If anybody knows about all the cool culinary and cultural things to do in and around Puducherry and Auroville, it’s Mansi Reddy.
Mansi is a local authority and aficionado. She’s been living and working around Pondy, in a locality called Chinna Mudaliyar Chavady, for seven years now.
A week ago, Mansi and I were chatting about the wildly exciting new dinner menu at Puducherry’s Bread & Chocolate (#44 at CNT’s Top Restaurant Awards), and she started telling us about how much she adores her adopted home.
We’ll let her say it in her words:
“My time living in Pondy has been idyllic, challenging, comforting, and full of growth and learning. It took some adjustment, but the longer I am here, and the more I travel around, the more I cherish living here. I have had the privilege of living in five different countries (and visiting 28 more). I have lived in five major Indian cities. And yet, now I can not see myself living anywhere else but Chinna Mudaliyar Chavady, Tamil Nadu.”
Mansi heads marketing and brand development at both Bread & Chocolate and at Mason & Co (one of our favourite desi craft chocolate brands). We absolutely had to get her insider deets on the loveliest bits of Puducherry life.
Mansi Reddy’s guide to enjoying Pondy and Auroville like a local
1. Elevated cocktails by Side Dish, tacos, and Neapolitan Pizza, at MangroOve Sessions, Puducherry
MangroOve Sessions is a monthly music festival at the Pondy Yacht Club. Apart from stellar music, the festival features excellent craft cocktails, authentic Neapolitan pizza by Gastronomica, and proper masa corn tacos from the PYC Taco Truck. I highly recommend the wild jamun bellini or the clarified piña colada made with carbonated coconut water. The next session is on Saturday, February 17, and the final one will be at the end of March.
Check out @sidedish.bar or @pondyyachtclub for more details.
2. Sree Andhra Tiffins, Puducherry
As a gulti (Telegu person) in Pondy, Sree Andhra Tiffins is my fave weekday lunch spot (if I can manage to nap after, lol). Located on a side street of the busy heritage town area of Pondy, the menu changes daily, and the podi rice with ghee is spectacular. They make their own podi, obv. If you ask nicely, they may even let you sample the gongura chutney, or the ulavacharu (horse gram curry).
Address: 192 Ambalathadayar Madam St, beside Sri Lakshmi Jewellery, Heritage Town, Puducherry 605001. Tel: 0413 222 0720.
3. Umami Kitchen, Auroville
Umami’s Chef Leo’s tagliatelle ragu is so spectacularly perfect, I eat it once a week. This is the spot in Auroville for a solid and authentic Italian meal. It’s usually filled with regulars and locals. It is the only place my very particular and discerning Italian neighbour Gabri will eat at, outside of his own cooking.
Address: Auroville Road, near Farm Fresh, Kuilapalayam, Bommayapalayam 605101. Tel: 0413 291 9989.
4. M&M Cheese Factory Story, Auroville
Massimo & Monica, an Italian couple based in Auroville run this very special cheese shop. They have a few fresh and aged cheeses in the cooler, and I especially love their cream cheese and ricotta. The fridge also features a few lunch items — the parmigiana is perfect for a quick bite on the go, and I have to have a jar of their tomato sauce in my fridge at all times.
Address: Auroville Road, Kuilapalayam, Auroville 605101. Tel: 0413 296 9580
5. Farm to Table lunch at Molasses, Tindivanam
About a 35-minute drive from Auroville is a beautiful farm-to-table restaurant called Molasses, in the village of Molasur. You need to call a day ahead to book a Tamil-style banana leaf meal made with produce grown on the farm. I am partial to the brahmi chutney, the yam fry, and the chorizo vadas. Make a day out of it, carry your swimsuit, and make sure you ask if you can feed the cows before you leave.
Address: Aranyaka Estates, Tindivanam 604102. Check out @molasses_india for more details.
6. Bread & Chocolate’s new dinner menu
The perfect croissants and sourdough make for a great breakfast, but Bread & Chocolate’s new dinner menu is something else. It has been created by Danda Food Project’s chef Anandita Kamani and features sublime plates like the cacao butter-roasted vegetables, the orange and fennel salad made with cacao fruit juice dressing, the chicken, bacon, and prune tart, and the pear and feta tart. Check out @breadandchocolateindia for more details.
Take a look at Mansi Reddy’s Instagram page here.