One of the attractions of a Malayali wedding, some would say the only one, is the elaborate sadya. Although the dishes in a sadya, the traditional vegetarian meal that is usually served on all festive occasions in many Hindu households in Kerala, varies from place to place, there is a pleasing familiarity in the way the dishes are served or in the way the curries, pickles and pappadam, all in a happy collage of colours and flavours, are neatly lined up on a banana leaf.
If you are already rolling up your sleeves to tuck into that feast, you are not the only one. The only problem is that it is not easy to get a sadya any time you feel like it unless you have plans of gatecrashing a wedding or visit the very few places in the city that have a full-scale sadya on their menu every day. Or go for lunch at the newly-opened Padmavilasom Palace at Enchakkal and enjoy a royal treat that pampers your taste buds and gives you a taste of life in a regal residence.
Renovated recently, the gracious building has been turned into a boutique restaurant that serves authentic, vegetarian Kerala sadya and sumptuous thali breakfasts. The ambience itself is a stress-buster and transports guests to an era of gentle living when mealtimes were relaxed and food was meant to be savoured.
On a warm Sunday afternoon, it is a relief to enter the leafy compound filled with tall trees. A friendly usher seats us in a beautifully furnished living room. Time flies as we admire the tall ceilings, antique furniture and vintage artefacts. The noise of the traffic outside has been silenced by the thick walls and we could have been living in a different century.
Archana Mohan and Deepu Karunakaran, owners of the place, drop in to tell us stories about the house and its nearly 150-year-old history. By the time we click a few selfies, it is time for lunch and a smiling waiter guides us to a sunny dining area that faces a water body.
Banana leaves filled with pickles, chips, avial, kichadi, pachadi, thoran, koottu curry and pappadam whet the appetite.
While we are munching the perfectly done banana wafers and sharkkara varatti, two waiters enter with rice in a wicker basket, called a vatti in Malayalam, and curries in a serving dish. He serves the rice carefully in the centre of the leaf while the other ladles golden-coloured parippu and a generous spoon of ghee on the mound of rice that I have divided into two. Ah! bliss! As we almost finish the parippu and rice, the waiters arrive with lip-smacking sambar made with fresh vegetables.
When we tuck into the rice and curries, it is evident that this is not your usual wedding sadya where certain curries like avial and thoran are served only once.
Here, there are second and third helpings, and even four, of all the dishes on your leaf, be it the pickles, the pappadam or the wafers. However, no matter how the avial is a culinary piece of art, the sambar, a perfect blend of spices, and the thoran and the kichadi have that right crunch in the veggies and the pineapple pachadi has actual pieces of pineapple in it and not jam mixed with curd, ensure that you don’t over-indulge yourself and miss out on the delights that follow — payasams and boli.
The three payasams, each worth drooling over, follow at a leisurely pace, allowing us to enjoy each and, if needed, ask for more. The payasams keep changing and, on that day, we had ada pradhaman, kadala payasam and finally the grand finale — paalpayasam.
Before the paalpayasam makes its entry, the piece de resistance of a ‘Travancore sadya’ makes its entry — the crepe-like boli, mildly sweet and doused in ghee. This is gourmet heaven indeed.
The creamy ari paalpayasam is poured on it and then there is silence as we enjoy every morsel of the unbeatable combo.
My companion decides she must have one more boli and it arrives immediately, straight from the tava. “I am a huge fan of bolis and I long to have more than one when I have a sadya. So when we decided to serve the sadya everyday, I decided the boli would be made fresh and the guests could have as much as they wanted of the treat,” says Deepu with a smile. Just when you lean back to catch your breath, comes pulisseri, olan and so on while rasam and sambharam come in cute earthen pitchers.
Finally, we roll the leaf. That is when Deepu announces that breakfast, which begins at 7.30 am and goes on till 10.30 am comprises a spread of idli, dosa of your choice, vada, poori, puttu and so on.... And all of that for ₹250 plus taxes.
Now, that is for another day. As we enjoy the balmy breeze and the warm, mellow sunshine, we wish we could take a siesta in that homely but elegant place.
Lunch costs ₹350 plus taxes. Booking is a must. Contact: 8086080286
