Brindhavan: Quality Vegetarian Food!

Brindhavan Review

Brindhavan is a South Indian Restaurant serving pure vegetarian food, located at Palarivattom. Although it has been around for a while, they underwent a huge makeover a few years ago and now looks better than ever before. 
The interiors have a nice bright ambience to it and the service is normally quick, but the place is always crowded [a good indicator, of course]. They have a dedicated ground for parking as well. All these result in an extremely comfortable yet highly affordable vegetarian dining experience.

Like most veg restaurants in Kochi, this place also offers mostly South Indian food with a few standard-issue North dishes like Chhole Batura added in for measure. The South Indian food here is great, tasting really authentic and is always made fresh. The turnover is also very good too!

[EDIT: You are reading an updated review with more dishes and even better photos!]

Suggested Reading: Not familiar with  South Indian food? We have just the right article to get you up to speed: South Indian Breakfasts!

Rava Dosa [Semolina Crepes]

The dosas here are typical white and thin. They are nicely spread and taste good, being rather crisp too. It is served with Sāmbhar and chutney.

The rava [semolina] dosas are especially good here, they have carrot and ground black pepper in the dosa batter itself and taste especially wonderful when you ask them to make it crisp! Since the batter is loose, it does not hold together that much leading to holes made by bubbles when it is being cooked. This is evident in the photo. You can see the edge of a stainless steel glass, this is commonly used to serve water instead of glass. Most times, the water has a light spice like cumin added to aid in digestion.

Puri Masala [Fried Wheatbread]

The puris here are very tasty, being served piping hot. Important to note is that the pooris themselves are made of proper wheat flour and not mixed with maida as some places do.

 These are ordered as a plate, with each plate having three puris and the accompanying potato masala, onion raita as well as chutney, although the former two sides are the recommended combination.

Batura

While not exactly in the same league as the ones you may find in true North India, the chhole batura is also good here.

 It is served with chickpea and a lovely onion dipped in vinegar and garnished with ‘tadka’ or seasoning of oil-roasted curry leaves and mustard seeds. Thus, it is not as pungent as freshly cut raw onion. The baturas are fried to a golden crispiness and the chhole is also well spiced. The onion adds additional flavour for those who are fond of adding it.

Uzhunnu Vada [Savoury Donut]

Uzhunnu Vadas are the South Indian version of a donut made with lentil batter instead of leavened dough. It is soft and fluffy on the inside and fried crispy on the outside.

The vadas here are exceptionally good, served hot and crispy. It comes as a plate, with each having two vadas, Sāmbhar and both: red and white coconut chutney. Keep in mind that it is usually only available in the morning, they seem to run out of it when we ask for it in the evenings.

Parippu Vada [Fried Lentil Patty]

This is another deep fried item that is made with coarsely ground lentils instead. The batter also has green chilli, onion curry leaves etc. to spice it up. It is crunchy throughout and slightly soft on the inside.

Brindavan also has really good sweets on offer too. The yellow laddu here is really good, fresh with sugar crystals adding a lovely crunch. They do not however have the ‘karpooram’ [camphor] flavour that you will find when you get laddus as ‘prasadam’ [offerings] from temples.

Valsan

This was something we had never seen before, so we felt the urge to try it. It turned out to be a bit like an ‘ada’ which is a sweet, steamed dumpling akin to a very large and sweet momo. It has a coating of rice flour and has a sweet filling made with brown jaggery, coconut, cashew and raisins. This is steamed in a banana leaf for extra flavour. It makes for a nice dessert and can even be a rather heavy snack. Above is how it looks with the leaf still on.

Another, this time after unwrapping. The white coating of rice flour has been colored by the rich filling inside!

So if you are looking for an affordable yet good vegetarian meal in a clean and well-lit restaurant, look no further.


Type of Cuisine: South Indian Vegetarian, Basic North Indian Vegetarian
Location

Kalavath Tower, Civil Lane, Palarivattom, Kochi.

Parking: Few cars in front + dedicated parking lot. No problems here.

Ambience: Good, even for families unlike most similar restaurants. Well lit, clean.

Service: Good

What we liked/Recommended for:

• Very good South Indian vegetarian fare 
• Family friendly 
• AC/Non-AC options 
• Decent quality sweetmeats. 
• Usually quick service. 
• Dedicated parking area. 
• Clean.

Potential Shortcomings: 
Nothing to speak of.....!

Taxes: Included in price, no fat tax applicable.
Phone Number: +91 484 234 2239
Timings: 07:00 - 22:30

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Have you been to Brindhavan? Take the time to tell us what you had in the comments below!