CHENNAI: Yercaud Kitchen, located on the peaceful lanes of Adyar, welcomes us with its simple ambience. The soothing music in the background is an add-on to the calm atmosphere. Chef Shri Bala, who recently received an award for one of India’s top 30 chefs, started the restaurant after constant insistence from her friends and customers.
Shri Bala ventured into the cooking industry in 2016 by hosting pop-ups in fancy restaurants. She took her culinary expertise to common people and opened the Yercaud Kitchen a month ago to offer quality food at affordable prices. Why the name Yercaud Kitchen? “I named the diner in such a way because the signature dish here is the authentic Yercaud dorai curry, which has a history for itself. This curry is famous in the region from the British period. People in Yercaud used to prepare this curry for the British officers. To add my touch to the dish, I used bone stock, integrating the continental aspect in this south Indian dish,” says the chef.
The masalas used at the diner are home-made. To make it healthy, Shri Bala consciously avoided using food colours and other chemical additives. She brings the appetising colour to her dishes by incorporating unique cooking techniques. “My concept was not to reduce the flavours by having more garam masala. Instead, the spices and the meat or vegetable will be the hero,” she adds.
Talking about the food scene in Chennai, Shri Bala elucidates, “As long as there is good food, people love to try new spots. The city’s IT culture is picking up and the cosmo culture is building. There will be customers if the quality is not compromised. Consistency is the key to success for all the restauranteers.” She further mentions the challenges of being an owner of a restaurant. She remarks, “It is a very difficult task because we are dealing with manpower and human behavioural patterns. With time, our patience develops multifold. People management is tough and we can sustain in the business only if we overcome that.”
Yercaud Kitchen is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For breakfast, their unique Vietnam dosa is the customers’ favourite. We visited the restaurant for lunch and began the feast with the kadamba pakoda, a mixed vegetable pakoda. The red chutney served with this adds more flavour. The Hyderabad famous scrumptious apollo chicken is a must-try with a balanced spice level.
In the main course, we tried the wholesome veg and non-veg meals which comprised payasam, poriyal, kootu, Kumbakonam special arachivitta sambar, kaara kuzhambu, rice, rasam, curd, pickle and appalam in the veg meals. The non-veg meals have pepper chicken and chicken kuzhambu in addition. There are various add-ons for the non-veg meals in chicken, mutton and fish varieties.
Next, we tried chef Shri Bala’s signature chicken kizhi biryani. “I am a biryani lover and in this dish, I have incorporated flavours and techniques inspired by various kinds of biryani,” states the 49-year-old chef. The delicious biryani is accompanied by bread halwa, raitha and egg bhejo. We also tasted the Yercaud special dorai curry. The juicy mutton pieces, cooked together with drumstick and potato are a delectable savour. Their traditional desserts are top-notch. The Ashoka halwa and carrot halwa are subtle and toothsome. If you are in Indira Nagar in Adyar, then Yercaud Kitchen is a must-try.