20 people (19 Enak members and one guest) came together for a fun and delicious time on June 12th at MTR1924, a South Indian vegetarian restaurant located in Brickfields. MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) is part of an international group of restaurants that began in 1924 in Bengaluru, India. For the price of RM40 per person, we got to enjoy 11 vegetarian dishes served in a thali, a round stainless-steel
platter commonly used in South and Southeast Asia.
Our host was Shikha Grover. She shared the history of MTR and tips on how to maximise our enjoyment of the thali set she had specially curated to give us an overview of South Indian cuisine. Her interest in cooking and culinary history was infectious!
For starters, we began with Uddin Vadai (a popular South Indian savoury snack made from ground urad dal (black gram lentils)) and Podi Idli (a soft, fluffy, steamed cake made from a fermented rice and lentil batter and topped with chutney powder and ghee (clarified butter)). They were served with Coconut Chutney, Green Chutney (a chutney made with green chillies, cumin, coriander and
mint leaves), Potato Curry, and Sambar (a lentil and vegetable stew).
For the mains, we ate Onion Rava Masala Dosa. These are savoury crepes made from fermented semolina batter. They had a spiced potato stuffing flavoured with onions, green chillies, coriander, cumin seeds, grated coconut and ghee.
To aid digestion, we rounded out the meal with Curd Rice, Rasam and Appalam. Curd Rice is a mixture of boiled rice and yogurt, tempered with black gram, mustard, cumin seeds, green chillies, and curry leaves. This was combined with the side dishes of Rasam (a spicy, sour soup-like dish) and Appalam (a fried cracker made of black gram flour and rice flour).
For dessert, we enjoyed Kesari Bhath, a thick sweet pudding made with dry roasted semolina, ghee, cashew nuts, raisins and garnished with saffron. Water was served throughout our meal. At our own expense, we could order any drinks we wanted with our meal. A number of us decided to try Masala Chai (Indian spiced tea), Filtered Coffee, and Sweet Lassi (a yogurt-based drink).
Our thanks to all who came to this event and made it a success. Special thanks to the following for
their work in these roles:
Host: Shikha Grover
Collection: Santhi Nair-Moine
Guest: Paul Moine
Photos: Rosemary Chin, Sumitra Sundram, Santhi Nair-Moine, Nusrat Papia
Review: Sumitra Sundram
