KOCHI: Six years ago, when Keerthy Nair migrated to Edinburgh, Scotland, after getting married, she and her husband realised that the cold, bland food of the country was unappetizing to say the least. A true ‘naadan’ food gastronome, Keerthy decided to bring Kerala to her new home. Her mother, an exceptional cook, came to her aid. Regular calls to home enquiring recipes of staple dishes from their homeland sustained the couple. The calls were followed by elaborate preparations in the kitchen and then a quick photograph of the labour of love to be sent to Keerthy’s mother before being cleaned off the plate.
Fast forward to now, the Angamaly native does not find the need to call home for recipes anymore but the habit of photographing her food has sustained. Only now, the pictures go on Keerthy’s Instagram feed, which has recently become a 70,000-member community.
The 29-year-old IT employee’s journey to becoming a food blogger was unwitting and organic, something born out of pure passion and little choice. Through her handle, Keerthy offers her growing followers a frame after frame visual document of her renditions of parippu, thoran, chammandi, meen curry, fish fry, avial and much more; each plate brimming with multiple dishes. Her over-the-top sensorial stimulation are sure to give the audiences a foodgasm.
“My mom, who is an amazing cook, taught me how to prepare traditional dishes when I was very young. But I was never as good as her until I came to the UK. There is virtually no Kerala cuisine restaurant in the city I live in, so cooking Malayali dishes became of a necessity. It was also my mother who suggested that I start a recipe blog but I wouldn’t have been able to find time with my job. Hence, I started an Instagram page which surprisingly took off,” says Keerthy.
For someone who has evolved into a dedicated creator with her handle now ranking at the top Kerala cuisine bloggers’ list, staying in a foreign country comes with a set of challenges. Keerthy has to resort to buying from Thai cuisine-centred online websites to source staples like banana leaves and jackfruit. “I also don’t have access to a lot of props like the traditional cutlery you get back home.”
But Keerthy is determined not to steer away from her Kerala specific content. “Considering where I live, it is easy to post about English cuisine but that would be dishonest. I would never cook anything just to upload the picture, I will only post what I cook,” she says.Find Keerthy on Instagram @macaron_gal
‘Sugar Bowl Kacherippady
For Candida Rodriguez of ‘Sugar Bowl’, the focus is on budget-friendly gift hampers this year. She has launched six boxes in different sizes including the best selling flavours from her menu. “There are plum cakes, sticky toffee pudding, crinkle cookies, jar cakes and cakesicles in my gift hampers.
But the items will vary according to the box which the customer chooses to buy,” said Candida. She has also introduced non-edible gifts including cushion covers, Christmas ornaments and hot chocolate and coffee mugs in these boxes. The Christmas ornament with marshmallows and cookies is the star of her show
Gift boxes range from I850 to I4,500.
Fluff in a cup Kadavanthra
Sarah Zia Adeel, owner of ‘Fluff in a cup’, has lined up gourmet cupcakes in her gift hamper. “The idea was to bring in flavours which would appeal to people. I wanted my customers to relate to these desserts. The entire theme is about sharing happiness,” said Sarah. The highlights of her hamper include lamington cupcakes (an authentic Australian flavour), apple pie cupcakes and Neapolitan cupcakes (an amalgamation of three flavours). Another gift hamper consisting cupcakes, blondies in lotus biscoff and strawberry white chocolate are also available, beside her special ‘Melting Moments’ (sandwiched cookies). Priced between I880 and I2,000.
Season to treat
The merry season is here! Though we had a long year, a good gift and some festive tunes can make December feel perfect! We have put together some great gifting options for you and everyone you love.
Gift for eternity
‘Eternal Flowers’ has personalised your gifting look and feel this season. “December to February is the gifting season. We have introduced few new products including a fully decorated 6-ft Christmas tree which will be delivered at the customer’s doorstep as well as fancy greeting cards,” says Neethu Sathish, owner of Eternal Flowers.
They are also offering a customised gift hamper consisting of sparkling grape juice, artisanal cakes, Christmas themed macarons and decoratives items. Hand embroidery hoops are also the newest addition to their personalised boxes. Their red and white themed flower boxes are also customers’ favourite. Picture frames with augmented reality are also available as per the customer’s request. Eternal Flowers delivers in Kochi, Kollam, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram
Baketales_byfia online
Ginger man cookie is the major attraction in Fathima Azeem’s goody box. ‘Baketales’ has given more importance to the theme of gifting this season and offers three hampers including French macarons, fluffy marshmallows, brownies, cakesicles and a loaf of plum cake. The premium box has the same treats in a larger quantity and ginger man cookies. Priced between I1,200 and I2,500 @baketales_byfia