Savour the traditional south-Indian cuisine rich in 'milagu' flavour

CHENNAI: Despite the increasing number of restaurants, cafes, and push-karts in Anna Nagar, new ventures keep emerging. One of them is Milagu, a traditional South Indian restaurant that focuses on pepper. Milagu offers an array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, each infused with a unique touch, all within an affordable price range.

Suresh, the owner of Milagu, says, “I was an engineering graduate and worked in a company for a couple of years. But my passion was to run a business of my own. After research, I chose the food industry and started a cafe. Over time, I wanted to start a new restaurant that caters to all income groups.” He adds that after the pandemic, regional cuisine is drastically picking up in the city. People were served regional dishes at affordable prices in push-karts and roadside stalls. “I wanted to offer the same in a more comfortable arrangement,” states the 29-year-old.

Milagu uses in-house-made masalas to give the home-style tasting experience. Delving deep into the name of the restaurant, Suresh shares, “We wanted to choose some catchy name. So, we chose Milagu, which immediately connects with people and our signature dishes highlight pepper.”

The public expects unique dish names and enjoys exploring new flavours within traditional cuisines. "Customers return to restaurants where they can savour distinctive flavours. If an eatery can consistently maintain its taste for at least five years, it can sustain itself in the business," he points out.

All the dishes we tried in Milagu restaurant aced our expectations. We started with the nenju elumbu rasam, a soup with an apt level of pepper which balanced the flavours. The idicha milagu paneer peratal is a must-try for anyone who wishes to immerse in non-veg flavours in a vegetarian dish.

The Nagercoil kozhi porippu is a fusion dish with scrumptious grilled chicken and traditional masala. It topped our chart. In the mutton options, the kheema muttai roast was decent. Another unique delicacy we tried was the muttai 555. The boiled egg topped with crispy fried onions will tempt even those who don’t like eggs.

The prawn kurumilagu was high in pepper but could have added more spices. However, the meat was well-cooked and buttery. The signature nalli biryani was top-notch and the highlight of the dish was the masala on the mutton nalli. The seafood meals have a variety of fish like squid, prawn, fish and more. The karuppu kavuni arisi halwa was toothsome and appetising.