Had a memorable day today. Was in no mood to cook. Being a Saturday and a holiday, egged hubby dear to take us out for lunch. Looking up from his paper reluctantly he agreed; provided place of his choice. Cholayil Sanjeevanam . The name had a mesmerising effect . He had been there before with his friends and was highly impressed by their 'holier than thou' service ! The other two of us having never tried before agreed to it in a jiffy, not that we had a choice! His know all smile assured us of a good mealtime ahead.
True to its conception, we were in for a pleasant and delicious experience. It was not the regular luncheon at hotels; no aromas spreading all over and tempting you to order your neighbour's dish. A neat & serene ambience with the minutest of shuffling around by waiters and helpers .
Soon after settling down and order taken the first course was served ... fruit slices (banana, nendhram variety) followed by an array of five drinks ( purely sathvik !) in miniature glasses.. dates juice, vegetable juice, nuts drink, buttermilk with a dash of mint and chilli and finally brown rice water. What an appetiser it all was!
Even as we sipped our last drink there came our first course served on big plantain leaves -- raw, uncooked portions of assorted veggies . Tender plantain trunk marinated in buttermilk, snake gourd salad, pumpkin salad, tiny cubes of carrot beet and mango assortment which acted as the veg pickle. The portions being brief and delicious , were emptied in no time.
It was the turn of semi cooked servings of veggies , greens and cereals. Pumpkin thoran, plaintain trunk cut finely and seasoned mildly, plantain flower dry fry, avial and a vegetable chutney made of raw mango and carrot ; followed by greens and steamed brown parched rice puttu (rice flower steamed and mixed with gur, elaichi and grated coconut).
Fully cooked helpings of brown rice was next on the list with a dash of daal, rasam, morkozhambu (Buttermilk curry? the best translation I can think of !) and more of 'butterless' milk... Now came white plain rice with any of the earlier listed dishes ( servings any number of times.... not that you could do justice to all) .
The much awaited crowning glory served with great reverence in tiny mud bowls "pradamam" was given immediate justice. Was too tasty , a mix of kheer and payasam made with brown parched rice, coconut, jaggery and honey ( we went for a second and then a third round without an iota of guilt ; the serving bowl being the size of an earthen diwali diya! )
Just when we thought of whatever happened to the much elusive elixir of life; it came in a tall and heavy brass glass -- our first sip of lukewarm water [not supposed to drink water through the meal as it would dilute the gastric juices ].
Sweet and final surprise awaited us in the form of honey served in our open palms served from a copper bowl with a copper spoon, just as you have 'teertham' or holy water in temples: wonder where the waiters get trained; so much of style and grace. No traditional meal can be wound up without the proverbial 'paan' . This was taken care of by a tiny betel leaf stuffed with carrot, beet and honey. Their version of a "healthy meetha paan" saw us smiling our way out .
As we drove back home filled with holistic pride .... there was no sense of bursting at the seams despite such an elaborate meal [ minus oil, fats, spices and masala] , promised to give it another try some other day. Long live the tribe of holy servers of healthy food !
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