South Indian food and Fine Dining doesn’t bring anything to mind, right? Savya Rasa in Koregaon Park, Pune is all set to change that. I can’t remember going to a fine dining South Indian restaurant throughout my travels in India and away. An evening at a fine dining restaurant automatically means a North Indian or Punjabi food menu.
Most of the non-punjabi food hotels have been relegated to a thali system and south Indian restaurant at best create a speciality restaurant that has some better options of dosas and vadas. So coming across a fine dining Savya Rasa was a pleasant surprise. Savya means the South and Rasa literally means juices or essence. At Savya Rasa you can expect to capture the essence of Southern India.
As I have stressed in my other posts, a theme restaurant has an added responsibility to create an ambience that will put the diner in surroundings that reiterate the food. At Savya Rasa you will transcend into a ethnic South Indian world the moment you step into the reception area or even when you walk up the steps of the restaurant. The steps are adorned with the mythical creature Yali which is part lion, part elephant and part horse.
Every stone, every pillar and every artifact is selected to connect you with the South Indian culture. The choice of color, the floor, and even the ceilings are adorned with handcrafted tiles to make the dining experience unique.
Interesting furnishings like the Kankku Pillai table, used traditionally by accountants, and ancient games like Ganjifa Card played during the Wodyar era adorn the interiors of the restaurant.
You will find the servers dressed in an ethnic dress, the furniture will remind you of the wooden frame sofas you had in your house as a kid and the flavored water will connect you to essentially Indian flavors with choices like Tulsi water or Khus water.
I can’t stress enough the attention to detail given to maintain the theme. The menu is designed to mimic the traditional Indian dry-leaf scrolls, although these are made of paper.
But it is a restaurant and you are there for the food. Whatever else, the food has to complement all of this and take the eating experience a notch up.
I have had a few cocktails with Indian falvors this year, and also like a couple. But many of them were disappointing. Savya Rasa has a list of these. Popular cocktails with an Indian taste. So you have a Byadgi Mary, which is a twist on Bloody Mary. Byadgi is the local chilli, and I was told that the drink has no tomato base, so this must be interesting.
But I chose to try a twist on my current favorite – Whiskey Sour. The Beetle Sour takes the traditional sour base and replaces the Cherries with the taste of Beetle nut leaves.
So if you love your Paan after a good meal, this is a must-have. There are some other coffee based cocktails and more, which I didn’t try, but judging by the beetle sour, am sure these won’t be disappointing either.
The menu at Savya Rasa is curated to offer the best of the South Indian states. You will find preparations from Manglore, Kerala, Andhra, Telangana, from Tamil Nadu in each course.
So vegetarians have the choice of Daal Vada or Mushrooms, and the carnivores can use their forks from some juicy stir-fried boneless lamb and chicken.
The Venchina Mamsa Koora – Mamsa means lamb or meat – is coated in a thick masala of onions ginger and coriander. The heat here comes from green chilies and ginger ad the green coriander use keeps the taste fresh.
On the other hand, in Kozhi Podi Varuval or the chicken the heat seems to come from dry spices like cloves and pepper. The fried chicken is coated with a crunchy cover, perhaps made of daal mix, and was slightly dry compared to the juicy lamb appetizer.
The Biskuthambade, another veggie option, was closer to medu vada in terms of texture, but seemed to have more than just the udad daal.
Most of the South India resides in coastal areas and seafood is part of everyday diet. If you like seafood, but a re bored with the usual Prawns Koliwada, Chemeen Podi-ittu Varuthathu is definitely something you should try.
Cooked in Coconut Oil, the stir-fried prawns are mildly spiced with bits of fresh coconut and onions. And don’t worry about the coconut oil, it is very subtle.
Moving on to the main course, Savya Rasa has number of different breads on the menu, from different regions. You have a close coising of Malabar Parotta, which is called Bun Parota or Kambu Roti. It is very similar to the flaky malabar parota, but finished to resemble a bun. Or you can opt for a healthier Ragi roti.
In terms of carbs, one other thing you must try is the Idiyappa Idly. It is more like a Idiyappam vermicelli formed in the shape of a idly. The idly is a perfect to pair with a fish gravy or Lamb gravy like Pollachi Kari Kozhambu. here the lamb is cooked with aubergines and drumsticks along with blend of spices. The resulting taste is that of the classic Curry Powder.
Just as seafood, Rice is the staple food for these Indian states. The Thalassery Meen Biryani is quite different from the more dominant Andhra Biryani and slightly milder.
Biryani is essentially a slow cooked category food. The fish biryani on the other hand has to be Pakki biryani and it is difficult to get the flavor of the meat in rice because of lower cooking times.
But the fish Biryani was very flavorful and you could taste the fish flavor with every scoop of rice. I am thinking using fish stock will help get this flavor and will have to remember I try this next time.
So next time you think of having a nice, enjoyable evening with your family, but are bored of the run-of-the-mill cuisine alternatives, head to Savya Rasa in Koregaon Park, next to StarBucks.
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