Kumari to open at Canton’s Corporation Market in Cardiff

Kumari opens soon in Canton’s Corporation Market. And we are excited about it, because it marks the return to Cardiff’s kitchens of Pramod Nair.

Many of you will remember Pramod’s excellent work at Spiceberry, where his Southern Indian food was among the very best in South Wales, with room to spare. Perhaps you ate his food at Roath’s Chai, where he won Welsh Curry Chef of the year.

He has lived and worked all over the world, from Iceland and Norway and Guinea to Oman, and now he’s making his new home in Canton.

From February 3rd, Kumari’s ‘contemporary Indian street food’ menu will kick off with some familiar dishes, like the ‘Desi Chole’ paneer burger with masala fries and achari mayonnaise. We would bet on Pramod’s raan burger being popular. It’s a favourite from his Chai days, a spiced slow-cooked leg of lamb, pulled and tossed with a thick sauce heady with a slew of spices- mace, black cardamom, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and garlic and piled into a challah bun. There’s nothing else quite like it.

Think of these burgers as limited editions, because the emphasis will soon shift to focusing on classic curries and other variations from Kerala.

Expect vegetarian and vegan options like his spiced sweetcorn and potato fritter, and ‘Truck Stop chicken fry’, a favourite of Pramod’s and everything a curry should be- deep and dark and fragrant and hot, something we described in 2013 as ‘the kind of food that has you silently wishing you could breathe through your ears, all the better to go face-down in it’,

After a few weeks, Pramod tells us he plans to offer ‘Saturday specials’ like Assamese seabass fry or devilled pepper lamb in a Southern Indian style. These will be in strictly limited quantities, so you’ll want to be quick. We’d be lying if we told you we haven’t already put in a request for tharavu kuttanadan, that peppery, fragrant coconut roast duck that dazzled us at Spiceberry.

This is a welcome local return for Pramod’s food. We have missed him. Canton is going from strength to strength, and Kumari is going to be worth seeking out.

Kumari will be open Thursday and Friday 4pm-10pm, and midday til late Saturday and Sunday.

You can find Kumari at Corporation Yard, Canton.