If it’s Wednesday it must be home food. But not at home. Instead in five star environs, at Masala in Holiday Inn. Two months ago when Executive Sous Chef Siddhartha Sarmah brainstormed with his team to inject new verve to his menu, he came up with the idea of inviting homemakers, unsung, unseen, unheard women, every Wednesday, to his fancy kitchen and make them part of his team. So Bindu Raghuvaran from Chakkaparambu, Kumari Vijayan from Tripunithura, Ambili Saji from Chembamukku and Leela Raj from Fort Kochi make their way mid-weekto the hotel and prepare recipes that they do daily in their quotidian kitchens. For authenticity’s sake they even buy vegetables and fish from their local markets- small fish that does not reach the shelves of stores and vegetables organically grown around their homes.
“A five star kitchen does regular chef curated menus and we wanted to energise that. Guests look for authentic Kerala food, and also for fish, especially the small variety that is not commonly found on menus of hotel. Women in the homes make recipes typical of the land. We stress on freshness of ingredients and in the fish recipes not found in star hotels,” says Chef Sarmah. He began this exercise by conducting a professional audition of about 15 women who came in through the hotel’s network. A popular toddy shop kitchen where women dished out the most lip-smacking meat dishes responded and many of their contacts ventured excitedly to see the other side of hospitality. Finally the chef selected five who set the tables on fire literally every Wednesday. “The response has been so good that I have had to pull out weekend staff and pitch them here,” he says excitedly at the success of this move.
The women meanwhile are as thrilled in their new vocation, surprised that humble dishes are being relished with vigour. Bindu, mother of two, has never cooked outside her home. She shed her diffidence in the one month of trial in March, finally cooking with ease on “such big burners” and for an elaborate buffet that feeds over 150 diners. Kumari is surer and wields the ladle in the swanky kitchen with aplomb. There is learning that happens both ways, she says. Her family, husband and two children, has been asking her to cook fancy five star hotel food for a change, macaroni pasta for one. Working on live stations, talking with guests and sharing recipes, donning a chef’s cap and the apron are things new to the women but an experience they are deliciously savouring.
So what about the humble ari, kalanji, vatta, tilopia, poomeen, kanava, kilimeen, velameen, mathi, kakka, kozhuva, njandu and the kallumakkai? Well, these are the un-snobbish fish that are being cooked and lapped up ravenously. But it is not only about fish and seafood but also humble vegetables that never find a place in sophisticated dining. Strangely they are being raked up and wolfed down, their flavours stoking nostalgia and whiff of mother’s kitchen. “That was the whole idea,” says Chef Sarmah laying stress on the result of such an experiment. “This also helps the women financially and opens up many avenues of work for them.”
The women bring in their style of cooking and their regional tastes. Leela from Fort Kochi brings in the taste of the area, which is all about the fusion of colonial flavours with nadaan food. A toddy shop wood fire cooking experience has given Kumari the know-how of dishing out bravado food- gutsy, spicy, strong and meaty. In all this criss-cross of earthy foods the overlooked ridge gourd, bitter gourd, lady’s finger are scoring high, simply stir-fried or sautéed in coconut oil, tempered with mustard. So let’s hear it for the woman in the kitchen.
