This restaurant is serving up Kaala-themed dishes inspired by Rajinikanth’s new movie Kaalaa
There were guns, smoke and a whole lot of drama at this dinner table. Perhaps like a movie, Because where else but in Chennai will you find a restaurant celebrating Superstar Rajinikanth and dedicating an entire menu to him? Ahead of the release of his movie, Kaala, J Hind the desi diner (previously called Copper Point) at GRT Grand is gearing up for a dramatic and action-packed weekend.
The Semma Weightu Menu has dishes whose names are inspired by Rajini’s most memorable movies, punchlines and songs. Staying true to the name of the movie, all dishes will have an element of the colour black as well. Chef Shrinath RN, Executive Sous Chef, who is a die hard fan of Rajinikanth explains, “Eighty per cent of the food is black. A lot of ingredients have been tried and tested like black carrots from Maharashtra,black garlic, black bean and activated charcoal powder.” After brainstorming overnight, J Hind’s kitchens are ready with an eight-course blockbuster degustation feast that promises to wow you.
Paruppu in momos
While molecular gastronomy is not entirely new in the city, as J Hind themselves are known for using several techniques like spherification, sous vide, blowtorch roasting, flambéing, nitrogen freezing and foaming. We start off with Vanthutenu Sollu Amuse Bouche,a Blackberry Sphere with Black Carrot Kalonji Shoots.The blackberry sphere is an explosion of black kalonji and black salt in your mouth, cleansing your palate for the long meal ahead.
The soups come in almost immediately, named Who’s the Black Sheep soup. A Bleeding Beetroot soup with truffle dust and dehydrated fennel makes its way on to our tables. For the non vegetarians, there’s the Black Shitake Chicken soup, that is infused with a creamy black bean foam. Both are equally flavourful and intense, and a visual delight.
The En Vazhi Thani Vazhi starters come next with a Nerrupu da Mutton Kala Olive Kebab, which is cotton soft and melts in your mouth. Along comes Black Bun Bunny Chow which is, thankfully, a
downsized version of the otherwise huge original. Momos come in two interesting variants — the Karikalan Paruppu Puranam Momo and the Karikalan Kari Sukka Momo. While the former is filled with usli and lentils, the latter is filled with shredded mutton sukka. Both momos are black in colour made with black bean paste. Their Blackened Spicy Mango Wrap, dusted off with red velvet powder is an oddball of a dish — taking your taste buds on a roller coaster ride, with the flavours alternating between sweet and tangy.
Billa and biryani
We take a short interval after that intense first half, convinced that like Thalaivar’s movies, even the second half was going to be equally explosive. We weren’t too far off with that assumption. Adhirudhulla Main Course is served with high drama, gravity defying action and a veritable visual treat.Mundru Mugam Mundiri Kuska, is a three-tiered flavoured rice dish, served with a dal makhni that is smoked in front of us. As the smoke subsides, we also notice two more dishes at the table — Pokkiri Raja Nethili Meen Kuzhambu with Set Dosa and David Billa Biryani. The nethili was fried, and then lathered with the curry, which made for the perfect combination with the set dosa. The biryani was aromatic, with tender sliding-off-the-bone mutton and spices.
Just when we thought it was all over, the climax of the meal Idhu Eppidi Irukku, rolled in. Chef Dhruv with his ice cream cart clearly is in the business of impressing. Using nitrogen freezing technique, he infuses Kahlúa into a walnut brownie ice cream, flambés and serves it with crispy palm sugar jalebis and kaala prunes, along with black pancakes. It was the end of what we would call, a very entertaining meal. If you’re the kind of fan that books FDFS for Thailavar’s movie, here’s another thing you probably should try out.
Starts on June 9. Meal for two `3,000.
