Beetroute

Loving everything local in Kerala

Just bought these yummy Passion Fruit and Plantain preserves from

We have been enjoying these with ice creams and hot parathas just off the tawa. Other than of course it’s usual accompaniment - the bread!

But even before opening the bottles we were bowled over by the packing - it came wrapped in thick fat newspapers. Loved it.

And the packaging is equally beautiful with illustrations and lovely fonts.

And it proudly shouted out everything local with a small cloth wrapping stamped with ‘Pala Kerala’.

Aren’t they beautiful and inviting?

Amma’s Adipoli Biryani

Have had since I can remember and yet never had enough. Every time she makes it the whole house smells divine. And each one of us keep peeping into the kitchen where she is busy with her mise en place. No measuring cups. No special pots and pans. No special technique.

But the biryani is special!

As a young bride when she reached the norther part of India, a neighbour/ friend from Kerala taught her and gave this recipe. She has never looked back or learnt any other type of biryani though she had the opportunity to do so as she stayed in various parts of north and east india. This was special. And has stayed special with all of us.

Yesterday when we shared it with a cousin next door, her response was ‘adipoli’. Excellent!

And that’s all this biryani by Amma is❤️

Loving food, sharing food: Popular food tradition

Food is often shared - be it festivals, celebrations, or illness and crisis. Neighbours, freinds and extended families send across food to each other. And the containers are never returned empty!

Our neighbour - Kunjmol Chechi - used to send a “care package” of kanji (rice porridge), chammandi ( coconut chutney) and chutta karivadu ( roast dry fish) across to my parents whenever Amma was not well. And that’s the only time it seems Achan would have these and enjoy it too.

As a token of gratitude and love I now share whatever I can with Kunjmol chechi. Though she has stopped supplying the care packages now, I still get to taste her fare - limited but delicious - when she returns the ‘paatrams’ ( containers). And I love the way she packs it the traditional way. In a wilted banana leaf covered with newspaper with a rubber band and to hold fast.

Now I am always looking for a chance to send her something because I know the dabbas will never come back khaali! Greedy me!!

But isn’t it a lovely tradition? I used to think it’s very Indian but no. It’s a rule among many communities across the world - never returning a container empty.

Keep it going. Keep it alive. Keep a food culture strong and kicking.

Mahalaya and a chocolate ragi cake.

I wanted to bake something that would use up the pantry ingredients available. Sometimes it’s easy to decide what new dish you want to try out. And so this ragi-whole wheat-jaggery cake. And with some chocolate ganache to top it. Didn’t have appropriate nuts or fruits to add to the topping. Otherwise this would have turned out to be much better looking cake. But this is perfect with a cup of coffee anytime of the day.

I like every reason around festivals that make you cook something special. And I don’t always follow the traditional path here.

It was Mahalaya. And I missed my father much. Achan would have been listening to the early morning recitation of Mahishasura Mardini. Since it is also considered the last day of Shraddha rituals, a festive meal is made and shared with family and friends. I baked the cake and shared it with Amma and our neighbours. Am sure Achan would have loved it. Though after his appreciation speech, he would have definitely mentioned that he misses the traditional Bengali sweets much in Kerala!

This is the first Puja after he passed away and my first in Kerala. And at this pint I can only assure Achan ( wherever he is) that I will try to have some of the best Sondesh delivered here for next Mahalaya.

For now, enjoy the cake, Acha❤️

.artisanal

Amma’s midnight cravings

Cutie Pie Sunday morning

You know how cravings can set in with no rhyme or reason! I love cakes but not the creamy ‘pastries’ that are dished out at every occasion. But last night I had this urgent need to lap up the most sinful and utterly butterly pastry. And I know the culprit who kicked in this pining🤓 - a show on Netflix where the lady goes tasting a million cakes, each tastier than the previous, for her upcoming wedding!

Ordering-in options are limited in Kollam and with the torrential rains, it was impossible to step out. So I went to sleep with that unsatisfied craving😌

Surprisingly I woke up with the craving intact! So I stepped out at the earliest possible and made my way to the only place I like here for cakes.

CUTIEPIE

And it is the cake expert as their tagline says. Am I glad to have discovered this early on in my life here?! If not for CutiePie I would not have been able to indulge my system which didn’t fight the cravings😍

CutiePie was perfect. Bought some pudding cake (without any icing/frosting) and some delicious Lotus Biscoff cake and just one slice of Chocolate cake too! Indulgence is never complete without some form of chocolate.

