At Indulge, we introduce new eateries, cuisines and foodpreneurs to our readers. Sara Varghese, however, might not be a new face to Kochi’s foodies. If you grew up in the city, you probably have heard about Four Foods that served fluffy appams back in the late 80s.
Later having moved on to form a brand called Coffee Beanz—with a presence in Central Square Mall and even other cities like Thiruvananthapuram—Sara now opens a restaurant on Chittoor Road called Traditionz.
“Coffee Beanz was instrumental in ushering in a cafe culture in Kochi 17 years ago. But, with cafes burgeoning in the city, people have been asking to bring back our old recipes,” says Sara, as we seat ourselves in the rustic ambience of the 42-cover restaurant co-owned by Arun Varghese and Priyanka John.
High ceilings finished in traditional design, ‘blast-from-the-past’ graffiti and rustic wall designs make the diner a great place to relish naadan dishes like appam.
Unaltered heritage
Before serving what can be called authentic Syrian Christian dishes from the very limited menu, we get to try kothu parotta. A morsel of the eggy flavour topped with that of coriander leaves and pepper is enough to remind you of your most pleasant Tamil culinary experience.
We’re impatient to sample their appam after learning that Sara’s own batter mix has been in the market for the past two years.
“We use non-stick pans and an egg-oil mix is used to prevent the batter from glueing to the traditional vessels,” informs Sara, whose recipes have been published by a popular women’s magazine in the state.
I’d strongly recommend pairing it with their chicken stew, a thick concoction sweetened with caramelised raisins. As the appam melts in my mouth, I sit back and blend in with the nostalgia of old Malayalam songs playing in the background.
Deep indulgence
A slight experimentation with the customary recipe is the mutta appam which I decide to try with a duck roast. The meat is surprisingly soft, and powdered mustard and pepper add flavour to the dish.
Even though it is not lunch hour I’m hugely tempted to try their meal which includes kaalan and parippu, rather uncommon on everyday platters.
Stepping it up for the non-vegetarians, their keema dosa is a rather heavy offering as an accompaniment for an evening filter coffee. It’s hard to miss the ‘gheesome’ texture on the palate before the finely ground meat explodes into evenly-spiced flavours.
One wouldn’t notice the lack of dessert options—if you don’t want to choose snacks like ada—for the sweetness and courtesy of the staff at two-month outlet makes up for it.