<p>JAK’ (Just Around Kerala), located on Jyoti Nivas College Road, Koramangala, is the perfect place to try out some authentic Kerala seafood. It’s been open for only a month and already has some regulars to boast of.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“Normally, most South Indian restaurants have a few tandoor and Chinese items as well. We wanted to make ours as authentic as possible. That’s why we have three chefs from Kerala who have their individual specialties — chef Mathan from Calicut makes the biryanis, unnakaya and traditional drinks; chef Vishnu is an expert at vegetarian food and chef Beerin is excellent with Kottayam food — the Syrian Christian erachi cutlets, mappas and Karimeen pollichathu (fish wrapped in banana leaf and grilled),” informs Thomson Francis, the executive chef. <br /><br />He notes that the response so far has been better than they had expected and weekends are the busiest for them. On Sundays, in fact, there is also a traditional breakfast comprising of appam, puttu, iddiyapam, pachakkari stew, mutton korma and kadala curry. There are quite a few things working for the place — service is fast, smiling faces take your order and the customer is spared of the fishy smell that is often found in sea food serving restaurants. <br /><br />The interiors of the place also attempt to transport you to Kerala, with all the painted boatmen, coconut trees and kathakali dancers on its walls.<br /><br />What makes it more authentic is the fact that many of the masalas come from Kerala itself. Kokum is brought from where it’s grown and kaima rice used in biryani is brought from Calicut. “The rice is like wine — the older the better,” adds Thomson. The fast-moving snacks worth trying are pazhampori, unnakaya and unniyappam.<br /><br />Also on the menu are squid, octopus and shark among other things. Thomson admits that not everyone is keen on trying these. “Keralites, Goans and Mangaloreans love to try these. Others prefer prawn, crab and fish. In terms of customisation, people sometimes prefer their meal without say, coconut oil, which we can make. Around 80 per cent of the non-South Indian crowd enjoys the authentic flavours,” he informs.<br />In the drinks, the frothy ‘meter tea’ is a must try. <br /><br />The mocktails, sambharam (spiced buttermilk) and traditional herbal nannari sarvath and pal sarvath are also interesting. Among the sweets, the vattelappam (caramel custard) and payasam cannot be missed.<br /><br />‘JAK’ is open seven days a week. For details, call 42090000.</p>
<p>JAK’ (Just Around Kerala), located on Jyoti Nivas College Road, Koramangala, is the perfect place to try out some authentic Kerala seafood. It’s been open for only a month and already has some regulars to boast of.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“Normally, most South Indian restaurants have a few tandoor and Chinese items as well. We wanted to make ours as authentic as possible. That’s why we have three chefs from Kerala who have their individual specialties — chef Mathan from Calicut makes the biryanis, unnakaya and traditional drinks; chef Vishnu is an expert at vegetarian food and chef Beerin is excellent with Kottayam food — the Syrian Christian erachi cutlets, mappas and Karimeen pollichathu (fish wrapped in banana leaf and grilled),” informs Thomson Francis, the executive chef. <br /><br />He notes that the response so far has been better than they had expected and weekends are the busiest for them. On Sundays, in fact, there is also a traditional breakfast comprising of appam, puttu, iddiyapam, pachakkari stew, mutton korma and kadala curry. There are quite a few things working for the place — service is fast, smiling faces take your order and the customer is spared of the fishy smell that is often found in sea food serving restaurants. <br /><br />The interiors of the place also attempt to transport you to Kerala, with all the painted boatmen, coconut trees and kathakali dancers on its walls.<br /><br />What makes it more authentic is the fact that many of the masalas come from Kerala itself. Kokum is brought from where it’s grown and kaima rice used in biryani is brought from Calicut. “The rice is like wine — the older the better,” adds Thomson. The fast-moving snacks worth trying are pazhampori, unnakaya and unniyappam.<br /><br />Also on the menu are squid, octopus and shark among other things. Thomson admits that not everyone is keen on trying these. “Keralites, Goans and Mangaloreans love to try these. Others prefer prawn, crab and fish. In terms of customisation, people sometimes prefer their meal without say, coconut oil, which we can make. Around 80 per cent of the non-South Indian crowd enjoys the authentic flavours,” he informs.<br />In the drinks, the frothy ‘meter tea’ is a must try. <br /><br />The mocktails, sambharam (spiced buttermilk) and traditional herbal nannari sarvath and pal sarvath are also interesting. Among the sweets, the vattelappam (caramel custard) and payasam cannot be missed.<br /><br />‘JAK’ is open seven days a week. For details, call 42090000.</p>