Yantra launches ‘Going Home to Kottayam’, a three-week gastronomic pop-up by its first Chef-in-Residence Prima Kurien featuring the regional cuisine of Kerala.
Experience a lofty take on Kerala’s unique cuisine with Yantra’s new limited-time gastronomic pop-up, ‘Going Home to Kottayam’. The fine dining Indian restaurant, which earlier this year underwent a fancy overhaul of its venue and menu, has just kicked off the pop-up introduced by its first Chef-in-Residence, Prima Kurien.
New Delhi-based private dining chef Kurien originally hails from Kottayam in southwest Kerala and specialises in traditional Kerala cuisine, and for a period of three weeks she brings that expertise to Yantra. She has worked alongside Indian culinary historian Pritha Sen and Yantra’s Chef Pinaki Ray to curate an exquisite tasting menu that highlights Kerala’s rich culinary heritage across its different cultures and communities.
Among the dishes include Syrian Christian Fish Cutlet, a delectable deep-fried ball of minced fish – a specialty of Kurien’s Syrian Christian background – served with a moreish tapenade rendered from tomato, walnut and plum. There’s also Chicken Vattyapam, a homely curry of chicken served over the Keralan-style steamed fermented rice cake, as well as Seafood Moilee, a take on meen moilee featuring a medley of seafood in that most classic Malayalam spiced coconut broth.
Our favourite of the Yantra ‘Going to Kottayam’ tasting menu has got to be Kurien’s Beef Ularthiyatu. Also a traditional dish of Kerala, this sees chunks of beef fried in a mixture of spices and condiments into deliciously tender submission. Altogether aromatic, spicy and juicy, this is served atop noolputtu – we call this putu mayam in our part of the world – making it a most comforting repast. Otherwise there’s the Kottayam Fish Curry, a fiery fish dish tempered with buttermilk that’s eaten with rice.
But make sure to save some space for Cooked Down Toddy, a dessert of sliced Elaichi banana and yogurt that’s drizzled with unctuous toddy treacle for additional sweetness and complexity.
‘Going Home to Kottayam’ makes for a brief but exciting snapshot of the diversity of Kerala’s cuisine. If your experience with Indian food is mostly limited to butter chicken or various tandoori favourites, this will be as much an eye-opener as it is a palate-pleaser.
The ‘Going Home to Kottayam’ Experience Menu by Prima Kurien at Yantra is priced at S$148++ per person and runs from 18 November to 4 December 2022. Reservations highly recommended.
Yantra
Address 163 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Mall, #01-129/130/131, Singapore 247933 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 12pm to 3pm and 6.30pm to 11pm Tuesdays to Sundays; closed on Mondays
Tel (65) 9666 0928
Web www.yantra.com.sg
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Instagram @yantrasg
[…] While there were many worthy contenders for this category, we’re most excited by Yantra’s dedication in elevating humble village fare from the many different regions and subcultures of South Asia. Its Chef-in-Residence programme, for example, recently brought in New Delhi-based private dining chef Prima Kurien for an exceptional pop-up experience around traditional Kerala cuisine. […]