Indian-Texas Trailer Serves Brisket Curry and Roti Tacos in South Austin

When Still Austin Whiskey Co. opens next week on St. Elmo Road, it’ll come with a new Indian-Texas food trailer from chef Deepa Shridhar, Puli-Ra. She was known for mash-up pastries and curries from her delivery service/farmers market stand Chaiwalla and pop-up series Anjore.

Puli-Ra’s new low country-Indian-Texas menu will focus on roti tacos, with fillings like smoked chai and whiskey-cured brisket curry, and a vegan eggplant curry. It’ll also offer dinner specials, like lamb sliders. Weekend brunch will bring back favorite Chaiwalla dishes, like naan croissants, samosa pies, sticky buns, boudin, and fried eggs.

Shridhar wanted to open Puli-Ra at Still because the whiskey distillery shares the same values. “They are dedicated to sourcing responsibly and locally,” she told Eater. “Plus, it’s a fun challenge to pair whiskeys and use their product in our cooking.”

Because of this new venture, Shridhar closed Chaiwalla, and she is in the process of phasing out Anjore. While she won’t be found at farmers markets and she won’t host regular pop-ups, she still plans on collaborating with friends for one-off events, like Texas Keep Cidery, Spun Ice Cream, HausBar Farms, and others.

Why the major shift? “It feels right to start this new adventure with a new name that really gets to the heart of who we are,” Shridhar said. The name, Puli-Ra, is Tamil. “Puli means tiger, fierce, strong flavors, tamarind, sour, bold. Ra is a way to inflect a casual tone.”

“We’ve always been a little outside of the box, so this name feels like we’re fully owning it,” Shridhar said.

For now, Puli-Ra will operate as a tent while the trailer is being worked on. Its hours are the same as Still’s: 1 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

• Puli-Ra [Instagram]
• Austin Urban Whiskey Distillery Opens in September [EATX]
• All Coverage of Still Austin Whiskey Co. [EATX]