Kerala Cafe

The food at the Kerala Cafe is as close to authentic Kerala home-cooking as possible 8000 miles away from the real deal. They had classic vegetarian Malayali delicacies such as carrot and cabbage thoran, Avial and Elai Adai on their buffet menu. The Elai Adai reminded me of the Pullayar Kozaikattai from home. They also had a separate section for non-vegetarian and North-Indian food, but I didn't check it out. The Sambarai - a light yoghurt soup blended with curry leaves and green Indian chillies was a complete and pleasant surprise. The Kappa Kazhangu was perfection! The onion pakoras were super-crisp, fresh and non-greasy (I hate those greasy frozen ones they hastily unfreeze at run-of-the-mill Indian restaurants!) We went a bit late to the weekend buffet but the owner was gracious enough to allow us to sample the food on the buffet. The Gulab Jamuns looked like they were made from scratch and we later confirmed they were! I was frankly blown away by the quality of food here. The spices in the raw mango pickle were spot on - exactly like the one my mum used to make. Every single plate of food was scrumptious and tasted like it had been made from fresh ingredients from home. Perhaps the best thing about the cafe are the people who run the place - down to earth and completely committed to quality. They are what makes Malayalis among the most friendly and sincere people on the sub-continent. The cafe lives up to the high standards of the state. I have been to several South Indian restaurants around NYC, upstate New York, California and around DC. Kerala Cafe easily has the best food and is among the top handful for its service. I will be going back till I have tasted all of their offerings - we heard that they change their menus every day. That is pretty exciting, considering the range of Malayali and South Indian food is mind-boggling. If you are in Rockville, you cannot miss this place! Malayali food is hard to nail but Kerala Cafe does it very well.