Backwaters in Fort

On a Saturday morning the unusual silence in the usually busy bylanes of the Fort area is calming On an insiderrsquos tip we are here with chef Pratik Nair of The Chopping Board to visit a stall right beside the restaurant Taste of Malabar This holeinthewall shop with no name offers flavours and ingredients from Kerala as authentic as they comeFor Basheer T the man behind the counter the day began at 8 am with regular customers trooping in to pick up their stash of banana chips Rs 60 sweet rose cookies Rs 100 pickles starting at Rs 72 and coconut oil Rs 290 Basheer knows the order by heart for most patrons Others stop by to browse through stacked goodies and most often than not end up going away with kappa pazham reddish banana or a packet of readytocook idiyappamLuffaThe genesis of the store lies in the requests of the patrons of the restaurant next door They would ask if they could go home with a local variety of rice or the famed Kozhikode halwa Three years ago the store was set up to offer a complete Malabar experienceTheir fastestselling items include a variety of banana chips Rs 60 to Rs 100 poppadum made from chickpeas and lentils Rs 50 handrolled jaggery Rs 110 and the famous Kerala Kozhikode halwa from Rs 50 ldquoMost items in the shop are made by local brands from Keralardquo Basheer tells us ldquoSome are wellknown while others are not We get our stock every week from traders thererdquoSweet PotatoMeanwhile Nair is enthusiastically browsing through the items many of which are frequently used in his Mulund home kitchen which he runs with his mother Latha They serve authentic Kerala cuisine headlined by specialities idiyappam stew puttu sadya meen curry and pepper chicken Nair gets nostalgic about a bottle of date pickle Rs 72 for 200g and a fruit juice brand called Lion Rs 105 which he hasnrsquot seen in years ldquoMy grandmother used to make these amazing pickles She taught my mother too and my mother passed on the recipes to merdquo Soon Nair and Basheer get busy discussing their hometowns over a smileKaringali WoodNair says while Mumbai has several shops that sell speciality items from Tamil Nadu a shop dedicated to the wares of Kerala cuisine is rare Holding a pack of tapioca chips Rs 52 Nair says he prefers them to potato chips ldquoKeralites will always go for whatrsquos organic or homefarmgrownrdquo he explains ldquoFrom coldpressed coconut oil and sundried curd chilli that flavours a simple porridge to chukku kappi coffee mixed with ginger to cure a cold and Karingali wood which is mixed with warm water and offered to guests in most parts of Keralamdasheverything we eat has Ayurvedic properties and immense health benefitsrdquoChef Pratik Nair of The Chopping Board browses through the shoprsquos waresThe state is known for its aromatic spices For powdered spices Nair prefers brands such as Eastern or Double Horse While these are easily available what you wonrsquot find easily is the kudampuli pot tamarind Rs 400 per kg a key ingredient in fish curry Nair usually starts making his fish curry a day prior to give the kudampuli time to bloom ldquoI usually order it in bulk from my hometown We use shallots instead of onions since they have a more dense and sweet flavour profile and potato is substituted with sweet potato It is these little details that makes Kerala cuisine nuancedrdquo he addsWith his packet of kudampuli we know a good fish curry will be in the making that afternoonJanmabhomi Marg opposite Siddharth College Fort 8 am to 10 pmCall 9769002655