Around Town Inside Gourami New South Indian Restaurant Powai Mangalorean Food Right

A new restaurant has just opened its doors in Powai — Gourami. There is a global menu with 100 dishes to cater to all moods of the people coming to work and residing in this neighbourhood. But there’s another menu, which puts the spotlight on Southern Indian cuisine, particularly Mangalorean, and it demands that you take a trip there, eat with your hands, and be at ease.

Parked in the same spot where Mini Punjab used to be, Gourami is the result of a year spent travelling through southern India: staying in places, eating in homes, handpicking dishes and masalas across regions. That groundwork shows.

Guests are welcomed with a shot of Anna’s Rasam, tangy and properly spiced, and this sets the tone well. There are two menus running simultaneously; we stuck to the southern one, and were glad we did.

The ghee roast preparations are the things to order. We tried paneer, prawns and chicken and can’t pick a favourite — the soul of the dish lies in the masala, made in-house, taking three hours of continuous preparation in ghee. It shows in the depth of flavour. It leans spicy, as it should. The Ghassi is creamy and properly built, pairing perfectly with soft Neer Dosa. Babycorn Urval in chilli and cashew paste was a pleasant surprise, as was crispy Arbi 65 tossed in yoghurt gravy and topped generously with fried curry leaves. The Mangalorean Crab Sukka arrives whole, which is a commitment — the masala is good enough that you want every bit, but it’s worth knowing before you order.

A few dishes didn’t land as well. The Nalku Onde Pizza — one base, four southern toppings — felt like a concept in search of a reason. The idli curry was let down by idlis that hadn’t fermented properly, which is the kind of miss a restaurant built around southern food can’t quite afford. The cocktail menu is still finding its feet.

The Dindigul Thalappakati Biryani brought things back. Slow-cooked for several hours, the chicken beautifully done — it was the kind of dish that makes you stop talking. The desserts are serious too: a tender coconut preparation that holds up against the city’s high standard for it, a payasam brulee with a properly caramelised crust and perfect sweetness, a filter coffee tres leches that earns its place on the menu.

The ghee here is Nandini, sourced from Bengaluru. The Guntur chilli comes from Guntur. The Chettinad masala is sourced because, as Shetty says plainly, it can’t be replicated. Everything else is made fresh in-house every two to three days. It is a restaurant with a point of view, and for the most part, the kitchen delivers on it.

Would we go again? Yes — to devour the ghee roast and work through a menu that still has a lot left to give.

Where: Gourami, Jogeshwari – Vikhroli Link Rd, near Panch Kutir, Powai When: Everyday, 12 pm to 1.30 am Price for two with cocktails: Rs 3,600

Heena Khandelwal is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai. She covers a wide range of subjects from relationship and gender to theatre and food. To get in touch, write to heena.khandelwal@expressindia.com ... Read More