Malabari Kitchen Restaurant — Restaurant in Minneapolis

4 years in the Twin Cities and a visit to this place was always like a plane made to sit on the runway but never took off. Finally it did, yesterday. The place was like a ‘hole in the wall’ and wasn’t too big. You can hardly have more than 3 people move around at the same time. The tables were limited and would have had a long wait time if we had gone on a busier time.

We were meeting some friends and since one of them was from Kerala and the rest of us were all from Southern India, we decided to take on this place for a dinner. The host was very too friendly and though an American, seemed more knowledgeable about the dishes and fluent spelling them in a native way too.

We were served a jug full of hot water on request, before we began ordering. The orders didn’t take a longer time to be served. Me and my wife had paalappam with potato stew and More curry with a side of rice while others had chicken and egg curries. The spice level wasn’t ‘Indian’ hot though we had requested specifically to be that. Nevertheless, the food tasted pretty well, the quantity was sizable and wasn’t...

Ordered delivery from Malabari Kitchen last night, here is what we ordered:

Fish Pakoda - $7.25 Fish Fry - $11.99 Palappam(3) - $7.50 Chicken Biryani - $13.99 Red Fish curry with kokum - $13.99

Fish pakoda was ok, nothing to write home about. Palappam was stone cold when we received it, which is understandable, Minnesota winters.

Now here comes the problematic part. Fish fry was more like a leathery sandal and did not have a drop of oil on it, which tells me that it was not freshly made, should have been at least 3 days old. Every bite was like biting into a leathery sandal! And to think it is pretty pricey at $11.99! Same with Chicken Biryani, rice was clunky and dry, like that rice you get in Indian restaurants here in Minnesota which has been on the stove for way too long and all the rice on the side has dried up and become raw rice again. $13.99 for that! Worst of the lot was Red Fish curry. Can't believe we paid $13.99 for a chutney sized portion of the curry, it was so small that it was not sufficient for even one...

Exquisite South Indian food, made entirely from scratch when you order, usually with ingredients bought fresh that day.

This place is a hidden gem that’s easy to overlook as you’re cruising down Cedar. (It’s just to the right of the Cedar Cultural Center.) If you haven’t stopped in yet, you owe it to yourself to find out what you’ve been missing.

They specialize in Malabar cuisine, a style not so common here in the States. It’s absolutely delicious and will give you that excitement all over again from the first time you discovered Indian food.

Some orders can take a little while because it’s all made fresh to your order — and it’s worth every minute it takes.

Believe me: By the end of your first meal, you’ll be planning your return trip with friends so you can wow them with the neighborhood secret you’ve discovered.

Pro Tip — Perfect date night: Catch a band or show some night at the Cedar Cultural Center, and show up 90 minutes early to get dinner here....