Late afternoon NOM NOM'S | Fort Kochi Connection

As luck would have it, my hometown Kerala, somehow managed to put itself on the map of Bangalore in the form of Fort Kochi Connection, as a dining destination. For a few months now I’ve been passing by this road, hearing whispers of an amazing Kerala food-hole, serving the yummy all-Kerala specialties at FKC, and a restaurant worth visiting for. On a recent visit to Koramangala, I made it a point to check this place out, which is located a mere half km from where I studied. This place is situated, right at the beginning of JNC road, next to Bhima Jewelers. 

Hailing from Kerala, I am accustomed to eating these foods every day at home, and that’s the reason I never opt for the same, while dining out. But today was different; a friend of mine posted a yummy picture of “Puttu Kadala” (steamed rice cake & black chickpeas gravy) on FB, and I was obligated to eat the same or atleast something similar, not because of compulsion but to satisfy my cravings; and thus we ended up here at FKC. We traipsed into this joint, tussling the consequences that we might end up in, if the food dint meet its expectations, and being a constant consumer of this food, I could be a brutal judge. Have I got any remorse? Nay! I am overjoyed with my decision.

Let’s see how my lunch panned out….

As we walked in, we were greeted by the staff members with a smiling face. They comfortably seated us on sofas and provided us with their food menu card and mocktails menu. Most of these dishes are named in Malayalam, even though the Lipi is in English; and that’s what makes it different from other menus in town, retaining the authenticity of the dishes and by that I mean the names. The Mocktail menu was hilarious; the names are typical Malayalam humors. Kalipu Machane, Pacha Parishkari, Kumari UDC, Alambu Scene, Oru Jathi Gedi, is some of the names of the mocktails. The menu starts with Kerala dishes followed by the influence of Chinese, English and Dutch cuisines; given the history of Kochin, being exploited by them over the centuries, which has contributed further into FKC’s menu. Also make sure you walk into this place with a friend who understands Malayalam or who has a fair knowledge on Kerala dishes, else you can always ask the staff members to translate.

 After brawling through various available options, we decided to go for “Kariveppila Koon” to start with, ensued by kappa which goes perfectly with meen (fish) curry. We wanted a common curry that will serve well with kappa as well as “nayya chor”. Upon asking opinion, the staff member signed us off with “Syrian Christine Prawn Curry”. To wash it down, we ordered a Nalini and Scene Turbo.

All our dishes were brought to our table in single swing. The ice breaker for the day was Kariveppila Koon. In Malayalam Kariveppila=curry leafs and Koon=Mushroom. This is around the time when “where have you been all my life” by Rhianna starts playing, in my head. Fried in coconut oil with a mixture of curry leaves along with other spices, this dish took my breathe away. Every bite consumed, I could taste more and more of coconut oil. I could never have imagined a dish like this, coming out so well, a must try, if you love food cooked in coconut oil. Otherwise this is a big NO!

Next we tried on Kappa (Tapioca), cooked perfectly and tempered well with mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chili, served along with onion chutni and prawns gravy. The combination of kappa with onion chatni was commendable, but it didn’t go that well with prawn’s gravy.

Our entrée for the day was naya chor (ghee rice) along with prawns curry served with lemon pickle and Kerala Papadam. This rice was fried in ghee, served with cashews & raisins and topped with fried onions. Rice served with papadam was quite admirable, but I wasn’t satisfied with the prawns curry. I felt a slightly more hint of tanginess in the gravy, which left a feel of un-satisfaction.

Nalini was something new than any of my usual mocktails. Prepared using tender coconut and lychee, this drink was slightly different from the usual’s and needs to be consumed atleast twice to acquire the taste and enjoy the drink. Scene turbo, a blend of blue curacao, peach and orange was also quite a satisfying welcome. Kudos to these folks on trying an entire different menu on mocktails.

Except for Payasama and Vattellappam, none of the other desserts were available, which was quite sad. So I was forced to choose among palada and adda, and since I am not a big fan on palada I ordered for Vattellappam, custard made of coconut milk and jaggery, with grated coconut sprinkled on it. This is one of my fav sweets prepared at home by mom, where she first creates a mixture of grated coconut, jaggery and coconut milk, spread it on banana leaf and steam it out in cooker. It’s one hell of a sweet. But here at FKC, I was little disappointed as their main ingredients were jaggery and coconut milk with very little coconut, which sadly is main part of any adda.

This was one of the days I have enjoyed and appreciated my meals. In the grand scheme of things, I’ll admit my choices were a little mild in comparison to some of the other menu items they offer at FKC. I’m definitely hoping to get myself back there soon with some more adventurous eaters to try out the other set of menu.