton biryani (₹350) was mild and aromatic with tender, flavourful chunks of lamb meat. We tried the Kerala-style prawn thokku and were floored by the aroma and perfectly cooked succulent prawns.
Gayathri shares that they use only chinna vengayam in all their preparations, source their country chicken from a trusted farm in Chengalpet and use only cold pressed ground nut, gingelly and coconut oils for dishes.
The defining feature of Erode is the emphasis on slow-cooking where meat is gently sauteed on low heat and species are added gradually. , The oil is used sparingly than other regional cuisines of Tamil Nadu. 'We use only traditional clay pots, and every dish is prepared over a wood-fired stove,' Gayathri says. 'It's the only way to bring out the true, authentic flavour.'
This 90-seater restaurant also offers pazhayasoru(soaked, fermented rice), with either vegetarian (₹150) or non-vegetarian (₹175) accompaniments. For dinner, there are combo options featuring such as steamed bread, idiyappam, parotta and idli with country chicken gravy, mutton stew, fish gravy or verkadalai (groundnut) kulambu at pocket-friendly rates. The dinner menu also includes indulgent favourites such as the kari dosa, kaara poondu dosa, halwa parotta and kothu parotta (chicken or prawn). Dont miss their kulambu kalakki, a true treat for the taste buds.
After the meal, we opt for a serving of elaneer (tender coconut) payasam, the regionaldessert that highlights the abundant coconut groves of the Kongu belt.
Satti Kari is located at Akkarai, ECR. For reservations, call 7200107750. Meal for two costs ₹1,350.
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