A naturopathic lunch feels like a welcome break and the go-to place for it in Thiruvananthapuram has always been Pathayam, rechristened as Pathayam Millets’ Cafe. This being Karkkadakam, the last month of the Malayalam calendar, I wanted to check out a couple of dishes promoted as the season’s specials.
Even though Pathayam has been selling Karkkadaka kanji (medicinal gruel) and pathila thoran (stir fry dish comprising ten varieties of edible leaves and shoots) during the month, this year it is being done under the auspices of Gandhi Bhavan.
So there are Pathayam’s signature meals, pathila curry and kanalappam. The curry has 10 types of edible leaves, most of which used to be found in the backyard of homes, says Gangadharan, proprietor of Pathayam. This include thaal (taro corm), leafy greens such as thakara (Cassia tora) and thazhuthama (spreading hogweed), leaves of chembu (colocasia), payar (cow pea beans), chena (elephant yam), kumbalam (ash gourd), mathan (pumpkin) and choriyanam (stinking nettle) besides mullan cheera, a type of Amaranthus.
Kanalappam is a version of ottada or the rice pancake wrapped in banana leaf roasted on a tawa. Thavidu (rice bran), ragi (finger millet), any millet flour, jaggery and coconut are kneaded to make a dough which is spread evenly on a piece of banana leaf, wrapped and then roasted on a pan. “This has to be cooked on kanal (ember); that’s why it is called kanalappam. Since we can’t do that in our kitchen, we are cooking it on the tawa. The flavour of the snack comes from the banana leaf in which it is cooked,” Gangadharan says.
Kanalappam | Photo Credit: Athira M
Coming to the meals, you can go for special meals or the normal meals. The former is an elaborate spread with cut fruits, fruits payasam, vegetables, sprouts, salad cucumber, soup, chapathi-curry, rice and curries and millet payasam.
Lunch, pathila curry and kanalappam served at Pathayam | Photo Credit: Athira M
I opted for the normal meals, which is a toned-down version of special meals. So there were cut fruits, salad, kuthari choru (matta rice), millet rice and curries such as avial, thoran, pachadi, chutney, sambar, rasam, buttermilk and payasam. “The side dishes change every day, as do the millet varieties. Today we have made soup, rice and payasam with chama (little millet). We make rice with millet varieties such as thina, kuthiravali, varagu etc,” says Gangadharan.
For the uninitiated, Pathayam does not use curry masala, spices, tamarind etc in cooking and the dishes are not sauteed either. Also, milk and sugar are a strict no-no at Pathayam.
So the sambar has vegetables cooked with coriander powder, turmeric powders and salt. Instead of tamarind, tomato or raw mango is used. Pachadi, or kichadi as some call it (essentially a type of raitha with coconut and vegetables), has plantain stem; it was yummy. There was also a ‘tonic’ chutney with ginger, green chilli, mint leaves and coriander leaves. Besides the tangy tomato rasam, I loved the buttermilk with no milk. “Coconut and raw mango are ground to fine paste with water to make this buttermilk. You can have it like that or can add beetroot or carrot to it.”
Minus milk and sugar, the payasam here has coconut milk and jaggery.
Lunch ready to be served at Pathayam | Photo Credit: Athira M
While a pinch of salt would have upped the taste of the pathila curry, which appeared to be a semi-gravy version of pathila thoran, the black-hued kanalappam is not as sweet as the ottada; the latter leaves a bitter after-taste in your mouth. “There is more of bran and the bitterness is due to that,” he says.
As I get up to leave, a staff at the eatery advises me to have a drop of honey from the container on the table. That aids digestion, I was told.
Karkkadaka kanji is available at Pathayam near Government Press and Gandhi Bhavan, Thycaud, from 5pm onwards.
Orders for pathila curry (₹80) and kanalappam (₹40) — available from 12.30pm to 3pm and 3pm to 7pm respectively — have to be placed in advance at the Gandhi Bhavan on 8547859277, 8590099853. Lunch served is priced ₹130 (normal meals) and ₹200 (for special meals).
