Sol Kadhi

The Coastal Macha, Kolkata

When someone mentions “coastal” food my mind instantly forms a picture of seafood…basically the buck stops there and as a vegetarian that is not an option that I can explore. When I was invited to sample the menu at The Coastal Macha I wasn’t sure what I would get there. But I realized how myopic my thought process was when it came to this genre of cuisine! The restaurant offers dishes from Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Konkan, Malwani and Mangalore. Though there is generous offering of meat and seafood based dishes on their menu, they do offer vegetarian options as well along with some North Indian dishes. You can order for appams (my personal favorite!), paranthas or rice/pulao to go with your meals. Basically they had me at the appam…I didn’t really need anything else apart from that 🙂 I love how they have decorated the place! When you enter you see this wall with little colorful boats which kind of give the feeling of guiding you into the place. The tables carry off the beautiful sea theme where glass tops cover your own personal beach front complete with sand, pebbles and shells!

Mushroom and Baby corn Pepperfry

Jeera Rice

Paneer Malabar Curry

Our meal started off with a welcome drink called Sol Kadhi which is made of coconut milk and kokum. I really liked this salty spicy drink and I learnt that people usually even have it mixed with rice as it is actually a curry of sorts which is great for digestion. Next it was time for the starters and I tried the Mushroom and Baby corn Pepperfry. I asked them to customize the dish as I am allergic to mushrooms and they made it to order. The baby corn comes coated in a slightly spicy thick gravy which I quite liked. The mains started with some Jeera Rice with Paneer Malabar Curry both of which were decent. But I was eagerly awaiting my Appam with Stew Combo! There are very few places in Kolkata that offer such a combo as far as I know. I have a obsessive love relation when it comes to it as I do with Rajma Chawal (my northie friends will be nodding in agreement Im sure 😀 ). The one offered by them was again decent. The stew was missing something that I couldnt put my finger on.

Appam

Stew

Overall I liked the food and loved the interiors. My absolute favorite from the meal has to be the Sol Kadhi which I highly recommend for anyone who is craving a nice spicy drink especially in the summers. Sometimes your taste buds need that extra kick when the other liquids just dont cut it. This was my first experience of having some dishes from different coastal cities of the country. It was mainly limited to what is known as South Indian food aka dosa, idli, vada and upma. I would like to hear some recommendations from you if you have tried out this cuisine. What are your absolute favorites? Have you tried or are thinking of dropping by The Coastal Macha? Do let me know…I will see you soon! Adios!

PS – The author was invited by the PR of the restaurant to sample the menu. Views expressed are genuine and the author’s own.