Fish what a dish

In its 49 years, Grand Hotel has been famous for serving a wide variety of delicious seafood and fresh water marine Kerala delicacies with perfection. The hotel which is conveniently located on MG Road, and which is just five minutes away from the railway and bus stations has been extremely popular for its Karimeen delights.

A must try item for foodies here is the ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’. The spicy and tangy karimeen will surely tantalize the taste buds of the fish loving crowd. Talking about the popularity of the dish, executive chef Joseph K A says, “We prepare ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’ in the authentic way. All the masalas for the dish are prepared in our kitchen.” Apart from ‘Karimeen Pollichathu’, ‘Karimeen Fry and Curry’ is also much loved. “On regular days as many as 110 fish meals are ordered at lunch time, while for weekends it goes up to 150,” says chef Joseph. And out of these about 70 plates are for the Karimeen Pollichathu dish. “The best combination to eat Pollichathu is with Vellappam. The sweet taste of appams compliment well with the sour and tangy gravy of onion in the dish,” says chef Joseph who has been working at Grand Hotel for the past eight years.

Ask the chef how their fish delicacies stands out from the rest in the city, and he says, “While making the fish curries extreme care is taken. Only fresh fishes are used for cooking. Even a slight rot in the fish is not used. And for the Karimeen dish, only a medium sized karimeen weighing around 200 gm is preferred. The fish once cleaned is marinated and is cooked according to the customer orders. For ‘pollichathu’ care should be taken not to over fry the fish. We shallow fry it in the parotta tawa,” adds the chef. All the dishes are prepared in natural coconut oil which enhances the taste of the dishes.

Another interesting fact is that the hotel has its own private pond to breed fish. This ensures they get the best possible fish that are as fresh as they come. “We grow karimeen in our pond situated in Udayamperoor. The extra fish we need is brought from other places,” says chef Joseph. Apart from the fish delicacies, the restaurant also offers umpteen choices in Chinese and Continental, traditional Indian cuisine and exotic local preparations. “The restaurant has a seating capacity of over 180 people,” adds chef. The spacious and well laid out restaurant exudes an air of elegance and luxury, that is sure to make each meal a special event.