SRI RAJAGANAPATHY SEITTYNADU MESS

If you know Steel Plant Road in Salem, you probably know where we are. We are sitting right at number 34, not too far from the Sankar cement factory. It’s a dusty road with a lot of lorries passing by all day long, so it gets pretty noisy outside. Inside the mess, it is a different story, though it stays hot because of the kitchen. We focus on Chettinad style cooking because that is what people around here like. It’s mostly workers from the steel plant and the cement works who come in for their lunch break. They want something that tastes like home and fills them up before they go back to their shifts. We don't have any fancy decorations or soft chairs. It’s just long tables and stools. We start early in the morning, getting the spices ground and the meat ready. The smell of the curry usually travels out to the road by eleven o’clock. Sometimes we run out of the popular dishes early if the crowd is big, but that’s just how it goes. My hands usually smell like garlic and onions by the end of the day. It is hard work, especially when the Salem sun is beating down, but seeing the plates come back empty is a good feeling. We are just a local spot for people who need a proper meal without any fuss or high prices for the food.