CutiePie is my go to place in Kollam for cakes. Wish they would also do some plain tea cakes. And croissants which is hard to come by here. But for now, am just happy and thankful for this little haven of cakes.

In South India bakeries come by the dozen within a kilometer. And they serve anything from cakes, biscuits, preserves to even biryanies!

CutiePie stands out in that aspect. They specialise in celebratory custom made cakes with good quality ingredients ( and no harmful preservatives it seems).

And the slices available are good for people like me who just celebrate cravings.

CutiePie + craving satisfied = Best Sunday Morning

The old Dilli Haat is gone! But it still retains some of the elements that drew us and many others to it❤️

The pottery still remains and you get some really good stuff at very reasonable price. Regional handicrafts like the baskets and woven everyday utility items spoil us with a range.

The colours (of G20?) adds vibrancy to the open air atmosphere. But gone are the spaces where my daughter loved to walk/fall/crawl around when she was 10 months old. It was open space and safe from traffic - vehicles and humans. That was 1994!

Today it has given way to cramped shops but still displaying the regional variety of handcrafted stuff from all over India ( or Bharat?). And tiled floors which were interlocked red bricks if I am not mistaken when it started out is replaced by better manageable flooring.

But still, it is Dilli Haat! An attraction in Delhi for locals and tourists alike.

The idea of (original ) Dilli Haat mingled with nostalgia stretches our affection but may not last long enough for the complete renovation to set in the idea of a new Dilli Haat.

Hullabaloo over Sondesh

Disbelief, Chaos, Excitement, Tingling Tastebuds and Hullabaloo in K4 Bhim Nagri Apartments

On a whim I had ordered sondesh to be taken back to Kerala from Delhi. While Amma loves her gond wala ladoos, I wanted other stuff I crave for. Maybe because I haven’t visited Kolkatta after the pandemic! Or maybe because I was staying with a b**g friend and a hoard of other b**g freinds who descended there for a short stay. The language couldn’t have been but Bangla when there were so many Bengalies 😬 And the meals were a maach-bhaat extravaganza which I enjoyed to the hilt. To round off a trip like this, on second thoughts, I ordered some Sondesh for these freinds too.

So .artisanal Sondesh it was this time.

I wasn’t sure if they would even taste it, forget liking it! Lactose intolerance, don’t like sweets, don’t like Sondesh …many reasons/explanations.

But I decided to have one after lunch and I couldn’t stop at one. Gradually the lactose intolerant friend tried it and I saw her eyes pop out. Then it was total hullabaloo over the Sondesh🤷‍♀️

All of them trying to express utter disbelief at the taste, texture, and quality of these Sondesh. Each one told me to convey their gratitude and appreciation to Camellia.

The many things they said - the norom pak is really norom! It’s better than any sondesh they have ever tasted!! Much better than the ones in Calcutta!!! And many more compliments poured in…
But what was not said and what their expressions said was much more than all these words put together. They enjoyed a Sondesh like never before.

Camellia’s Sondesh is the wonder Sondesh! The best we have ever had. Thank you much for this wonderful handcrafted ‘mishti’.

Camellia .artisanal your effort and passion shines through these most delectable sweets. And the small-batch home made Sondesh like this can never compete with the commercial mass produced ones. It is artisanal and a class apart.

Stay small, stay beautiful, stay sweet!

We will all be coming back for more❤️

World Coconut Day

Tender King coconuts (orange coloured) to various forms of green coconut + traditional coconut scraper.

The best Ulta Tawa Paratha and Kebabs in town - at in Gurgaon. The pictures speak for themselves - we couldn’t resist tasting it before thinking of taking a picture!

The phirni was delicious and the portion, perfect.

Last but not the least important - the staff! Best service and wonderfully helpful.

Thanks for this intro. Plan to be back soon and every time I am in Delhi😍.

Innocent. Carefree. Naughty. Adorable. Playful. Cheerful.

Wishing everybody a happy happy Onam. May the year be filled with qualities of these three little darling devils.

A friend’s family - these 3 kids made the pookalam in the traditional way every single day of Onam this year. Isn’t it beautiful? Exciting? Heartwarming? Loveable? Playful?

Little acts of joy ❤️

The first leg of the year in Kerala. Starting with Onam festivities. Taste the Sadya and then explore the other delicacies from this beautiful region.

Atham

The first day of Onam when the traditional ritual of laying the Pookalam ( floral rangoli) begins with a simple small design. And increases in size as the festival days progress towards Thiruvonam - the final day of Onam - when the sumptuous Onasadya is served.

