>> Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant | Eat the World Los Angeles

Wednesday 14 December 2022

Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant

Restaurant facade

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ INDIA (Tamil Nadu)
๐Ÿ“ 18218 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, Southeast Los Angeles
๐Ÿ…ฟ️ Parking lot
๐Ÿฅค Beer available
๐ŸŒฑ Vegetarian Friendly

EDITOR'S NOTE: As discussed in the article of a nearby restaurant, online reviews are tricky for Artesia's Indian eateries and seeing sub-3 star joints is common. Yelp reviews should be taken with a grain of salt in general, but especially when dealing with restaurants here. When they have been around for many years and are still full of patrons, something must be going right.

If you have ever walked the streets of Chennai, you will remember the frustration of every surface of sidewalk being taken by cars, motorbikes, and other tools of humanity. It constantly pushes you out to the treacherous street, where moving vehicles have little patience for pedestrians, outnumbered and considered a nuisance. You will also remember seeing branches of Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant in just about every neighborhood in the city if you survived those walks.

With restaurants all over India and now around the world in cities with large Indian populations, Anjappar Chettinad started in Chennai (then named Madras) and has blown up from there. The menu consists of dishes using the preparations from that small place in southern Tamil Nadu called Chettinad where its founder came from and learned in kitchens from a very young age.

A bowl with quartered regular and garlic naan

While the food of southern India and Tamil Nadu generally receives the generic "South Indian" moniker in restaurants in the United States at least, the food of the second most populated country on Earth is obviously much more complex than that. Within India and especially in the south, and also amongst the diaspora from all over the nation, the food of Chettinad and its surrounding region is especially renowned.

While Tamil Nadu is well-known for vegetarian dishes, Chettinad cuisine offers a full range of meat and non-meat options. Branches of Anjappar Chettinad around the world also include regional variations on their menus depending on locality and the demands of customers. Here in Artesia, the menu is full of much more than just Chettinad preparations, offering a wide range of dishes to satisfy more general crowds.

Nattukkoli biriyani

Items start arriving at the table fairly quickly, but as the first bites are taken it is apparent that this has no reflection on quality. One fast way to get a sense for the spices and preparations used in Chettinad-style and similar cooking is an order of the nattukozhi biriyani ($19.95, above), which is made with a Chettinad masala and is aromatic with garlic and ginger.

Underneath this mass of delicious basmati is country chicken (nattu kozhi), which is a way of describing birds that have not been through mass farming. Typically it is thought that these chickens have more health benefits and are much tastier, which cannot be debunked when eating this delicious biriyani. If chicken is your jam, you can also order the Chettinad chicken (not shown) for further exploration of how the bird is prepared in the region.

Mutton sukka varuval

Turn the menu pages to find the small "shepherd special" section if you are in the mood for mutton. The mutton sukka varuval (18.95, above) is a dry curry (sukka) that has been stir-fried and has a medium spice level unless you ask for it amped up. Like many other Chettinad dishes, it is laced with a full array of aromatics and chilies, each bite seems to have dozens of levels in it. Recommended.

While this meal included naan, which can easily be used to grab dry curries like the sukka varuval, Chettinad cuisine might more often be eaten with rice-based accompaniments like dosas (see below), idlis, and appams. These options and rice itself are more typical in the south in general and the next meal here will not be so quick to place a naan order.

Fish 65
Fish 65 ($16.95)

Nethili fish fry
Nethili fish fry ($16.95)

Chili paneer (dry)
Chili paneer ($16.95)

In Chennai or anywhere else in the state of Tamil Nadu you will have eaten dosas until they come out of your ears, so it makes sense to grab one here and see how they are doing. This ghee podi dosa ($14.95, below) was a popular item on the table, torn to shreds by five sets of hands by the end. Flip up one end to reveal the complex spice mixture that makes up podi, then use the two wonderful chutneys and sambar that come for dipping.

While the coconut chutney is delicious, the orange (is it a peanut chutney?) one on the right end is a revelation. If your meal goes like this one, you will need at least one refill, and it will start to be used for bites of naan, dipping fish 65, and just about everything else.

Podi dosa with chutneys

๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ

I COULD USE YOUR HELP
Eat the World Los Angeles is and always has been free. It is a hobby born of passion and never solicits money or free food from restaurants. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better please tell your friends about us and if you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World Los Angeles is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

Thank you!
VENMO: @JAREDCOHEE
CASH APP: $JaredCohee
PAYPAL: (no account necessary, use link)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.