Anba Satti Sorru: Monitor lizard & mutton claypot curry rice — rich authentic South Indian flavours
“You’ve eaten monitor lizards?” gasped Pavin, my editor when I nonchalantly informed her that this reptile was a rather common occurrence at the dinner table during my formative years. Judging from the collective horrified reactions of my colleagues, I knew my visit to Anba Satti Sorru for their Monitor Lizard Claypot Curry Rice was going to be an interesting one.
Claypot curry rice, otherwise known as satti sorru is a fairly common fare in South Indian households. In recent years, stalls selling this dish have been mushrooming all over the Klang Valley. And having brought along exotic meats such as monitor lizard and wild boar (yes, I have eaten that too).
But I digress. Located along Jalan Loke Yew, Anba Satti Sorru has quietly made a name for itself— especially for their Mutton Claypot Curry Rice. Run by a young couple, the stall is admittedly tiny but you will be spoiled for choice as the menu is an extensive one. Claypot curry rice options range from chicken, mutton, prawn, fish, squid, salted fish to wild boar and monitor lizard. And it doesn’t stop there— they also offer Chicken and Quail Fry, Dry Chilli Chicken, Dry Chili Wild Boar, Dry Chili Mutton and Squid Fry. I’m drooling just thinking about it again!
What I tried at Anba Satti Sorru
I must say, observing the cooking process of the Claypot Curry Rice was certainly therapeutic. Each individual curry is filled with homemade masala paste, tomatoes, onions, meat and other delicious-looking South Indian spices.
Once the curry has bubbled, the chef tosses in a generous portion of rice before mixing it along with the curry, ensuring every grain of rice is coated with the lip-smacking curry. For those who do not want to have your rice mixed with the gravy, you can request for that as well. But I would personally recommend you to opt to have the rice mixed with the gravy as it is absolutely delicious that way.
Roughly 20 minutes later, the much-awaited Monitor Lizard Claypot Curry Rice (RM17) and Mutton Claypot Curry Rice (RM15) arrived— the bottoms of the claypot covered in aluminium foil. Right off the bat, just inhaling the fragrance of the curry, and seeing the beautiful brown hue of the rice, I knew it was going to taste amazing.
I eagerly scooped a spoonful of the Monitor Lizard Claypot Curry Rice. The result? Moist, hot, hearty. Every single grain was packed with loads of delicious South Indian flavours. And for those of you wondering, the monitor lizard flesh is extremely bony. This is the only qualm I have about eating this reptile ever since the first time I had it, decades ago.
My dining companion compared its taste to chicken, but I would like to add, an extremely bony chicken. The meat had a very mild taste to it and adopted the flavour of the curry it was cooked in. And to add on, the meat was sliced into tiny chunks making it rather hard to identify amongst the rice.
I’ll be frank, I was more excited to try their best-seller— the Mutton Claypot Curry Rice. Oh boy, was I hooked onto this dish. Just like the previous dish, every spoonful of rice had a spicy kick and an overall moist texture. But the saving grace was the mutton. So tender, it practically melted in my mouth. I just found myself going back for more of the mutton chunks. In fact this dish was so good, I ended up paying more attention to it instead of the Monitor Lizard Claypot Curry Rice. Needless to say, we ended up polishing the entire bowl.
Final thoughts
With my tummy filled to its brim with carbohydrates, I couldn’t be more pleased with my new find. I’ve always been on the hunt for a really good plate of satti sorru and this little stall has proved to be the best so far. You can also find them on Grab— trust me, the Mutton Claypot Curry Rice is the bee’s knees!
And for those of you who have always been curious about the taste of this scaly reptile, I’d definitely recommend that you have your first experience at Anba Satti Sorru. Just don’t come running complaining that the meat is so bony— I told you so!
Expected damage: RM15 – RM25 per pax
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