Review: Mahabelly, New Delhi

Mahabelly, New Delhi

Launched by two young Stephanians and a Thiruvananthapuram-based doctor, the 50-seater Mahabelly—a play on the name of the benevolent king Mahabali—is the newest Kerala-food restaurant in town. Walk in and you could be startled by the two diametrically different walls: Face the gleeful Kathakali dancer, and you might feel you’re in a Kerala Tourism ad; face the other way, and you’re looking at a wall peppered with a fun, modern collection of 26 letter prints by Malayali artist Taarika John, which will have you in splits.

Prep for your meal by washing your hands in a quaint brass urli washbasin with bamboo taps because, trust me, you will be using your fingers more and cutlery less.

The good stuff

The Moplah Mutton Biryani ( ₹ 280), from the northern Malabar region of Kerala, is bold on flavour and punch and the best I have had in New Delhi. The mutton is marinated overnight, cooked, then layered with the rice and served with a crisp, caramelized onion garnish.

The Erachi Double Fry ( ₹ 280), a fragrant dish of buff-nuggets basted in masala, shallow-fried and topped with curry leaves, was addictive. I was craving a beer to wash it down and was told that they’ve applied for a licence. The Kozhi Porichathu ( ₹ 320), another typical thattukada (local dhaba) dish (along with the Erachi Fry), is a boneless roast chicken deep-fried and served with chunky masala potato wedges, best had with a soft velvety Malabar Parotta ( ₹ 55).

If you love all things sour and fiery, the Shaapu Meen Curry ( ₹ 260) hits the spot. A thin tuna curry heavy on the tamarind, it comes with kappa, tapioca boiled and mashed in coconut milk. I’m personally not fond of kappa—though I hear it is very popular—and we enjoyed the fish better with thin, lacy appam ( ₹ 55). We also savoured the Prawns Pollichathu ( ₹ 460), mildly marinated and sautéed, and then basted in a secret masala, wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf. It was fragrant and looked pretty.

The perfectly light Payasam ( ₹ 140), mildly sweetened with jaggery and flavoured with cardamom, had slices of steamed rice-flour diamonds, which added an interesting, soft bite.

We also tried the Caramelized Banana with Ice Cream and Palm Treacle ( ₹ 160). The treacle lent a nice complexity to the lightly caramalized bananas, fried in ghee (clarified butter) and drizzled with palm toddy sap. You could tell they came from Kerala from the flavour and dense, stringy texture.

The all-veg Maha Thali lunch ( ₹ 260), including Kootu Curry, ₹ Pacchadi, Sambar, rice, sweet dish, was great value for money.

The not-so-good

The thick coconut milk-based Naadan Paneer Masala ( ₹ 240) is an unfortunate Malayali-Punjabi concoction for the north Indian vegetarian palate. The Vegetable Stew ( ₹ 240) left the table almost untouched since it tasted of coconut milk, straight up. The Sambharam ( ₹ 100), a mildly flavoured buttermilk, was low on spice.

Talk plastic

A meal for four cost ₹ 3,300.

Mahabelly, MA-A05, Restaurant Block, behind DLF Place Mall, Saket. Breakfast: 11am-noon; lunch: 12.30-3.30pm; snacks: 4-7pm; dinner: 7.30-11pm. For reservations, call 9911462757.