This Carnatic vocalist is whipping up forgotten recipes from Karwar

If you think South Indian cuisine is all about idli, sambar and filter coffee, listen up: Puliyogare Travels is bringing a cake and curry from a beautiful coastal town in Uttar Kannada to Chennai. This weekend, Rakesh Raghunathan is conducting a workshop on traditional, forgotten recipes from Karwar. 

Rakesh travels across South India, hunts for long-lost recipes and tries them out. He has documented them for the past  four years. “With food, you can learn about people, history… in Karwar, the cuisine is influenced by various communities — the Goud Saraswats, Christians and the Navayat Muslims. Legend has it that the Saraswats migrated from the banks of the River Saraswati after it dried up,” says Rakesh who also hosts Suttralam Suvaikkalam, a travel and cooking show. One of his workshops had showcased Maratha cuisine from Thanjavur. The Marathas ruled Thanjavur from the 17th to the 19th century. 

Rakesh says the recipes he has put together for this workshop are complex; they show how the residents of Karwar made creative use of indigenous ingredients. “For example, the patravade is made by spreading lentil paste on young colocasia leaves. The leaves are rolled and steamed; the rolls are then sliced and tempered…  To source the leaves itself is very hard. Even in Karwar, people don’t cook this snack every day.”
 

After teaching Chennaites how to cook magali (Madras cucumber cake) and anasa suki bhaaji (pineapple and white peas curry), Rakesh is off to USA to host cookery workshops, collaborations and pop ups.“We have to document, traditional recipes. In India not many do it,” adds Rakesh, who is also a Carnatic vocalist. 
 
On September 2. Venue: 35, First Main Road, RA Puram (Opp Utsava Hall). Time: Time: 10 am to 12:30 pm. Cost: Rs 1,500 Seats available: 25. Details: puliyogaretravels.com