Bringing Kerala’s toddy shop cuisine to New York: A chef’s culinary dream
Calicut Mussels
In 2015, Chef Regi Mathew and his team embarked on an extraordinary journey to explore Kerala’s cuisine in depth. “We wanted to understand our food beyond the surface,” he explains over a video call from New York on the day his new restaurant Chatti was launching in Manhattan’s Garment District. This is his third restaurant: the last was Kappa Chakka Kandhari, which opened in Bengaluru in 2019.
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“Kerala’s cuisine is diverse—each region has its unique flavours, spices and techniques,” he reflects on the years of research, the deep culinary traditions of his homeland, and the vision that has brought him here. What started as a curious project soon turned into an extensive culinary expedition. Mathew visited 300 homes, dined at 30 toddy shops, and collected nearly 800 recipes from local families and home cooks. “What surprised me most was how much I didn’t know,” he admits. “Even after years as a chef, I discovered new techniques, ingredients, and stories. It made me realise that Kerala’s food deserves to be showcased on a much bigger platform,” says Mathew who dreamed of taking the cuisine beyond India’s borders. “I wanted to showcase Kerala’s culture and the best way was through its food.” New York was an obvious choice. “It’s a city that embraces diversity,” Mathew explains. “People from all over the world live and dine here. It felt like the perfect stage. Our food is a story of our culture. It’s not just about feeding people; it’s about sharing who we are. It feels incredible,” says Mathew, his excitement palpable. “When you chase a dream and finally make it happen as a team, it’s a special kind of joy,” he adds.
Chef Regi Mathew at Kunju’s Bakery in Kanjirapally, a town in Kerala
One of Mathew’s challenges was ensuring his food’s authenticity while appealing to an international audience. “We haven’t toned down the spices or flavours,” he states firmly. “Instead, we focus on balance—highlighting the depth of our cuisine rather than just its heat.” The dishes featured in the restaurant are rooted in traditional toddy shop fare—it is what people eat at home. It’s simple, soulful, and deeply connected to the land. At the heart of the menu are touchings—small, toddy-shop-inspired plates meant to be eaten by hand. Think prawn pouches, delicately steamed in banana leaves; toddy shop beef fry, spiced brisket tossed with crispy coconut chips; and tender jackfruit cutlets, crunchy on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth inside. Duck mappas, slow-simmered in coconut milk, brings bold, comforting flavours, while vegetarians will love the silky red pumpkin stew and the robust black chickpea curry. Kerala’s iconic nendram banana, with its buttery caramel notes is there too. Coconut clams, cooked with Malabar tamarind is a perfect balance of sweet and tang. For something extra indulgent, the lobster moilee, poached in lemon and coconut milk. Signature breads include soft, pillowy vattayappam (steamed hoppers), puttu (rice cakes), crispy nei-pathiri (deep-fried rice bread), and lacy idiyappam (string hoppers). For desserts, there is the creamy palada, slow-cooked rice flakes in sweet milk and filter coffee pudding; bird’s eye chilli ice cream and of course, chef’s cloud pudding, a dreamy, tender coconut delight.
Black Chickpea Curry-Steamed Rice Cake
Mathew ensures that key ingredients—such as spices—are sourced directly from his trusted producers in Kerala, and proteins and fresh produce are locally sourced in New York to maintain quality. Even the butchering process has been carefully curated. “We worked closely with butchers to ensure we get the exact cuts we need for our cooking style. It took weeks of testing, but we’ve found the perfect balance,” he adds.
Coconut Clams
M aking up for the lack of toddy—a sweet, lightly fermented drink made from coconut or palm sap—(licence issues), Mathew has worked to bring the communal, warm spirit of toddy shops to New York. Spread over two cosy floors, the restaurant’s decor is minimal but distinctively Kerala, with teakwood floors, lacquered stone and wooden furniture, copper etchings of toddy tappers, fishermen’s boats on the walls, and a private dining space with the red laterite walls. “Toddy shops are more than just places to eat,” he says, adding, “They’re about camaraderie and conversation. We wanted to capture that essence.” The service team has undergone extensive training. “Our servers come from different nationalities, so we spent weeks introducing them to Kerala’s culture and food,” Mathew shares. “We had them taste every dish to understand the flavours. Some have even started pronouncing Malayalam words—it’s amazing to hear them say it with precision!”
Kerala’s landscapes and local ingredients inspire the cocktail programme here. “New Yorkers love cocktails, so we wanted to bring our own unique twist to it,” he says. One standout drink is ‘once in twelve’, inspired by the Neelakurinji flower that blooms only once every 12 years in Munnar. Made with gin, blue tea, and lemon, the drink takes on a stunning purple hue, mirroring the rare flower. Another highlight is ‘ayokapi’, a take on the classic espresso martini, made with filter coffee. The ‘absolute kandari’ mocktail features the fiery kandari chilli and the hibiscus-based drink pays homage to the flower found in nearly every Kerala home.
Regi Mathew
In Malayalam, Chatti refers to the clay pot traditionally used to slow cook meals. Mathew chose the name due to its ease of pronunciation and its use at Kerala’s toddy shops which are a cornerstone of the state’s culinary heritage, serving as great social equalisers, bringing together people from all walks to share a meal and engage in conversations. In recent years, chefs like Vikas Khanna (Bungalow), Vijaya Kumar, and the duo of Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya (behind Semma, Adda, and Dhamaka) have paved the way for modern, hyper-local Indian cuisine in New York. With its deep dive into the toddy shop fare, Chatti embodies this movement—aromatic, nuanced, and brimming with soulful comfort. More than just a restaurant, it has the potential to redefine regional Indian dining on the global stage, offering a taste of Kerala’s rich culinary heritage to a broader audience.
Training the future
Through the Centre of Excellence for Indian Cuisine which he heads, Matthew trains young culinary students in Kerala cuisine, ensuring that traditional cooking methods are passed down. Every year, he mentors ten top students and give them hands-on experience in his kitchens as means to nurture the next generation of chefs and is confident that the future of Indian regional cuisine is bright.
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