Hungarian chimney cakes ‘kurtos’ land in Chennai

The baked breads are then stuffed with sweet fillings like chocolate or rolled in sugar for acaramelised glaze.

The sweet treat, which took birth in the 15th century was initially a snack for the Hungarian nobility and then a festive bake. It has now become a much-loved street snack across Hungary. The hollow funnel cakes filled with chocolate spreads not only made Saira’s vacation sweeter, but got her interested in turning into a food entrepreneur. Through her outlet Kurtos, located only a stone’s throw away from Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar, she is now making Chennai fall in love with the Hungarian classic.

“When I had the sweet bread, that was being sold rolled in coconut or cinnamon sugar with chocolate fillings, I knew I had to bring it to Chennai. The bread has a great crunch on the outside, while being extremely soft on the inside. After returning from the vacation, I got in touch with chef Harish Rao (who formerly worked with city-based restaurants Dakshin and Avartana) to create a menu that will cater to the Indian palate,” recalls Saira.

Instead of serving just sweet versions of the chimney cakes, her eatery serves them up even in savoury flavours — filled with salads, vegetarian and non-vegetarian gravies. The electric oven that makes these cakes was also imported from Hungary. She enhances the flavours of the cylindrical or cone shaped freshly-baked breads with fillings like teriyaki chicken, keema, butter paneer, Caesar salad and even ice creams, with generous toppings of sprinkles, chocolate nibs and spheres.

Each of the kurtos is baked to order and handed to you warm. The dough, also freshly made in batches to ensure a perfectly crisp funnel cake, uses seven ingredients including yeast, flour and another five, which Saira keeps as a trade secret. “Setting up this outlet helped me learn a lot about running a business, as I had to start everything from scratch — right from finding the raw materials. We are soon planning to set up more kiosks across the city and also take the idea to other cities,” she adds.