BENGALURU: A spread of 24-odd dishes neatly served on a long banana leaf. Just the sight of an Onam sadya is enough to make someone drool. While Covid has dampened many festivals this year, city home chefs are making sure this festival of feasting continues to maintain its glory. There may be no get-togethers but home chefs are offering takeaway dishes to ensure people don’t miss out on any fun.
Rati Dhananjayan’s kitchen is already filled with the aroma of a feast being prepared as she gears up to make 23-24 dishes.
“If it’s sadya, I go all out. I am even preparing chips, pickle, sambar masala and papadam at home, so the preparation has to start way in advance,” says Dhananjayan, whose sadya is priced at Rs 500, including the banana leaf. According to her, some of her dishes taste even better if cooked a day or two in advance. “For instance, Injipulli which is made of ginger, chilli paste, tamarind pulp and jaggery, tastes even better once the spices are well settled,” says the 30-year-old home chef. Though it’s a task she enjoys, grating coconuts, which is easily around 15-20, can be quite difficult, she says.
The same goes for Lakskmi Shankar, who is a go-to home chef for Kormanagala residents. It’s not for nothing that people book a seat way in advance for her sadya. Shankar, who moved from Kochi to Bengaluru 32 years ago, is specific about the spices she uses to cook up a storm of 16 dishes, where everything is made by herself so that there is no compromise on taste. With the current scenario, Shankar has received calls regarding the safety and hygiene norms followed while making the dishes.
“All the food is made in my kitchen, where I prepare food for my family too and since the Covid outbreak, I have not let my househelp enter home. It’s as safe as it can get,” assures Shankar, whose sadya is also priced at Rs 500. This year, the 58-year-old is taking 40-60 requests, whereas last year it was not more than 15. “Due to Covid, people are not able go back home for the festival and they would want to have food from a reliable source. My Instagram DMs are flooded with messages,” laughs Shankar.
The lockdown had a positive influence for Rachel Kurian as well, since she started her home kitchen – Chattambi Cravings – in April. In March, she started giving out appam batter, before proceeding to weekend menus with the launch of her home kitchen. Now, she is known for her mango fish curry and chicken stew. Kurian admits that taking up the task of preparing a sadya is no joke. She only took it up once she nailed the Pothichoru, a dish where rice, vegetables, fish (optional) and spices are cooked in a banana leaf.
“Pothichoru was like my litmus test. Since that came out fine, I got some confidence,” says Kurian, who has her family roots in Kochi but has lived in Chennai and Kannur. This 32-year old home chef is preparing 21 dishes, which will be priced at Rs 760, with pickup through Swiggy and Dunzo.
Reach out
● Yumm Keralam (Hennur); 9611011001, 8197434143On Instagram:
● Lakshmi Shankar (Koramangala); malberrykitchen
● Rachel Kurian (Kalyan Nagar); chattambi_cravings
● Rati Dhananjayan (Old AirportRoad); rati_ratatouille_homecooking