KOCHI: Biju Sailabdeen’S love affair with gastronomy traces back to, in his words, a “delicious childhood”. The native of Vallakadavu in Thiruvananthapuram says he started exploring the world of food at the age of four, thanks to his father.
And that culinary quest eventually led Biju, 39, to take up food vlogging in 2016. A national cycling champ and businessman, today, Biju is better known as ‘Foodie Kidilolski’.
“My father used to take me to every food spot across the city,” he recalls. “Thus, I know the old as well as the new. However, what I cherish the most are the old tastes, flavours I savoured with my father. They may not be big restaurants or have dining spaces, but the food they serve and the tastes stay the best even after decades.”
Some examples? “Rajila Hotel, Muttathara -- their mutton dishes are legendary. The taste remains the same to date,” he says. “Another one is Hotel Rahmaniya, known for the Kethel’s fried chicken, which was recently featured by BBC. It has over seven decades of history, and serves the finger-licking-best fried chicken in the city.”
Biju adds he “felt proud” when the BBC team approached him for the feature on Rahmaniya and its Kethel’s chicken. Biju, in fact, is known as an “encyclopedia” on foodie spots in Thiruvananthapuram. “Good food and history are a deadly combination,” he says. He signs off with a tip to foodies: “The capital city offers the best vegetarian dishes in the state.”
Vlog page: @foodie_kidilolski
Spring Chicken Fry
Ingredients
45-day-old chick or spring chicken: 700g
Kashmiri chillies: 2 nos
Red chilli (or 1 tablespoon chilli flakes) : 6 nos
Coriander seed (optional): 1 teaspoon
Turmeric (powder) : ¼ teaspoon
Garam masala: 1 tablespoon
Pepper powder: 1 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste: 1 tablespoon
Salt: to taste
Lemon: 2 teaspoon
Preparation: Grind all the masala ingredients into a smooth paste. Marinate the chicken with the masala paste and some lemon juice. Refrigerate the marinated chicken for one hour. Heat oil and deep fry the chicken on low flame until cooked.