For quite a while, me and my mom had been looking for a good North Indian Thali option in Trivandrum… Sadly, we have been unable to find one and if any of the readers here know of one, please do let me know in the comment section… Anyways, today while looking thru options to buy food for lunch, I came across the Purple Circuit restaurant which is a restaurant thats a part of the Flamingo Inn which I have visited before long time ago and they appeared to have these Combos for 2 options and one of them ie, the North Indian Veg Combo for 2, sounded like the ingredients typically found in a North Indian Thali… Hence decided to try ordering the same… 🙂
According to the menu, the North Indian Veg Combo for 2 has a portion each of Dal Thadka, Kaju Paneer, Veg Kadai, Mutter Pulao along with Chappati (2 nos), Salad, Curd, Pickle and a Sweet… It arrived as shown in the pic above and I must say, I loved the fact that they used paper containers for the food as well… However, instead of Curd, it was an Onion Raita and the pickle was the spicy Lime Pickle and the sweet was Gulab Jamun… I also placed the order for a portion of their Butter Chicken Masala and it arrived in a paper contained as shown in that pic above as well… The following pics show each of the food items I got in my plate (Obviously I can’t help avoid tasting everything 😛 )…
Coming to the taste, first of all, the Chappati was flavourful, soft and also ever so slightly moist which is extremely rare cause usually the Chappatis I have seen being sold/served tend to be dry, tasteless and pretty much like cardboard… The Mutter Pulao was probably the best Pulao I have had in quite a while and was incredibly fragrant with the fragrance of the Basmati Rice and Ghee… The rice was cooked perfectly and so were the Green Peas… The fried Cashews, Raisins and Onions added on to richness component, making it altogether a great combo with the Onion Raita and the other side dishes… The Onion Raita was of-course just like any other with the Yogurt being thick and tasting fresh… The side dishes, the Dal Tadka, Kaju Paneer and the Veg Kadai each reminded me of the same I used to have back when I used to live in Mumbai…
The Dal Tadka had a nice balance of flavours between the flavour of the lentils with that of the minimal spices that were used… The Kaju Paneer was quite rich and creamy with that little bit of sweetness in it from the use of Cashews and Cream… The Paneer and the Cashews itself were perfectly cooked and the Masala used was having just the right amount of Spiciness to it and if I am not mistaken, I got the flavour of dried Fenugreek leaves (Kasoori Methi) as well from it… The Veg Kadai on the other hand, felt more like a version of the Veg Jalfrezi and was on the spicier side of things… However, the vegetables used were perfectly cooked while retaining their crunchiness… Of-course the salad was Tomato, Onion and Cucumber sliced fresh… Last but not least from the combo, the Gulab Jamun was indeed a surprise cause usually when I see it being included as part of a Thaali or Combo like this, they tend to be mediocre and flavourless with just the taste of Sugar syrup… This was incredibly flavourful with the flavours of Saffron and Cardamom and the dough was seared just right and the flavour of the flour and milk/cream used was intact as well cause of the Syrup being not too sweet…
Next up was the Butter Chicken Masala that I ordered extra for me and my dad… The following pic shows the same served in my plate… Contrary to most of the Butter Chickens I have had before and my understanding of Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhni recipes in general, the Chicken in here appeared to have been fried and had that crispy layer outside and a bit overcooked inside as most Kerala style Chicken Fry pieces tend to be… The gravy was incredibly rich and creamy as expected and had the nice flavour of Tomato along with the cream, Cashew and spices along with Coriander Leaves… Overall I did like the dish but I wish the pieces of Chicken were not fried or at the very least not overdone like how it was in the dish I got…
Overall, I loved this lunch and I am hoping to try more from their menu soon… As I mentioned before, the flavours and fragrances ended up reminding me of my days when I used to live in Mumbai and of-course there were feelings of nostalgia of those good old days… As for this place, they do have more combo options in the menu namely the Punjabi and Gujarati combos and based on this, I think they might be worth trying… Anyways, hopefully soon… 🙂
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