With decades of experience in running kitchens across the globe, Chef Sriram Aylur is a great champion of Indian regional cooking, as Roopa Gulati discovered
Director of Operations and Head Chef at London’s Michelin-starred, Quilon restaurant, Sriram Aylur celebrates fine dining Indian cooking from the west coast of India with sunshine ingredients, tropical spice blends and outstanding British produce.
I visited Quilon on a stormy, spring day, and although black clouds glowered outside the restaurant, lunch with Sriram Aylur brought warming tropical spice to my plate. The menu is notable for its subtle spicing. Favourite dishes from my latest meal included a simple, yoghurty mango curry speckled with popped mustard seeds and spiked with green chillies, followed by creamy, tart-with-tamarind fish curry, and sweetly spiced pistachio nut cake scented with cardamom.
Owned by the Taj Group of Hotels, Quilon opened its doors for business in 1999 and won its first Michelin star in 2008, which it still retains. It seems hard to imagine now, but at that time, there wasn’t much awareness of the diverse Indian dishes from western and south-western India. Even now, keen home cooks in the UK hoping to create Aylur’s signature dishes will find it hard to source key ingredients such as curry leaves and mustard seeds from many British supermarkets. Luckily, most of us have access to online shops or if we live in larger cities, can visit South Asian grocery stores and buy everything from fresh coconut flesh to bushy bunches of curry leaves. Suddenly, the world seems a much smaller place when you can make a Keralan seafood moilee from the comfort of a kitchen in Aberdeen.
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Sommelier India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Sommelier India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Intimate and Welcoming
Reserve a table at AI Garamond in the centre of Turin for a taste of authentic Piedmonteset and Sicilian cuisine
Tribute to the Kerala Kitchen
Kappa Chakka Kandhari is a restaurant like no other. Chef Regi Mathew, the presiding genius, speaks to Kaveri Ponnapa about how the award-winning restaurant, specialising in the homecooking of Kerala, came into being
SWIRLING IN THE DIGITAL ERA - How social media is influencing wine culture
The ever-evolving world of wine is currently witnessing a significant shift towards social media. Devati Mallick steers us through the many ways one can navigate the digital landscape with a simple click, tap, or swipe
Bottling It - The times they are a-changing
Wine in glass bottles has been traditional for a very long time but now change is a-foot, says Carol Wright. The carbon foot print of the glass bottle is not planet friendly
BANDOL - The ruby in the Provence crown
If you thought Provence was only about rosés, you are wrong. Bandol, one of the more prestigious appellations of Provence, is renowned for its bold and structured red wines. Here's what Elizabeth Gabay MW has to say
A Splendid Septet of Wines
Raymond Blake tastes seven vintages of the Burgundy premier cru, Gevrey-Chambertin 'Aux Combottes', from Domaine Dujac, owned by the Seysses family
CYPRUS Dawn of a New Era
On a recent visit to Cyprus, Rosemary George MW is struck by the island's numerous indigenous grape varieties and high altitude vineyards
Madeira The world's longest living wine
Carol Wright on what makes Madeira the 'hottest' thing in wine
AT THE FOOT OF MOUNT ETNA
Altitude, fertile volcanic ash, and abundant sunlight create a unique environment for vineyards
Putting their best foot forward
Craig Wedge is bullish about the rising quality of Australian wines entering the Indian market