CHENNAI: Kurtosssh, a franchise that serves Hungarian street food, launched its second outlet in the city at Besant Nagar. The food joint was packed with customers waiting for the chimney cone delicacies, langos and goulash. A canopy of balloons was set up at the entrance where guests were having their picture taken. Children ran in and out with balloons, running to their parents every now and then to take another bite of the food.
“We sent our research team to Hungary to learn how to make traditional dishes from homemakers and household kitchens,” said Karishma Nagare, co-founder of Kurtosssh. The chimney cakes are made using secret ingredients, and she said, “This mixture is shipped out to our franchises where they add in 50 per cent of flour to make the dough.” The dough is rolled out and cut into strips which are wrapped around a conical mold and baked for 20 minutes.
“We are still experimenting with our fillings. As of now, the Mexican potato and Italian chicken cones are our fastest-selling vegetarian and non-vegetarian options,” said Anil Kumar Pothuru, chef and operations manager for Kurtosssh. They will soon introduce makhani and tandoori fillings as well.
The spicy flavours wake you up as soon as you take a bite of the Mexican potato chimney cone. Potato chunks are soaked in salt water before they are fried and drizzled with a spicy Mexican sauce that makes your mouth water and tongue burn. They use capsicum and onion cubes in the sauce, which adds to the heat. The cone is garnished with garlic and oregano. The best bite is at the end, with the leftover sauce soaking through the bread.
The cone in which the Italian chicken is served is coated with chili flakes and oregano. It had a beautiful golden-brown crust that gives a satisfying crunch as you bite into it. The Italian filling has chicken cubes, melted cheese and mayo, which goes well with the herb-encrusted chimney cone. The creamy mixture leaves the flavour lingering on your tongue.
For dessert we had the chimney cake. Sweet chimney cones are cut into rings, smothered with warm chocolate and coated with sliced almonds. With subtle sweetness, the dessert is light and sublime, with a crunch from the almonds.