KAIRALI AL TANOOR: THE TASTE OF KERELA IN QATAR

The Midmac flyover is one of Qatar's busiest intersections through which one of the city's oldest roundabouts runs with a service road leading to Kairali Al-Tanooror, one of the best tandoori restaurants in the city.

It is a branch of one of the largest non-vegetarian chains in Mangalore District, Karnataka, in the Kairali group of restaurants. It was founded in November 2000 and offers authentic coastal cuisine of North / South Indian, Tandoor, Chinese, and Mangalorean.

The open tandoor ovens positioned strategically behind huge glass-paneled walls where bakers expertly dish out piping hot tandoori rotis from the oval pits are one of the first things that catch our attention when we reach the well-lit reception room.

Kairali means originating from Kerala and, in Arabic, Tanoor means Tandoor.

As we witnessed later, the restaurant remained true to its name and reputation for serving one of the best multi-cuisine tandoori meals in Qatar.

A soft mix of grey and brown with wooden matching furniture and a spacious yet intimate indoor seating mixing seamlessly with ideal lighting and hygienically spotless interiors is the aesthetically decorated upstairs dining room.

We are warmly greeted with the soft-spoken, affable youthful Rashad A Rehman, COO – Kairali Group of Restaurants who suggested we start with the cool complimentary melon fruit welcome drink.

As we browse through the elaborate menu, we are provided with a mouth-wateringly delicious lemon coriander soup and something we have never tasted before. For starters to follow, a great mix of lemon with a touch of coriander, not too tangy or lemony with succulent small pieces of chicken, sets the right tone. The soup is available in variants of mutton and veg as well.

The starters were spicy but very succulent Angaraa Chicken Kebabs served with green mint chutney accompanied by grilled prawns that came in three distinct Haryali, Malai, and Multani flavors... all decent finger-licking and served on sticks in a mini rectangular bar-bar-que container with a small piece of simmering coal at the bottom to keep the grilled shrimps warm.

A creamy Punjabi Chicken Curry served in a silver-colored bowl was the main course, tastefully plated with semi-circled cut tomatoes lining the dish. To get the full menu, click here.

Traditional Kerala parathas and tandoori rotis were the rotis accompanying the curry, but what stole the bread display and was possibly only available at Kairali was the usual soft but not oily or mushy Delhi nan that just melted the moment it touched the tongue-a specialty from the popular Kannilal and Munilal North Indian roti tavas.

To complement the previous hot spicy Chicken Angaara, the chicken dish had spices cleverly toned down.

With the right combination of masala and long rice, the unique Mutton Cholo rice flavored in the biryani style is one of their signature dishes. Also available in chicken and prawn varieties is this type of rice. Beetroot pickle and Raita were complementary sides that suited the main course to perfection.

With a delicious super cool signature mock-tail called Cinderella, a special mixture of strawberry, litchi, orange, and pineapple, we washed these delicacies down.

The crème de la crème in the desserts was cashew ice cream in the homemade type, not too sweet but cold and creamy topped with a cashew nut ... if they only had 31 other flavors! And a must was the traditional common dessert, a typical deep-fried moist bread pudding, the Hyderabadi Shahi Tukda.

With friendly service, all the dishes are fairly priced and the 108 seats are accessible for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. "Both dishes are prepared by various chefs who specialize in that specific style of cuisine," according to the Chief Chef.

The menu features a wide range of North / South Indian and Chinese multi-sensory cuisine that combines bold flavors with exquisite presentation and signature dishes, including Kerala Dry Chicken Biryani, Chicken Cheese Roll, Chicken 90, Prawns Butter Garlic, and Boti Kebabs. 

The washrooms were well lit and exceptionally clean and well fitted with all the toiletries required, a sadly missing feature of some restos.

COO Rashad took us down memory lane while dining and remembered how his father, A V Abdul Rahiman, and his partner, K.P. In the early 21st century, Esmail discovered that there were virtually no restaurants serving multi-cuisine dishes in Mangalore. So the duo came up with a hotel with 18 rooms and a restaurant called Kairali.

Kairali began operations with a well-maintained hygienic setting, the proper appearance of the service staff, and the use of new, high-quality ingredients that were different from what was then available. The food became steadily popular and a hallmark of high quality and affordability, catering to both the classes and the masses. Rashad said, "Kairali soon became a well-known restaurant and a landmark for guests in and around the area."

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Kariali has four branches in Mangalore today and employs over 200 workers. The Kairali brand name has become synonymous with Indian Multi Cuisine restaurants, fulfilling the requirements of our customers in Karnataka and our neighboring state of Kerala. Rashad clarified that we believe in maintaining the exquisite traditions of our Indian multi-cuisine and have plans to reach out to the world.

I love the fact that we are an energetic team with experience in the restoration industry and serving a large and ever-growing client base. The business has been rising gradually and is now looking to boost growth significantly. We are optimistic that with our specific economic model, we are all set to grow both nationally and globally, "Rashad concluded.

Conclusion:

A host of other promo resources are readily available at the fingertips in this day and age of social media, but the 'word-of-mouth' mantra still holds firm, surpassing all other types of advertisement. And after a sumptuous dinner with the shared thought that telling our family and friends of Kairali-Al Tanoor was a given, we, as Mr & Mrs. Foody, stepped out.