As soon as you step into this South Indian restaurant in Soshigaya-Okura, you’ll be greeted with a bright yellow hallway with colourful murals leading you underground. The menu here pays homage to the Chettinad region of South India, the hometown of owner and chef Mahalingam. This means the food here is bold, punchy and mouthwateringly aromatic, thanks to the liberal use of spices such as kalpasi, star anise and poppy seeds, which aren’t commonly used at many Indian restaurants in Japan.
While some of the dishes may sound familiar, be prepared to enjoy them a little differently. All dishes at Sri Mangalam Chettinad Restaurant are served on a banana leaf, a traditional way of eating commonly practised in south India and a handful of Indian restaurants in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia.
We recommend going for one of the two set meals, each a feast of its own. The vegetarian meal (¥2,300) features sambal (bean and vegetable curry), rasam (spicy black pepper soup), koottu (lentil and veggie stew), poriyal (stir-fried vegetables), kara kuzhambu (spicy vegetable curry), yoghurt, papadam (a thin, crispy cracker made from lentil flour), pickle, kheer (sweet pudding), rice and your choice of poori or chapati bread.
The non-vegetarian meal (¥2,500) also has sambar, rasam, koottu, papadam, pickle, kheer, rice and poori or chapati bread. On top of that you’ll get a dry chicken dish as well as a choice of chicken or mutton curry. The meal is very filling on its own, but if you want more, you can always ask for a free refill of sambal, rasam and rice.
Finish with a cup of warm or iced chai at the end of your meal and your tingling tastebuds will be suitably soothed. You might also want to consider a nap after this.