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Can ‘touchings’ be the new tapas? Chef Regi Mathew thinks so
Summary
Chef Regi Mathew is set to introduce Kerala’s unique 'touchings' to New York through his new restaurant, Chatti. These small plates, designed for sharing and accompanied by cocktails, aim to take traditional Kerala toddy shop cuisine to a global audience
It’s a rainy New York day when chef Regi Mathew shows me around his new restaurant Chatti, located in the OG maximum city’s Garment District, over a video call. Holding his phone aloft, he nimbly steps outside to show me the storefront, even as commuters rush past under massive black umbrellas; a surreal experience because here I am, approximately 13,500km away, in dry, warm Bengaluru.
That’s how far the chef has travelled to open his third restaurant; his last was Kappa Chakka Kandhari, his signature Kerala restaurant, which opened in Bengaluru in 2019. “The further the place, the more difficult it is. Better you do the difficult way first," says Mathew about the leap he has taken, bypassing Delhi, Mumbai or even London, which is generally considered an “easier" international location for Indian chefs than New York. Over the past few years, though, chefs like Vikas Khanna (with Bungalow), and Vijaya Kumar and Chintan Pandya (with Semma, Adda and Dhamaka) have created a pathway for modern and hyperlocal Indian food in New York. Chatti, with its focus on Kerala toddy shop cuisine, is as hyperlocal as it gets.
The space that Mathew shows me around reflects that—spread over two cosy floors, the decor is minimal but distinctively Kerala, with copper etchings of toddy tappers and fishermen’s boats on the walls, teakwood floors and furniture, and a private dining space with the red laterite walls that speak the state’s architectural language.
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By zooming in on toddy shop cuisine rather than broader Kerala cuisine, Mathew has made another leap: Though similar in terms of ingredients and techniques, toddy shops specialise in small plates or “touchings", to be had with liquor in a convivial atmosphere, sharing food and talk, and that is the atmosphere the chef wanted to recreate.
“It’s all about sitting down together, chatting, gossiping, talking politics… these plates are made for sharing and we have a great cocktail programme that complements them," says Mathew.
The touchings menu includes both classic toddy shop dishes like Malabar Mutton, Toddy Shop Beef Fry, Calicut Mussels, Koondal Fry or crisply fried calamari and Sardine Fry, along with a few that have been created for the restaurant. Among these are the Prawn Pouches (prawns spiced with coconut masala and Malabar tamarind, steamed in banana leaf pouches—the dish is inspired by a recipe created by the chef’s mother’s and has been a hit during food trials) and a Seafood Moilee Soup, a soup version of the beloved fish curry typically cooked in the earthen vessels called chattis.
Could touchings be the new tapas? “Just as Japanese food is associated with sushi and Spanish food with tapas, I want touchings to become part of global cuisine. I have always wanted to take Kerala cuisine to a global space, preserving its authenticity while introducing it to a wider audience," says Mathew. “One thing I have been very mindful of is not diluting my concept, or toning down the food to make it ‘palatable’. For me, spicy is not pungent, it is not hot. It is about flavour because if we talk about flavour, we are not compromising on any of the ingredients."
The bounty of fresh seafood and meats available in New York was a revelation for Mathew and his team, and made creating the menu for Chatti easier. One instance of this is a dish that’s more New York than Nellore—the Lobster Moilee, pan-seared lobster tail cooked with lemon and coconut milk. “When I went to the seafood markets here, it blew my mind. What amazing variety and freshness! Lobsters are easy to get here, and there is a great tradition of many iconic lobster dishes, so I had to use it in a moilee," says the chef, referring to a curry typically made with tomatoes, curry leaf and coconut milk.
Still, there were challenges as well, like getting a ready supply of goat meat instead of lamb, which is more common in the US, or finding a butcher who would deliver the right cuts. “We had to go to different markets to identify the kind of meat that suits us.We had to visit a lot of places and understand the meat quality and cuts, but after some trial and error, we got it right," says Mathew.
Although toddy shop cuisine is predominantly non-vegetarian, with a plethora of seafood and meaty dishes, the New York restaurant also had to cater to vegetarians without compromising on the taste profile. Hence, dishes from Kerala homes like Pazhampori (banana fritters), Kappa Vada (tapioca patties), Chembu Fry (fried colocasia cubes tossed in a tamarind and palm jaggery sauce) and Tender Jackfruit Cutlets found their way into the menu.
For the main course, Mathew has stayed with classic Kerala dishes like Chicken Stew, toddy shop-style beef curry, Clay Pot Fish Curry and Raw Mango Fish Curry, along with the less well-known Duck Mappas, tender Kuttanadan duck cooked with coriander powder and coconut milk. The vegetarian section of the main course menu includes Avial (a mixed vegetable broth), Breadfruit Curry, and the breakfast mainstay Kadala Curry, black chickpeas cooked with roasted coconut and spices, typically served with puttus or steamed rolls of rice and shredded coconut.
The run-up to the opening on 12 February was a blur (this conversation took place the week before that), with food trials both in India and New York being conducted by a team of chefs that has worked with Mathew at Kappa Chakka Kandhari in Chennai and Bengaluru, and with service staff in New York, who had to be trained from scratch. “The last six months in Chennai were all trials and trials and trials. It took us a while to standardise what was finally going to be the flavour for New York, and we realised it’s not much different from what we do back home. That is the point of it," says the chef.
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