Kerala's Very Own Puttu Restaurant

There is a restaurant in Cochin which became the talk of town from the first day it started operations. You could always see a crowd waiting patiently in the front area, be it afternoon, evening or night and most people commented it is only because the place is owned by a superstar in the Malayalam film industry. Then I met people who dined there and they were those who loved everything about the place and it had nothing to do with its association with the superstar. This talk of the town place is called Dhe Puttu and it serves only Puttu (but different varieties, of course) - one of the favourite breakfast items of a Malayali. If you want to know more about this amazing dish, please feel free to read about it here.

This place is very near to where my in laws stay and ever since it opened, I badly wanted to try out this place but sadly, none around me wanted to. "Puttu? In the afternoon (or night)?", "If you want to have puttu, then why do you need to go to a restaurant", "It is always crowded", were just a few excuses I got.  I am yet to find the logic with most - if you can have Dosas, Biryani and Meals at a restaurant, then why not Puttu?, if you can have Dosa in the night, then why not Puttu?. But other than people giving me a weird look they don't seem to get my logic, sadly!

Anyway, my dream of having puttu from this place finally came true when I was pregnant and generally, all my wishes were granted by the family, no questions asked. I was someone who had absolutely no cravings during pregnancy, but I used my pregnancy superpower to get me the puttu from this 'famous for puttu' place. So, while I was in Trivandrum and Achan (my dad) had to travel to Cochin for a meeting, I made sure to tell him, his friend and the driver that I wanted puttu from Dhe Puttu. So the Vegetable Biryani Puttu came back home with Achan late in the night and the first thing I had in the morning was of course, Puttu with Kadala Curry (the Kerala version of Chana curry). The Puttu was stuffed with vegetables sautéed in masala mix, as with vegetable biryani and it was as soft as sand. This, mixed with the Kadala Curry which had coconut roasted with spices and ground to fine paste as the gravy, was heaven to me that day. Needless to say, I over-ate that morning and yet didn't feel a bit guilty as I was getting happy kicks from a little someone inside me.

Fast forward to two years, I was still trying to convince people around me to accompany me to Dhe Puttu and it just was not working out. Finally, I succeeded in convincing the husband's cousins and off we went for dinner. We were a group of 9 and as usual there was a crowd waiting for a table and we gave our name to the front desk and waited for our turn. In the meanwhile, three of the cousins went to Fab India located on the floor just above. We were told by the front desk staff that we might have to wait for sometime since we were a big group and that he would try his best to get us a table at the earliest. In about 15-20 minutes time we were called and when we were entering we told them that three people in our group will join us soon. The staff promptly told us that if that's the case then we would have to wait since they have people waiting and didn't want to delay the service. They promised us that as soon as they came we would be given our table. Thankfully, by then, the three joined us. This though, left a huge impression on me!

The place has a very rustic and antique look to it. There is no false ceiling and the place has been left as it is without much interior brouhaha. As soon as we were seated we were served the famous 'sulaimani' - a spice infused lemon tea and a basket of 'pappadam'. The names of most puttu are popular film names and the curry/side dish has to be ordered separately. This time around, I ordered the American Chopsuey Puttu while the others ordered a mix of other puttu - including Amar Akbar Anthony (ordered by the egg loving husband, just because it had an omelette as its side), Punjabi House, Kunjikoonan Puttu with Duck Curry, Runway, Chicken Curry and Kadala Curry. 

I didn't like the fusion mix of American Chopsuey and Puttu. It just didn't feel right to me - the saucy flavour and good old puttu. It was like a traditional person trying to go modern. Compared to the American Chosuey Puttu, the Punjabi House puttu, which had a filling of paneer and masala, definitely got my vote. The filling was perfect and it blended well with the puttu. The Kadala Curry, as with my first time experience, was tasty though it comes nowhere near the Kadala Curry my mother in law and her sisters make. My favourite though, was the free unlimited sulaimani that they served. I lost count of the glasses I had. With a slight hint of cinnamon, it was soothing, refreshing and flavourful. The rest of them loved the chicken curry much more than the duck (I, being a vegetarian, can't comment on this!) and since we were a big group there was a mixed opinion about the food. But, unanimously, we all loved the dining experience we had that day.

This time around, more than the food I fell in love with the place, the super proactive staff and of course, the sulaimani. And I am not yet done. I will still try to convince people to come with me to Dhe Puttu but next time I am going to stick to the normal ones than the fusion Puttu and I am sure I am going to fall in love again.