Get the Chennai experience at Nerul. Having taken up cycling recently and joined
a group of cycling enthusiasts in Navi mumbai. They are called Palm Beach Riders
(PBR). Every weekend we get together,cycle for sometime and then go for breakfast together.This is the first time I joined them for the
breakfast ride. After a good long ride on Palm Beach we cycled up the 'Nerul Balaji
temple' hill and then stopped at a small stall named ‘Shree Nerul Café’.
This is run by Mr. Ganesh who welcomed us with a smile. He was neatly dressed
with a south Indian style tika on his forehead. Our riders are regular visitors of
this cafe.
There are just 2
tables outside so we all occupied them. Well then the orders started pouring
in. He serves Idli, Dosa, Medu vada, Kara Pongal along with sambar,
Tenga chutney and tomato chutney. This is the first time in Navi Mumbai that I
had authentic south Indian breakfast.
I started of my
breakfast with a plate of Idli (served on a clean plate). This plate
had 2 soft idlis with yummy coconut chutney (Tenga chutney) and a bowl of
Sambar. The idlis were not the best in town,but just for the sake of the coconut chutney and sambhar I could have cleaned up a couple more idlis. The Chennai sambhar is
not sweet as the Udipi one and the chutney was perfect with not much of water
in it.
I could not stop
myself from ordering a plate of Medu Vada. The looks of the Vada declared its awesomeness. The outer crust of the Vada was crisp with onion and green chillies peeping here and there. It was fluffy and my fork just slided
in.
Then I saw a friend enjoying Pongal. If you wondering
what this dish is, let me explain. Kara pongal/Ven pongal or Ghee pongal is a
regular breakfast down south. Its quick to make and tastes great. It is made
with rice, moong dal and good amount of ghee in it. It’s similar to the khichdi
however sometime it’s on the spicier side.
So I order a plate of Pongal too, it actually reminded me of my
mother-in-law who makes great Pongal too.
The Grand finale to the breakfast was the cup of filter coffee which came in a small steel glass and bowl and I am sure everyone who has known filter coffee will
rate this coffee very high.
Shree Nerul Café is on the hill, which as 2 approach roads. One
from Palm Beach road and the other from West side of Nerul station. If you are coming from the Palm beach road, cross the Sree Balaji temple on the left side
and the same road descends to Nerul station, just at the starting of the descent on the left hand side you will see this small café.
So the next time you are visiting the temples for pooja don’t forget
to do a peth pooja at Shree Nerul Café.
Address: Sector 20, Nerul Village, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
Ph No: 9969339830
