By Helen Ong

Chettiar hospitality is apparently legendary, but you don’t have to go all the way to south India’s southern-most state of Tamil Nadu to experience it – just pop into the Karaikudi Indian Restaurant (there are two, one in Market Street, Little India in town, and the other is on the row of shops in Tanjung Bungah’s Hillside residential area) and you’ll be able to indulge in that as well as get a taste of its delicious spicy food.

Karaikudi, named after the largest town in the state, serves both Chettinad and northern Indian cuisine, cooked by chefs brought in from the subcontinent itself. Both places are unpretentious; simple and utilitarian, but friendly and welcoming – a perfect place to take the family for a quiet, well-cooked meal.

The food is served in hygienic stainless steel crockery, although the Hillside Branch does a very reasonably-priced vegetarian or non-vegetarian banana leaf lunch as well every day.

To go with the extensive menu are all the usual favourites, from lip-smacking, moist tandooris, kebabs and tikkas to seafood masalas (crab or prawn) made with special Chettinad spices and tasty, filling briyanis, to be eaten with a large selection of condiments and breads: naans and rotis, kulchas and torsais, some of which are unique to them. The Rawa Dorsai, made from semolina is light and crispy, and delicious with any of the curried sauces. Try it with the Paneer Pasanda, homemade cottage cheese cubes cooked in a tomato gravy, or the Bindi Piaza made with okra, or the Machi Methi, a boneless fish curry.

For the sweet-toothed, the Kashmiri Naan, sprinkled with glace cherries and chopped nuts before baking, is sometimes eaten as a dessert, but there are other home-made Indian desserts like Halwas eaten plain or with ice cream, Gulab Jamus or Rawa Kesari.

If you are at Market Street, then ask for their Sizzling Brownie, which is freshly-baked and served on a sizzling plate topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and cashew nuts sprinkled over. It’s to die for!

For details or reservations, call 04-899 6466 (Hillside) or 04-263 1359 (Little India).