Tune in to this week’s episode of Cheap Eats on Dubai 92 where our co-founder, Farida Ahmed, shares her experience of a fish curry meal, from the South Indian state of Kerala, at Lallumma’s.
What’s This Week’s Cheap Eat?
At Lallumma’s, the fish curry meal is a feast served on a banana leaf. You have the option of selecting between two varieties of rice: the fatter-grained or the thinner-grained, over which are ladled sambar (stewed lentils & vegetables), a yogurt-based gravy, and a tangy, slightly spicy fish curry. The meal also features dishes such as avial (vegetables in a coconut-based semi-dry gravy), rasam (a spicy, peppery, tamarind-based soup), pickles, and payasam (milk & rice-based dessert).
Lallumma’s serves all this for just 12 dirhams. Check out the audio recap of the episode on Dubai 92 below for more details.
You can find Lallumma’s Restaurant on Google Maps here
What Their Fish Curry Meal Looks Like
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Sneak Peek into Lallumma’s Restaurant
Farida researched and picked Lalluma’s for the Onam Sadhya meetup that was attended by our VIP Pass members. At Frying Pan Adventures, we love to organize seasonal meet-ups that unite our community through enjoyable and culturally enriching meals. If you’re eager to be part of our exciting upcoming meet-up events, don’t forget to grab your free VIP pass by signing up right here.
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Tune In
Tune in to the segment using this audio recap or check out the transcript below.
Transcript
Nats:
It’s Dubai 92. It’s the big breakfast with me, Nats, here with you until ten and Wednesday is by far my favorite day of the week on the show because I either get to talk to Arva or Farida from Frying Pan Adventures. The food gurus of our beautiful city that always give us the heart and soul of everything that we need to be stuffing our faces with. And it is time for this week’s edition of this. Cheap Eats indeed. Farida, good morning. What have you got to tantalize our taste buds with this this week?
Farida:
Good morning, Nats. So this week I’ve got for you all-you-can-eat 12 dhirams. I’m just going to put it out there.
Nats:
All you can eat for 12 dirhams, what type of food are we talking about first and foremost?
Farida:
We’re talking about food from the South Indian state of Kerala. The restaurant is Lallumma’s. They have two branches and the one that I visited is the one in Karama right behind the Karama post office next to the Dubai Central Laboratory, and I went for a lunch to actually check them out for the Onam Sadhya meetup that we’re going to be doing this Saturday and I ordered a fish curry meal, and this meal is served on a traditional banana leaf. So right there they’re getting their game, you know, they’re knocking it out of the park. The banana leaf is the best utensil that you could eat on. It’s completely hygienic and there is an etiquette around it that I’m still trying to master but about this meal, there were 11 items to get through.
Nats:
What, for 12 dirhams?
Farida:
11 items, 12 dirhams. 12 dirhams, right. They give you a choice of rice, you can choose whether you want the fatter-grained rice or the thinner-grained rice. I went for the thinner-grained rice. They then had a preparation called ‘Avial’, which is basically mixed vegetables in a coconut gravy. They had another vegetable made with plantains, so super healthy right there. On top of the rice, they ladled on sambar which is this tangy South Indian lentil stew, that’s the best way I can describe it. Then there was this yogurt gravy as well and the star was that ‘fish curry’. You know, slightly spicy, slightly sour, absolutely delicious. Two kinds of pickles, a mango, and a lime pickle, which I absolutely loved, an appalam which is basically a fried ‘papad’, and then they had two bowls on the side of the banana leaf, one with rasam, which is basically a spicy, peppery, tamarind-based soup. And a dessert, Payasam which is a milk and rice-based confection.
Nats:
Who needs to go to a brunch when for 12 dirhams you get all of that goodness and then some… what’s the name of the restaurant again?
Farida:
Lallumma’s.
Nats:
Lallumma’s, I have not been there. But you know I’m a huge fan of South Indian cuisine. You’ve taken me to Calicut Paragon before where I’ve been elbow-deep in the Crab Thushars and the Appams there. So I look forward to stuffing my face for 12 dirhams in the way that you just described, which I have to tell you has left me yet again salivating this morning. So thank you very much for that.
Farida:
My pleasure always.
Find out where to find Chinese Biang Biang Noodles in Dubai here.
Arva Ahmed is the co-founder of Frying Pan Adventures, Dubai’s first food tour company, and a celebrated food explorer known for uncovering Dubai’s hidden culinary gems. Her expertise in the city’s diverse food scene has been featured in prominent publications such as CNN, Khaleej Times, BBC Travel, The Sun, The Independent and countless more. She also hosts Ditch the Silver on YouTube. Through her immersive tours and storytelling, Arva brings Dubai’s rich flavors and vibrant cultures to life.