Come and partake of the Sadya with Beetroute and Seeking Roots this time as we prepare a 23 dish Sadya and deliver it across Delhi NCR from 26 to 29.

Link in the bio for orders.

Throwback to Onam 2019! Sleepless nights of labelling, crazy days of chasing banana leaves all over town, a tiny kitchen cooking away this massive feast... Here we are, that time of the year again, awaiting all the little things to do, to craft our meals with love, from us to you!

It was Onam last year that this little dream of ours, Beetroute, came to life, thanks to all your love and support (and appetites)! We can't wait to serve you all, friends of Beetroute, old and new. 💜

3 days left to pre-book your Onam Sadya! https://beetroute.kitchen/sadya

Onasadya

We are live. Link in the bio.

FAMILY AFFAIRS - moments that stay for a lifetime

It goes back to my childhood home. And memories of a lot of friends coming over for lunch. Amma would have slogged in the kitchen for more than 24 hours and planned it weeks in advance. A multi course Onasadya with all the ‘must-have’ dishes is not an easy task to be cooked at home. Plus we would never have a feast without some meat!

I missed out on these family festivities once I moved out of home and stayed in hostels.

And then came the time when I had my own kitchen - a tiny one in a barsati in Delhi, just sufficient space for 2. But I waited a few years before having these sadyas at my own little home. During the waiting period I honed my skills by cooking the dishes through the year whenever I could. And had friends from hostel always hungry and looking for good home made food. They were family and through my stay in Delhi this close knit family (later colleagues and other friends too, not to mention the teenaged constantly hungry friends of my daughter) were constants at the annual ritualistic Onasadyas.

Then in 2019 I decided to take the plunge with Beetroute. We opened our kitchen to Delhi-NCR folks. The first year was good but it got better and better with more people interested in regional Indian cuisines and home food appreciation sky-rocketing during the pandemic.

If we can say, our best seller at Beetroute was the Sadya. It wasn't just the numbers but the love and appreciation that poured in.

But what I realised along the way was how these sadya deliveries actually replaced the way Onam was celebrated - the feasting at home with family and friends in the traditional way continued. But at the same time there was a breaking away from tradition - the sadya was not being cooked at home!

However, the core of the Onam celebration remained intact - having the Sadya with the family. Moments that stay and extend for a lifetime.

Thankful for the part Beetroute could play in these family moments which become beautiful memories❤️

Kollam cafés bringing in the Onam twist to their menus

Achan

Passed away this January.

Amma sees so many similarities in me everyday. Maybe that’s why there were disagreements galore. But that didn’t in any way affect our mutual respect and love. And the strongest connect was food.

As children we were indulged with variety and introduced to all sorts of food. From street side puchkas to Nahoum’s Christmas cakes and fun tea time at Flurry’s, to coffee with cheese shavings and shakes when we got our first ‘mixie’, it was a roller coaster food ride for us! Later on he would ask us to get him things from all over which he wouldn’t find in Kollam.

He loved his food! But he also loved many other things. And his major weakness was reading and buying books. He was obsessive about it and has left behind a huge collection which includes among other interesting reads, archival stuff - yearbooks, annual reports, economic surveys, railway timetables etc. As I rummaged through his books I also found many cook books ( though he couldn’t even make a cup of tea till a few years back!).

He left us with loads of food memories and an appetite for exploring more - theoretically and practically.

I miss him but don’t grieve him because he passed away peacefully, without suffering, and living actively as he knew till the last day. He went out to get his weekly dose of magazines and books and had his ‘motta puffs’ the day he breathed his last.

Wish I could send him some motta puffs - egg patties in Kerala - on this Father’s Day. But am sure he had his fill before leaving this world. And right now must be giving theoretical gyan to his freinds there on the merits of motta puff😍

We begin the New Year with the Sankranti Menu. There is a platter and a la carte menu to choose from.


Link in the bio

A home and a meal

Some things come naturally. And we love it, maybe more than the others! Because it recreates memories from childhood.

This meal is one such food memory/love.

Food can mean different things to different people and at different times. It needn’t always be the most mouth watering or memorable. It can mean comfort. It can mean healthy. It can mean love. It can mean familiarity. And many more things.

This simple meal of rice, sambar, avial, thoran, pachadi, pappadam and pickle means home! It was the most regular fare at Amma’s table. And so, it means love, comfort and familiarity! A warm hug. An assurance that the world is still as carefree as childhood.

A memory which can be recreated easily. Cooking these dishes come naturally for me. And the feeling of fulfilment is immense. And sharing it makes it all the more significant.

