THE IFS TEAM: From left: William Aranha, his son Wallace Aranha, Philip Antonio, and Arul Krishnan. Photo by Anand Holla
By Anand Holla
There are several restaurants in Qatar that serve South Indian fare but not one that offers authentic lip-smacking dishes from all pockets of the region under one roof. At Building No 17 in Barwa Village, the newly opened specialty South Indian restaurant Dakshin (meaning south in Hindi) was conceived to fill this gap in the food scene.
The eclectic menu of Dakshin, a property of Integral Food Services (IFS), spans all five states of South India – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
Arul Krishnan, Divisional Manager, IFS, told Community, “Every meal experience in a South Indian restaurant here is almost diluted.” Krishnan and Philip Antonio, CEO of IFS, who happen to eat most of their meals at restaurants all over Doha, have often found themselves discussing about the missing authenticity or variety in the menus.
“We would always discuss how you get a particular type of food in a South Indian joint; like a restaurant serving Chettinad food serves just that or an Udupi eaterie serves dishes only from that belt or a Keralite restaurant serves food from the region plus some North Indian and Chinese food, too,” Krishnan says, “There’s no focus on presenting authentic traditional recipes.”
That’s why they decided to flag off an authentic South Indian restaurant. “Nobody else in Qatar is doing what we do. Our name Dakshin reflects this – it’s truly South Indian,” Krishnan says.
In October, Krishnan and Antonio set off on a month-long trip across the length and breadth of South India, scouring different regions of the states for tastes, flavours and recipes that embody local food culture.
“We met chefs who have worked with the famous Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, and those who have gone to the roots of how the village folk cook a dish and learnt it from scratch,” says Krishnan.
For instance, Dakshin’s kariyapattinam meen varuval, which is pan-fried king fish marinated in a secret recipe and originates from a coastal town in Kanyakumari, is prepared the exact way the natives make it. “For meen polichadu, we use the pearl spot, which is a favourite backwater fish for Keralites, nicely marinate it, wrap it in a banana leaf and grill it with spices,” says Krishnan.
In the bustling kitchen comprising 15 chefs, you will find all the chefs cooking food from their state. “If you eat food from Karnataka, rest assured that your food will be cooked by a chef from that region, and so on,” says Antonio, “We hand-picked the chefs from the popular local restaurants back home so as to get the best men for the job.”
Not only does the food aspire to “transport you back to your homeland” and connect you with how your mother or grandmother would prepare the dishes, they are even served in ethnic fashion – all food is served on aluminum-ceramic plates topped with banana leaves, and filter coffee is served in copper vessels. “Even the waiters, who hail from all regions, will speak to you in your language to ensure that you get a complete experience,” says Krishnan.
A major part of the experience is decor, believe the IFS team. “We met the famous painter Jeevananthan from Tamil Nadu and the paintings you will see splashed all over our restaurant are his,” says Krishnan.
And they are beautiful. From paintings of temples of Mahabalipuram to a scene from a boat race in Kerala, from a series of rich portraits of stars of South Indian cinema on the upper floor to an artist’s insight into the multi-faceted culture of the region, Jeevananthan’s paintings bring the restaurant alive.
The overall feel is that of a modern yet quaint restaurant that may stir up nostalgia for South Indians and familiarise others with the essence of South Indian dining. But the tasteful decor elements don’t end with the paintings or snazzy, framed photographs of various dance forms from the South.
“We picked up this more than 70-year-old artefact called Yari from Cochin,” Antonio points at an awesome piece of woodwork that lines one of the walls, “We have even hung Uruli (traditional cooking vessel used in Kerala) and old-style coconut scrapers on the walls to enhance the mood.”
A lot of research and brainstorming went into guaranteeing the flow of quality ingredients as well. “For each ingredient we use, we cherry-picked from around 40 suppliers,” says Krishnan, “We know how the supply chain and this business work because we also serve around 15,000 students every day in Qatar University and also many schools like DPS, BPS and Doha College. In the industrial catering segment, we serve 100,000 meals on a daily basis.”
In a way, Dakshin attempts to break the stereotypical image of a South Indian restaurant to others. “We want people to realise that South Indian cuisine can’t be confined to a small joint dishing out the usual idli, dosa and vadas. It’s a speciality cuisine. So much so that we had shortlisted more than 100 items on the menu, and had to cut a lot of them out for the final menu,” says Krishnan.
From the Tamil Nadu kitchen, there are delights such as nalli elumbu kozhambu, which is succulent pieces of Indian baby lamb shanks cooked in signature Chettinad style, and kozhi milagu pirattal – tender chicken chunks stir-fried in pepper infused spices. The Andhra spread offers tempting options such as royyala igru – prawns cooked in spicy tomato curry, and veinchina mamsam – lamb morsels cooked with brown onion, coriander and spices.
While Kerala’s treats include konju pappas – a Syrian Christian prawn preparation of coconut and cashew nut curry flavoured with kokum, and nadan kozhi curry, home-style Kerala chicken curry, some of the popular picks from the Karnataka kitchen are anjal da kajippu – a Mangalorean fish curry, and kori gassi – a Mangalorean preparation of chicken with byadagi chillies and coconut.
And, of course, there is an assortment of starters such as kappa cutlet (boiled tapioca marinated in Kerala spices, crumbled and deep-fried) and mirapakaya bhajji (Andhra-style stuffed banana chillies fried in spiced gram flour batter), apart from three kinds of thalis – vegetarian, non-vegetarian and seafood – and the choicest of desserts and beverages, too.
IFS, which is one of the largest food service companies in Qatar, is well-known for its brands such as The Village, Tandoor Express, Royal Tandoor, Kheema Paratha and Bombay Chowpatty. With Dakshin assimilating the whole sweep of South Indian cuisine, IFS now plans to open specialty restaurants for other major communities of Qatar – a Filipino joint is on the cards, for instance.
William Aranha, Managing Director, IFS, says, “With Dakshin, the idea is to let you have a sophisticated, pleasant South Indian dining experience, which equally suits families and friends. If you eat here once, you will definitely come back again.”
