Vanakkam – Dani Valent

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359 Barkly Street, Footscray, 9687 7224

My score: 3/5

The number 65 appears repeatedly on the lengthy subcontinental menu at modest, warm-hearted Vannakam. The 65 has nothing to do with price or quantity: it’s the name of a spicy south Indian sauce, the origin of which is variously attributed to the year it was invented (perhaps 1965), the notion that it was item number 65 at a well-stocked barracks eatery, even that it was made to sauce up 65-day-old chickens. Who knows? What isn’t disputed is the basic composition: chilli powder, ginger and garlic, rubbed onto meat (usually chicken) which is then deep fried. Vanakkam also lets the sauce work its magic on mushrooms, paneer and prawns.

The mushroom 65 dosa is a wonderful dish. Dosa are crispy south Indian crepes made with rice and lentil flour batter. This one is slathered with potato masala, curry leaves and mushrooms given the bright red 65 treatment, then rolled to an innocent-looking scroll. It’s powerfully spicy but, like the best hot and heavy dishes, other flavours find their way through. Idly are fermented, steamed rice and lentil cakes, often eaten for breakfast. For Vanakkam’s chilli version, the idly are cut and fried, then ¬tossed with capsicum and onion. Idly can be firm little bullets but these are spongy, sour and superb. The usual north Indian suspects are all here (butter chicken, lamb vindaloo, excellent tandoor dishes) but I couldn’t keep away from lesser seen Indian-Chinese and southern fare like dosa, idly, and Hyderabadi-style biryani, which I felt encouraged to order after watching Indian families take away massive pots of pilaf, presumably to fuel parties. The goat biryani is cooked to flavourful fluffiness with chunks of slow-braised meat.

Vannakam is cheap, but it’s earnest rather than cheerful. I’m impressed with the housemade ethic that permeates an unwieldy menu and I reckon there’ll be biryani as well as snags at my Grand Final barbecue.

See their website.

More Indian:

Babu Ji, 4-6 Grey Street, St Kilda, 9534 2447
This new southern offshoot of North Fitzroy’s Horn Please has a concise menu divided into ‘from the street’ (the papdi chaat is a must) and ‘from the pots’ (the daal is darling).

Bombay by Night, 355 North Road, Caulfield South, 9578 6150
One of Melbourne’s longest standing Indian restaurants has many fans for its stately atmosphere and a mix of traditional dishes and creative specials. Try the desi dahi gosht, lamb cooked in yoghurt, fenugreek and cardamom.

Elephant Corridor, 179 Coleman Parade, Glen Waverley, 9561 8810
The menu is mostly Sri Lankan but there are plenty of Indian favourites at this upscale subcontinental restaurant. Book ahead for Sunday night’s hopper (Sri Lankan pancake) feast.

First published in The Age, Sepember 21, 2014.

2018-05-04T18:15:18+10:00

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