Beef Mandi – Review – Soofi Mandi

Eating good food puts us in a heavenly bliss. What is good food?!. A food which is just tasty. Well, its just one of the many factors. We can fill up our stomach with any food. But the ones which can fill our heart is rare. Those are the category which make us feel like heaven, the blissful experience.

“SUFISM”, is an Islamic mysticism that emphasizes introspection and a spiritual closeness to God, does it sound too complex to connect with food!?, not really. As mentioned earlier, good food gives a heavenly experience, and if food can give us a heart full of joy just like what prayers give, then what’s the difference.

“Soofi Mandi” , near Muttom metro station, Aluva. The name made me envision all the experience mentioned above. The name itself made me very curious to visit the place and all the reviews I read about the place increased it. The building reminded a modernized middle eastern motel. A flask filled with tea or coffee which is unlimited and free is kept at the entrance. But the first thing I noted was the Mandi pit at the far end which is open to all and gave a chance to all the customers to see it. And one more thing which attracted me is the beef mandi there, which I haven’t heard anywhere else in Ernakulam so far.

The restaurant offered Yemeni cuisine, but except for the majlis(……) which were rather small, I couldn’t find any other yemeni or arabic arrangements. The restaurant was clean and had normal tables and cover. It was very crowded. It increased my expectations for the food’s quality and taste.

Ordered a half mandi, the service people was trying hard to reach out all the tables. It didn’t take too long, was neatly presented, accompanied with salad and sauces. I felt like jumping on the table and shout, “here’s the garlic sauce I have been looking for”. I have had enough with watery garlic sauce ( or the misunderstood “mayonnaise”) with more and more water in that. And it was mild and creamy. The salad was super fresh and ” salatha”, the tomato chutney was OK, couldn’t find anything special.

The half portion was more than enough for two and they’ll even give you a free refill for rice. So definitely not overpriced.

So it’s time to dig into the mandi. It was a generous portion with three big chunks of beef and enough rice. I was very excited to try the beef, since i haven’t had a beef mandi yet. I was a bit surprised to find the beef was super spicy. I wasn’t expecting this much spiciness for a middle eastern cuisine and reminded me much of native taste than middle eastern. The beef was perfectly cooked and super tender. It could fall of the bone and i got a portion of rib, perfectô!!.

But on the other hand the rice clearly reminded the middle eastern rice preperations. It was a flavour bomb but mildly spiced and perfectly cooked. And definitely not at all greasy which could destroy your entire taste buds. I have had so many experiences. The garlic sauce made the rice even more perfect. The half portion was more than enough for two and they’ll even give you a free refill for rice. So definitely not overpriced.

Have they got us into “Sufism”!??, ALMOST.
-CHEF ROBIN

Last Updated on April 19, 2021

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Chef Robin

Eat only when you are happy and when you are sad.

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