Malayalis and Sadya are inseparable be it Onam, Vishu, or a Malayali Hindu wedding in any corner of the world. But would you dare experiment with the traditional Sadya? If you would like to try out a modern one, step into Atelier by Ambrosia.
For the uninitiated, Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala and we proudly say it is our national festival. It brings back memories of a legendary prosperous kingdom where King Mahabali ruled until the envious devas send Lord Vishnu in the garb of Brahmin boy to trick the king to give up his land banishing him to the underworld. The one boon that Vishnu granted the king was the right to visit his land and his people once a year. There goes the legend associated with Onam. Most Malayalis fly back home from all parts of the globe or make do by celebrating Onam in their new homeland.
When we walked into Atelier for the tasting of a special Sadhya we were handed a note on the name and descriptions of 21 courses of Onasadya. But why a note for a Sadya, one wondered.
Rishikesh Vinod, the founder of Atelier, said, “This is truly a Sadhya like no other, we would like to call this a Modern Day Sadhya where traditional flavours are taken to a whole different level by incorporating them with modern-day cooking methods.”
The starter is Kerala Cocktail Plantains Chips, which is fresh plantain roundels (traditional banana chips) fried twice and topped with Kerala Cocktail sauce. The non-vegetarian version I had was topped with boiled eggs. The Inji curry (ginger curry) was more or less traditional with some secret ingredients added to it.
The mango pickle was a blend of French mustard and Indian mango pickle fermented overnight. The taste was not too much to the liking of my palate. But the sharkaravarati was a different take on the Malayali favourite. These were crispy tapioca sticks tossed in sticky ginger sauce and sprinkled with ginger powder.
The Avial with a hint of mint was quite good as was the prawn thoran. The Kheema and Peas Pockets, which was lamb mince with green peas in a blend of spice, was also very innovative.
The parippu was traditional along with red rice but the ghee was poured before the parippu, on chef’s insistence. The spätzle (German pasta) and couscous (which takes influence from Morocco) to go with accompanied viands were surprising additions.
The chef could have opted to ditch chicken bondas and the banana funnel cake fritters.
Other dishes included a Beetroot Sambhar and a Cold Rasam, which combines techniques of the traditional Kerala Rasam and Spanish Gazpacho.
The meal concluded with buttermilk infused with curry leaf, cilantro, Kanthari chillies, and spices.
The piece de resistance of the Sadya was the Butterfly Pea Payasam featuring boiled Vermicelli served with butterfly pea flowers (Shankhu pushpam) and an assortment of fruits. When you expect a softly warm payasam, surprisingly you get a cold one. Actually, that was mind-blowing, to say the least.
With this Sadya spread, chef Chingy Patel will be definitely igniting a debate on whether a chef can take the liberty to innovate on such a traditional meal like Onam Sadya. I am sure he would soon be cooking up more such talk-of-the-town feasts.
Priced at Rs. 699 for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals, the Sadhya will be featured in the restaurant from September 7 to September 13, 2019.
Atelier is a fine dining concept restaurant launched by team Ambrosia. Located in Pattom, Trivandrum. Atelier, which started operations in February this year, combines flavours from around the world with a strong Kerala influence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY2XXo8OOME&list=PLcjK_FEaQfQN4Rk6QsQxsUY1EF759QLel&index=2
https://tourismindiaonline.com/routes-into-the-roots-an-empirical-perspective/
