Gimme red, never mind the tears
It's irresistible even if it leaves you gasping for breath, because southern coastal cuisine is as hot as it is tasty,
Fenix is all red. The leather seats, the flowers, the salt and pepper shakers, and in the distance, a shiny grand piano all shimmer in different shades of red at this Oberoi restaurant.
The decor was a foretaste of things to come, because I was there for an exploration of southern coastal cuisine. Along most of India's coastline, food is usually tinged with red, because various forms of red chillies are a part of the special spice mixes that are used.
Gobu Kumar appears to be a wet-behind-the-ears chef, just out of catering college and eager to please. But as this Thiruvananthapuram-born chef starts talking, it is apparent that my lunch is in safe hands.
Chettinad spice mix
The star of any coastal menu is its seafood and chef Gobu has plenty of variations on it. The appetiser he sends out is a platter of Chettinad spiced crab cake and kariveppilai yera (prawns in curry leaf masala), accompanied with a papaya relish, raw mango pickle and raw mango chutney in mustard oil. "Every Malabari dish has to start with pappad and pickles," he smiles.
The crab cake is so light it breaks into my fork and melts in my mouth, releasing a strong flavour of onion followed by the juicy goodness of crab meat. Green chillies, ginger and curry leaves have been mixed into the Chettinad spice, which is a mixture of 18 spices and takes four hours to prepare in a step-by-step procedure.
For the kariveppilai yera, a thick batter made of urad and gram dal finely ground with red chillies, cumin, pepper and roasted curry leaves is applied to the prawn, which is already marinated with chillies, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, pepper and curry leaves. This is then pan-seared. What you finally get is a heavily-coated super-spicy prawn with a crunchy texture. "The raw mango chutney works well with this prawn as the slightly sweet and tangy mango cuts the heavy spices of the masala," says chef Gobu helpfully.
Grandma's cooking style
Chef Gobu learned his cooking mainly from his grandmother. Every school vacation, he would be at her home, watching her rustle up delicious avial, dal, and lal saag for him. "I still try and follow her simple ways of cooking," he says.
On his recommendation, I try the Andhra fish curry, one bite of which leaves me gasping. "Chillies are the main ingredients here," adds chef Gobu, a little too late. The red snapper in the curry is soft and gets its pungent flavour from the deceptively simple ingredients, green chillies, onions, tomatoes and the Chettinad spice mix. The next dish is more to my taste, a mild meen polichatu: fish wrapped in banana leaf with crispy shallots and a strong coconut flavour.
Here too, chef Gobu had added his own touch, pan-searing the fish instead of just steaming it, which gave it a slightly burned flavour.
It's irresistible even if it leaves you gasping for breath, because southern coastal cuisine is as hot as it is tasty,
Fenix is all red. The leather seats, the flowers, the salt and pepper shakers, and in the distance, a shiny grand piano all shimmer in different shades of red at this Oberoi restaurant.
The decor was a foretaste of things to come, because I was there for an exploration of southern coastal cuisine. Along most of India's coastline, food is usually tinged with red, because various forms of red chillies are a part of the special spice mixes that are used.
Gobu Kumar appears to be a wet-behind-the-ears chef, just out of catering college and eager to please. But as this Thiruvananthapuram-born chef starts talking, it is apparent that my lunch is in safe hands.
Chettinad spice mix
The star of any coastal menu is its seafood and chef Gobu has plenty of variations on it. The appetiser he sends out is a platter of Chettinad spiced crab cake and kariveppilai yera (prawns in curry leaf masala), accompanied with a papaya relish, raw mango pickle and raw mango chutney in mustard oil. "Every Malabari dish has to start with pappad and pickles," he smiles.
The crab cake is so light it breaks into my fork and melts in my mouth, releasing a strong flavour of onion followed by the juicy goodness of crab meat. Green chillies, ginger and curry leaves have been mixed into the Chettinad spice, which is a mixture of 18 spices and takes four hours to prepare in a step-by-step procedure.
For the kariveppilai yera, a thick batter made of urad and gram dal finely ground with red chillies, cumin, pepper and roasted curry leaves is applied to the prawn, which is already marinated with chillies, coriander powder, ginger-garlic paste, pepper and curry leaves. This is then pan-seared. What you finally get is a heavily-coated super-spicy prawn with a crunchy texture. "The raw mango chutney works well with this prawn as the slightly sweet and tangy mango cuts the heavy spices of the masala," says chef Gobu helpfully.
Grandma's cooking style
Chef Gobu learned his cooking mainly from his grandmother. Every school vacation, he would be at her home, watching her rustle up delicious avial, dal, and lal saag for him. "I still try and follow her simple ways of cooking," he says.
On his recommendation, I try the Andhra fish curry, one bite of which leaves me gasping. "Chillies are the main ingredients here," adds chef Gobu, a little too late. The red snapper in the curry is soft and gets its pungent flavour from the deceptively simple ingredients, green chillies, onions, tomatoes and the Chettinad spice mix. The next dish is more to my taste, a mild meen polichatu: fish wrapped in banana leaf with crispy shallots and a strong coconut flavour.
Here too, chef Gobu had added his own touch, pan-searing the fish instead of just steaming it, which gave it a slightly burned flavour.
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