As in the previous two editions of the IFFK, Kudumbashree Mission will have a delectable spread for delegates attending the film festival. The Kudumbashree canteen, which starts functioning today at Kairali theatre, has a menu with a Kerala flavour.
According to Girija A., a Kudumbashree member who is in charge of the catering, the canteen opens at 8 a.m. with breakfast on all the days of the festival and will probably be open up to 8 p.m. depending on the rush at the canteen.
Hot idli, dosa, idiappam, appam, chappathi and the like will be served for breakfast and every day will have a new fare. “Snacks will be made during the day time. Vadas, bhajji, uniyappam and so on will be served to whet the appetite of the filmgoers. Hot eats will be made in the evening as well. We plan to include dishes such as kozhukkatta, pazhampori, ilayada and valsan. We might serve the eternal Malayali favourite of tapioca-chammanthy in the evenings,” Girija says.
The lunch menu includes ‘meals’ (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian with fish curry/fish fry) and tapioca-fish curry. “This time there will be payasams too. Each day you will get a different variety. On offer are ada pradhaman, kadala payasam, paal payasam, semia payasam, payar payasam, wheat payasam... The payasam will be served with the meals or you can buy them separately,” she says.
The lunch spread includes curries such as avial, sambar, thoran, pickle, kichadi, rasam… and butter milk. Plump thattu dosas might make an appearance as well.
Eight Kudumbashree members will be at the venue preparing the food and serving it. Breakfast, meals and payasams are prepared at a kitchen at Nalanchira.
While tea, vada, pazhampori and bhajji cost Rs. 7, ilayada and a few other snacks cost Rs. 8.
Most of the breakfast items are priced at Rs. 25. Meals cost Rs. 35 (for vegetarian) and an additional Rs. 20 for fish curry/fish fry. Payasams cost Rs. 15 per glass.
“We had a huge response during the last two years at our canteen and food wasn’t wasted at all. We hope it continues this year too,” she says.
While the IFFK provides food for thought, the canteen will be taking care of food for the body. Bon appétit!