The fish curry in a meal of course is a must for every place that has a coastline as huge as Kerala. And even this fish curry is so so comfortingly home!

Coming back to such a comforting home cooked meal is most satiating.

The nostalgic home-cooked Kerala meal

This is a menu based on someone missing home-cooked food from Kerala. We have all the usual suspects from a lunch at home – matta rice, sambar, thoran, avial, pachadi, pappadam and pickle. Most households in Kerala will have a ‘non-veg’ dish for most meals – preferably fish. And so we have the neimeen curry (Seer/Kingfish curry). The payasam is an addition from our side to end the meal on a sweet note.

There is a veg platter and a la carte to choose from.

Link in the bio for orders.

Dinner last night

Roast cauliflower and some good old tomato soup with toast and pate.

Perfect for this time of the year in Delhi.

A HAPPY MEAL

Not from Mc Donald’s. But from Parvati’s kitchen at Kafalia in Nathuakhan. Simple food cooked with lots love and fresh produce! That was all we needed after a long drive to make us happy and feel warmly welcomed to this beautiful sun-drenched house.

The Ivy-covered walls, and a piece of sky through the windows and some black tea at the open dining area.

A haven and heaven💗

Nei Choru/Nei Soru/Nei sadam

If not all, most Indian kids would have had rice with ghee and salt. It’s a super yummy childhood memory.

With some add ons, that simple childhood flavours resonate with the Nei Choru – Ghee Rice – from Kerala. Aromatic, delicious and soothing. Ghee and the whole spices give this rice dish a shine and a mild spicy flavour. Garnished with fried nuts and raisins, it takes the simple ghee rice to a different level. Kids and adults enjoy this equally.
Usually had with some spicy curry – chicken, mutton, vegetable etc. But this dish from the Malabar region of Kerala is also had with the yummy beetroot-date chutney/pickle. Crush a pappadam on top and it becomes heavenly.

Try it out this week from our weekend menu.

Link in the bio

Neither Ghoti nor Bangal

Lokkhi Puja bhog differs not just from region to region but from household to household. However, any offering to a Goddess/God always tastes divine.

This simple and delicious bhog was shared with us just a while back by one of the girls from our kitchen. It has no claims on being either from East or West Bengal. It’s just an offering to Goddess Lakshmi.

Khichuri and begun bhaja is an all time comfort food combo. The yummy tomato chutney also goes well with these. And who doesn’t love Naru?

But ‘sinni’ got my heart! Spotting it in this prasad set me thinking of the last time I had it. I love sinni but I don’t remember when I had it last! What I do remember are all the Satyanarayan Pujas in the neighbourhood every month during my school days, and how I looked forward to the prasad. It was always sinni.

This most delicious Prasad has been missing from my life. Lokkhi Puja bhog today has helped me with one more easy breakfast dish. Sinni is a simple combo of atta, banana, and sugar and can make for an easy meal any time of the day. But in the morning, it can set the tone for the day. Add on some coconut flakes, nuts and raisins, and it becomes more nutritive and tasty.

Festival foods are fascinating!

Kothu Parotta, String Hoppers, Pol Sambol, Mallung, Watallapan...and more. From the beautiful Island of Sri Lanka.

Though similar to South Indian cuisine, it is distinctly different from any other cuisine. Try out for yourself.

On our menu this weekend. As usual link in the bio.

Fish and Mustard Greens

Winter greens popping up in the market! Couldn’t resist buying some Sarson ka Saag last week when I found it with a local vegetable vendor on a rainy evening.

As a de facto norm, I have never cooked much of Punjabi or North Indian food.

And there is a good reason for it. Having started my cooking experiments in Delhi, I would try out dishes which I didn’t have much access to easily. And so it was the simple Thoran, Avial, Sambar, and some typical Kerala fish preparations that I started out with. Colleagues, neighbours, and friends from Delhi were always there to feed me good home made North Indian stuff. And of course the local eateries too!

Coming back to the saag, I love Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka saag. But I don’t cook it as it’s easily available outside of my kitchen! ( hope all friends neighbours listening to me here🤓).

What do I do with the saag? Make it with fish! It’s light and delicious. With some hot steaming rice, it makes for a perfect meal on days when you crave simple home made easy food.

It’s too early for a regular supply of mustard greens, but as soon as the season is in full swing, we will be having more of this winter green with fish and a variety of meats.

Looking forward to the coming months.

Sannas and Pork Vindaloo

On our menu this weekend. Link in the bio.

The weather demands ⛈️

Perfect for the weekend! Link to order in bio.