On our second and last night in Kochi we decided to head several blocks away to another hotel called the EIGHT BASTION after several local folks (including one who we did a cooking class with) recommended EAST INDIES. It's a simple setting with an open courtyard with table and a glass walled indoor section where we dined as the heat in Kochi is humid and not that great for outdoor dining, especially with the mosquitoes. There was only one couple dining in the garden courtyard and we were the only ones indoors. Our server, Nidhin, was a gem and totally got us when we said not to dial down the spices.
We chose two starters and two mains to share and all four dishes were truly spectacular and showed off the local cuisine and ingredients.
We ordered a bottle of Grover Art Collection Viognier from India which we had not yet had, and it was ideal with the spices and was blessfully chilled on the hot evening. We have come to love and almost worship the okra dishes here and the Stuffed and Grilled Okra with onion, chickpea, garlic, celery and oregano was no exception; Elakkaya Kurmulagu Chicken was a yummy chicken starter with cardamom, ginger, garlic, chili(spelled "chilly" on the menu) and curry leaf that had a nice punch and was as juicy as could be.
For the mains we chose to split two different Pollichathu which are local recipes cooking in a banana leaf. There was Meen Kudampuli Pollichatu with mahi-mahi, smoked kokum, shallot, chilli, turmeric, curry leaf, tomato and kallappam on the side which is that wonderful fermented rice pancake akin to Ethiiopian injera. This is different from the appam we had in the north as it is a Christian recipe that includes kallu or toddy, a fermented palm wine! We loved the whole dish and when the Chef Baby came out to ask if everything was okay, we were praising everything to no end.
The other main was Cheemmen Manga Pollichatu using the huge local Tiger Prawns we saw being sold on the promenade where our hotel is. They were huge, juicy and out of this world with raw mango, green chilli, shallot, curry leaves, coconut milk(as virtually every dish in Kerala uses this--it is NOT sweet) with red rice.
Will ordered the Vattalappam fir dessert, which again is a relative of the Kallappam, but here it was not a pancake and was more akin to flan cooked with coconut milk, cardamom and made with the local raw sugar called "jaggery." We learned about jaggery early on as it is used in small amounts to eliminate the spice that you might get in your mouth if you are not used to the local intensity. At home folks use milk, which is okay, but jaggery is much better indeed. It is also better in coffee or tea and much healthier than white sugar.
We were thrilled with our dinner and left Kochi today headed for the mountains knowing that our first meal's crab dish was a fluke and now looking forward to more amazing food as we begin our last week (of three) in India.
