Backwaters in Fort

Kerala Kozhikode halwa

On a Saturday morning, the unusual silence in the usually busy by-lanes of the Fort area is calming. On an insider's tip, we are here with chef Pratik Nair of The Chopping Board to visit a stall right beside the restaurant Taste of Malabar. This hole-in-the-wall shop with no name offers flavours and ingredients from Kerala, as authentic as they come.

For Basheer T, the man behind the counter, the day began at 8 am, with regular customers trooping in to pick up their stash of banana chips (Rs 60), sweet rose cookies (Rs 100), pickles (starting at Rs 72) and coconut oil (Rs 290). Basheer knows the order by heart for most patrons. Others stop by to browse through stacked goodies and most often than not, end up going away with kappa pazham (reddish banana) or a packet of ready-to-cook idiyappam.

Luffa

The genesis of the store lies in the requests of the patrons of the restaurant next door. They would ask if they could go home with a local variety of rice or the famed Kozhikode halwa. Three years ago, the store was set up to offer a complete Malabar experience.

Their fastest-selling items include a variety of banana chips (Rs 60 to Rs 100), poppadum made from chickpeas and lentils (Rs 50), hand-rolled jaggery (Rs 110), and the famous Kerala Kozhikode halwa (from Rs 50). "Most items in the shop are made by local brands from Kerala" Basheer tells us, "Some are well-known while others are not. We get our stock every week from traders there."

Sweet Potato

Meanwhile, Nair is enthusiastically browsing through the items, many of which are frequently used in his Mulund home kitchen which he runs with his mother Latha. They serve authentic Kerala cuisine headlined by specialities, idiyappam stew, puttu sadya, meen curry, and pepper chicken. Nair gets nostalgic about a bottle of date pickle (Rs 72 for 200g) and a fruit juice brand called Lion (Rs 105), which he hasn't seen in years. "My grandmother used to make these amazing pickles. She taught my mother too, and my mother passed on the recipes to me." Soon, Nair and Basheer get busy discussing their hometowns over a smile.

Karingali Wood

Nair says while Mumbai has several shops that sell speciality items from Tamil Nadu, a shop dedicated to the wares of Kerala cuisine is rare. Holding a pack of tapioca chips (Rs 52), Nair says he prefers them to potato chips. "Keralites will always go for what's organic or home/farm-grown," he explains. "From cold-pressed coconut oil and sun-dried curd chilli that flavours a simple porridge, to chukku kappi [coffee mixed with ginger to cure a cold], and Karingali wood which is mixed with warm water and offered to guests in most parts of Kerala - everything we eat has Ayurvedic properties and immense health benefits."

Chef Pratik Nair of The Chopping Board browses through the shop's wares

The state is known for its aromatic spices. For powdered spices, Nair prefers brands such as Eastern or Double Horse. While these are easily available, what you won't find easily is the kudampuli (pot tamarind) (Rs 400 per kg), a key ingredient in fish curry. Nair usually starts making his fish curry a day prior to give the kudampuli time to bloom. "I usually order it in bulk from my hometown. We use shallots instead of onions since they have a more dense and sweet flavour profile, and potato is substituted with sweet potato. It is these little details that makes Kerala cuisine nuanced," he adds.With his packet of kudampuli, we know a good fish curry will be in the making that afternoon.

Janmabhomi Marg, opposite Siddharth College, Fort, 8 am to 10 pm
Call: 9769002655