Sorry I've been a bit quiet recently, I've been crazy busy and ill for a while - but I will try and catch up on as many blog posts this month as possible! I'm kicking June off with Kayal in Leamington, somewhere I had wanted to try for months! Its a South Indian restaurant and they do so many unusual dishes. They mix meat, seafood and vegetarian dishes and the food is colourful and full of flavour - I was definitely excited and Dad's birthday was the perfect reason to go out and try it, as Indian food is his favourite!
It's a gorgeous restaurant inside, the decor is very traditional looking, with wood everywhere and bright colours - we sat upstairs and there was a television by where we were sat with videos and images showing Kerela, which looks beautiful and now I want to go! Another one on the bucket list.
The menu is so varied and its one of those places where you haven't got a clue what to order - it all looks and sounds delicious and its food I haven't seen anywhere else before. We decided to start with a traditional Indian starter.
Achappam - Crunchy, crispy snack is made from rice flour, coconut, black sesame seeds and cumin seeds are shaped to star or flower in Seva Nazhy (traditional Kerala die vessel)
£4.89
Wow, what beautiful presentation - it looks delicious. I had no idea what most of it was but it looked good. It was different types of breads and poppadoms - they had traditional poppadoms round the outside, then banana tasting ones and the flower one in the middle was black sesame seeds and cumin, and this was very tasty and full of flavour - this was a lovely pre-starter and very different to the poppadoms you get in standard Indian restaurants! It came with three sauces - a mango one, coconut dip and a spicy tomato salsa type dip. All very delicious, the salsa was a little too spicy for me but the other two were very tasty and went with the Achappam very well.
Next - onto the starters, which I was very excited for as the menu sounded amazing.
Me and Tom decided to share a starter:
Mixed Fish Platter - Fish Fillets, Prawns, Squid and Fish Cutlet
£10.89
Mum went for the Chicken Puffs - One of the most attracting snacks from the village bakeries. Tasty Chicken filling in puff pastry served with salad and chutney.
£4.99
Dad went for a traditional Indian fish soup.
WOW, the fish platter was huge - so much food on the plate, we struggled to finish it all between the two of us as it was so big, it looked very colourful and interesting on the plate, there was loads of squid, which made Tom very happy! It was cooked very well and wasn't chewy. The fish fillet was lovely, it was covered in an Indian paste and then grilled and it had a delicious charcoal flavour. The prawns were mini prawns with an Indian sauce over them, again they were cooked very well and were full of flavour. In the middle was fishcake, which was crispy on the outside and had vegetables and fish in the middle, yummy. A very good starter - huge but full of flavour.
I tried one of mums Chicken Puffs - they were delicious! They were similar to sausage rolls in texture but with chicken in the middle instead of sausage, I really enjoyed them.
We were already getting full but I was intrigued for the main courses …
Masala Dosa (Large) - This is perhaps the most famous South Indian Brahmin dish. A rice and lentil pancake with a traditional filling of seasoned potatoes, onions and peas.
£7.49
This is what I had - I love Dosa and I decided to go for the larger one as it was main course but it was HUGE when it came. It was on a plate with three different sauces: Coconut, Mango and a Salsa. It was yummy, the Dosa was cooked to perfection, really crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy tasting, it was full of filling and the potatoes, onions and peas were full of flavour and tasted fresh and complimented the Dosa perfectly - a very good main course and I was very happy with it! I couldn't finish it all and therefore took some home for my lunch the next day!
Mum went for Tilapia Pollichathu - From 'Achukutty's recipe book' - Our mom from Travancore, Kerala Agricultural Christain family. Tilapia covered with specially made spice paste, wrapped with banana leaf and steam cooked, flavoured with lemon.
£15.69
This looked so good, it was wrapped up in a banana leaf, lovely presentation, she had this with a Mango, Strawberry and Avocado salad which was very fresh tasting and went really well with the curry as it cooled down the spiciness. Mum really enjoyed this but did say it was a little bit spicy but full of flavour, she said the Tilapia was cooked perfectly and it was a very traditional tasting dish.
Tom went for:
Kumarakom Duck Roast - A festive dish of Kerala, boneless duck breast cooked in Kumarakom style with aromatic spices and herbs. - £14.39
He loved this, it was similar to a traditional curry but he said it had way more flavour and it was a bit spicier - the duck was cooked perfectly pink too. He took half of his home in a doggy bag!
Dad went for:
Pala Beef Chops - Keralan style grilled beef chops with mushroom pepper sauce, beans thoran, and spicy potatoes.
£15.79
He loved this! I tried a bit and it was delicious, the presentation looked really good on the plate with all the different sections and colours. The beef chops were cooked very well and covered in a peppery, mushroom sauce. It was served with a bean and potato salad, and crispy potato style chips. It was yummy, the salad was really refreshing and cooling against the hot beef chops, the chips were crispy and full of flavour and it was a very good dish!
Over all, a fantastic experience at Kayal - I'm so glad I have finally tried this place and it was worth the wait, brilliant service, delicious food and food that you would have never tried before! The food isn't cheap but its so good for an occasion and I can't fault it in any way. I would definitely go back!
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