IN the city’s ever-evolving foodscape, where new cafés bloom each week and high-end restaurants stretch their menus across continents, one canteen-style restaurant in Mylapore quietly stands apart. There are no tongue-twister dish names, no imported sauces or elaborate plating here; just the familiar aroma of freshly ground masalas wafting through the air, and the kind of food that feels like a conversation with home.
For its growing community, Kaylir Canteen is not merely a place to eat but a place to belong. It’s where recipes are exchanged like heirlooms, where a frequent customer’s beetroot vadai meets a business owner’s sorakka soup, and where stories simmer alongside sambar and vathakulambu. In a city chasing novelty, Kaylir brings people back to what they’ve always known — and perhaps always wanted deep down — the comfort of a shared meal and the joy of food made from memory.
Yet, behind this comforting simplicity lies a quiet radical idea — one that reimagines what community dining can be. At Kaylir Canteen, the menu isn’t just crafted by chefs; it is shaped by the very people who walk through its doors. “The idea behind Kaylir is to get the community involved in feeding the community,” says Bhargav Ramakrishnan, the founder. Recipes are crowdsourced from customers, friends, and families, each dish carrying a story, a memory, or a touch of home.
Responsible dining
Bhargav started Kaylir as the first step toward a socially responsible, sustainable business model. “Simple everyday food seemed a great place to start. The goal is to see how the power of people working together can create a self-sustaining business while serving food that reminds you of home,” he explains. Unlike traditional restaurants, Kaylir doesn’t compete on glamour or exotic offerings. Its mission is simple: to be an everyday food solution that’s healthy, comforting, and deeply personal.
The concept of community-driven recipes came naturally. “We wanted to figure out how people could contribute and collaborate in the kitchen, and it’s been very organic,” Bhargav shares. Home cooks, friends, neighbours, and part-time team members bring in recipes, sometimes even demonstrate in the kitchen or send samples. The chefs then adapt and standardise them for bulk preparation without losing their essence. Over time, this approach has built a repertoire of nearly 360-370 recipes, from traditional Chettinadu dishes to Sri Lankan-style sodhi, and quirky home-style quick bites like the oorga sandwich — a simple blend of bread, butter, and molagai thokku, inspired by Bhargav’s childhood lunchbox.
From homes to canteen
Kaylir’s menu is a rotating canvas. Every day offers a selection of around 14 items for its signature lunch thali and different dishes for breakfast, snacks, and dinner, drawn from its extensive recipe library. “Even if someone doesn’t like one dish, there are always others to try. The idea is to let people discover something new without feeling pressured,” Bhargav explains. Seasonal vegetables dictate the menu, and a careful 11-day cycle ensures variety, so no two days ever feel the same.
This community-centric model comes with its challenges. Standardising home recipes for consistency is no small feat. “Home cooks aren’t used to measurements; they cook by instinct. One person’s ‘handful’ is another person’s ‘pinch’,” Bhargav laughs. To tackle this, the chefs meticulously weigh, measure, and recreate dishes, ensuring the essence and taste remain intact. Popular recipes contributed by the community have become staples.
With a constantly evolving menu and plans for subscription meals, Kaylir is redefining everyday dining, proving that the simplest food, shared with care, can create the richest connections. Bhargav envisions a system where recipes continue to be crowdsourced, standardised, and shared on a larger scale. “We’re learning, evolving, and building systems to replicate these recipes efficiently while keeping their homestyle charm. The goal is to make this community-driven dining experience accessible to more people,” he shares.
Here are some of the recipes that have been crowdsourced and become a constant in Kaylir Canteen’s menu:
Beetroot Vadai
Kadala paruppu (Channa dal): 1 tumbler
Perungayam (Asafoetida): 1 tbsp
Dried red chilli: 3 to 4
Grated beetroot: 2 cups
Green chilli (diced): 3
Coriander (chopped finely): 1 full bunch
Curry leaves (chopped finely): 10 to 12
Kallu uppu (rock salt) to taste
Oil for frying
Method
Soak the paruppu for 45 minutes to an hour.
Grind it to a rough (not fine) paste along with dried green chilli, salt and perungaayam.
Add the grated beetroot, green chillies, coriander and curry leaf.
Mould them into biscuit-sized patties and fry.
Podalanga Kondakadalai Kara Poriyal
Black channa: 1 cup
Podalanga (Snake gourd): 300 grams
Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard: 1 tbsp
Urad dal: 1 tbsp
Dried red chilli: 2
Green chilli (sliced): 2
Onion (sliced): 1
Curry leaves: 10 to 12
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Chilli powder: 1.5 to 2 tsp (depending on spice level)
Freshly grated coconut: 4 tbsp
Coriander leaves for garnish
Method
Soak 1 cup of black channa in water overnight or for 6 hours.
Then, pressure cook or boil it on a stove along with the podalanga until they’re both soft. You just need to boil podalanga for 7-8 minutes, ensure it does not overboil, you don’t want it to become a green mush.
Temper mustard, urad dal, red and green chillies, curry leaves and an onion in hot oil until it all slightly turns brown. Once this is nicely sautéed, add in the boiled channa and podalanga mixture and add turmeric, salt and chilli powder.
Sauté this mixture for 4-5 minutes or until the masala’s raw smell goes away. Top it off with fresh coconut and coriander. Serve hot with steaming hot rice and thick sambar.
Kathrikka Gosthu
Coriander seeds: 3 tbsp
Black peppercorns: 1.5 tbsp (1 tsp for eggplant, 1 tbsp for tadka)
Dried red chilli: 4-5
Channa dal: 1 tbsp
Oil: 4 tbsp (2 + 2)
Small ripe eggplants: 3½ cups, diced
Turmeric: 1 tsp
Salt: to taste
Curry leaves: 9-10
Shallots: 1½ cups, halved
Tamarind: 1-inch piece soaked in warm water
Fresh coriander: for garnish
Method
Dry roast coriander seeds, peppercorns, red chilies, and channa dal; grind to powder.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon peppercorns; add eggplant, turmeric, salt, and a little water. Cook until soft.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon peppercorns, curry leaves, and shallots until golden. Add tamarind water, cooked eggplant, and 3 tablespoon masala. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
Garnish with coriander and serve with dosai, chapati, or ghee rice.
Pineapple Pulissery
Fresh ripe pineapple: 4 cups
Freshly grated coconut: 1/2 cup
Curd: 1/2 cup
Cumin seed: 1 tsp
Oil: 1.5 tbsp
Mustard: 1 tbsp
Urad dal: 1/2 tbsp
Red chilli: 10, small
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves: 10-12
Method
Keep 1/2 cup pineapple aside to make into a paste for later.
Boil 3.5 cups pineapple for 5 minutes in a pot of water (ensure 3/4 of the fruit is submerged). Add 1 spoon of sugar and salt to taste.
Add a paste made out of 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut, 1/2 cup curd and 1 tsp of cumin seeds to this and add paste #2 which is just the small cup of pineapple we kept aside initially nicely made into a paste with a bit of water.
Let all this cool together in the pot for 6-7 minutes at medium heat.
Last flavour bomb: for the tempering, add oil, mustard, urad dal, red chillies, chilli powder, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Add this to the pulissery and serve it hot with sambar sadham, cabbage thoran and pappadam.
