Restaurant Review: DRAVIDA

Dravida is the South Indian specialty restaurant of The Fern Hotel Ahmedabad.
Decor: The décor of Dravida is appropriate in keeping with its specialty cuisine with a carved wooden door, delicately carved screens, illuminated filigree column and columns with wooden brackets snaking up to wooden beams on the ceiling. The crockery is set on show plates with the shining rims resembling a South Indian thali.The staff uniforms and music are also suitably selected for a South Indian restaurant.
Food: The Dravida menu has been designed so that dishes in each section are listed clockwise starting with Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and ending with Andhra’s cuisines.
The Nandu Rasam is a superbly made soup with the flavours of seafood stock, the delicate crabmeat and tamarind base shining through over the tomatos and mixed spices. For vegetarians the Melagu Thanni, also called Mulligatawny Soup in Anglo-Indian cuisine, is a house special lentils curry soup. One of the top starters is the Mutton Pepper Fry, a take on mutton sukka varuval with cubes of mutton garnished with ground pepper and typical Chettinad-style ‘masala’. The Guntur Kodi is an Andhra favourite with boneless chicken marinated with chillies and classic gunpowder masala.
If you like pungent food, Mirapakaya Pakodi is an Andhra take on mirchi pakoda – fried batter coated chilly fritter with a filling of roasted peanut, sesame seeds and tamarind. Meen Pollichathu, made from pomfret topped with a masala of onion, tomato, pepper and mixed spices wrapped in a banana leaf before steaming, is a must have for those who like fish.
The star of Dravida is Nandu Kuzhambu, whole crab (usually a young or baby crab) served in its shell in a curry of onion, tomato, tamarind and coconut gravy. The restaurant gives crab crackers, V-shaped tongs with handles that can be pulled together to break different parts of the shell and get the succulent meat inside. They also offer lobster cooked in various ways, like Ajadina which is a dry curry popular in Mangalore and Kodagu, but some of the dishes are overcooked or over spiced for this delicate meat.
For vegetarians, Mirapakaya Pattani Masala is a dish made from chillies and peas with a creamy cashew gravy that balances the heat of Andhra-style chilly masala. For those who like coconut, a must have is Yetti or Kori Gassi (the former made with prawns and the latter with chicken) made with roasted coconut paste. The vegetarian or non-vegetarian stew is best accompanied by their bowl shaped steamed hoppers (appams) which are superbly made with soft rice dumpling as the centerpiece. The other breads or crepes include Kaldosa which is a thick ground rice dosa, the string hoppers called Idiyappam and Malabari Parotta.
Plus and minus: Dravida offers dishes from Chettinadu, Rayalseema, Tulu Nadu and other regions of southern India that are not offered by other restaurants in the city. It is also among the first places in Ahmedabad where you can enjoy South Indian food in a thematic fine dine setting. However, some of their vegetarian starters are just average and sometimes overpriced compared to the portions.
Rating:
Food: 3.00
Service: 3.00
Décor: 3.50