Chef Arthul Santhosh: 'Proper Kerala Food Is Not Showcased As Much' — Inside The Secrets Of Bold Flavours And Traditional Spices

Indian cuisine is a mosaic of regional flavours, and few culinary traditions are as distinctive as Kerala's. Known for its generous use of coconut, fragrant spices and fresh seafood, the southern state's cuisine was celebrated at JW Marriott Pune's Flavours of Kerala festival, held at Spice Kitchen recently.

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Guest chef Arthul Santhosh from Le Méridien Kochi curated a menu that showcased the essence of Kerala's food culture, featuring traditional curries, seafood delicacies, appam paired with classic stews and refreshing beverages such as Sambharam.

In a conversation with The Free Press Journal, Chef Santhosh discusses the ingredients that define Kerala cuisine, the importance of authenticity and why food festivals are vital for preserving and sharing regional culinary traditions.

Excerpts from the interview:

What was your vision while curating this Kerala Food Festival—what experience did you want diners to take away?

Actually, the vision was to showcase how authentic Kerala food would taste. The proper Kerala food is not showcased as much in the city. Through this festival, I wanted to tell people the proper names of the dishes and what their taste was like.

Were there any lesser-known dishes or ingredients you were particularly keen to introduce?

I wanted to tell the diners about the various spices from Kerala that are not available locally in this city. When I make the dishes with them, the real taste is revealed.

Give an example.

For example, black pepper or fennel used in Kerala food is not known much. Also, the pepper grown and available in Kerala comes straight from the farms. It is the first quality and offers more taste.

Any dish that is not known here much?

On the first day, I made a mutton dish with pepper. I made a powder using proper Kerala spices and then added coconut paste to it. The mutton was cooked in this gravy.

How do you strike a balance between authenticity and adapting flavours for a non-Keralite?

For authentic taste, we had the authentic ingredients brought here. When I made the dishes, I cooked them in my style. That kept the flavour of Kerala dishes intact. If someone from say Pune cooks it, they won’t know the taste or base of the dish. I know how to bring out the taste of the dish. For example, when we grill a fish in a pan, we don’t powder or coat it. We add spices, fennel, pepper, salt, and shallots. These shallots are usually not available here. We grind the garlic into a paste in a grinder. It adds a different taste.

Chicken Leg Roast

What, in your opinion, is the most misunderstood aspect of Kerala cuisine?

Kerala food is mostly spicy.

How do you ensure consistency in flavours when working with region-specific ingredients that may not be locally available?

What I wanted in terms of ingredients, I first sent the list. They searched for those ingredients and gave them to me. I didn’t have to adjust. In Pune, there are Kerala stores present. There are a few staff members from Kerala who knew about these stores.

Meen manga curry

How was the experience with the festival and feedback from the diners?

The experience was perfect. In the first few days, the diners ate everything and gave feedback that the food was good. Two to three Malayalee families came. They mentioned eating the authentic Kerala dishes after quite some time. They asked about how many days were left for the festival to end and spoke about returning to taste the food. A non-Malayalee family who had visited mentioned visiting Kerala a few years ago and eating authentic Kerala food on their visit. He mentioned getting the same flavour at this festival.

Kerala tawa fish fry

Did you put your own experiences or memories of a dish in the festival?

I tried making the meals the way I ate or cooked at home.

If someone wants to experiment while staying true to the traditional tastes, how can one do that?

In this festival, I followed the traditional method and did not experiment. Honestly, I prefer making traditional Kerala food.

What role do food festivals play in educating people about India’s diverse food landscape?

These are good in a way. For example, if someone doesn’t know how a dish is prepared in Kerala, they will find out through such festivals.

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Rapid fire:

One Kerala dish you could eat every day?

I love eating Kerala red rice with Pulliesery. It is usually found only in Kerala and tastes good.

A spice or ingredient you think deserves more love?

I love fennel flavour. It gives a nice feel after meals.

Your comfort food after a long service?

Rice, especially Kerala red rice, is my favourite. You can eat anything and everything with it.

If you had to introduce Kerala cuisine to someone in one meal, what would be on that plate?

It has to be biryani. The famous Thalassery biryani should be tried by more people.

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