“Please record your mother’s recipes.”

Chef Sriram Aylur tells every millennial he meets. His counsel comes after losing his parents — and consequently, a generation of the family’s time-tested recipes. Take, for instance, the lip-smacking condiment his father would prepare, which would leave a beautiful aftertaste on his palate long after he’d wiped his plate clean.

Chef Sriram wishes he could replicate it today. But it went undocumented.

While his recollection is sketchy — “My father used to burn copra (dried coconut), remove the charred part, leaving the rest smoky. He would then roast chillies, coriander, cumin and a few other ingredients…” — he remembers with certainty how well the condiment paired with vegetables. It gave them a spicy zest.

“The best part was, even if you weren’t a great cook, you could just take a potato or aubergine and add the powder while cooking it. The powder’s flavours were so well-balanced that, rest assured, the final dish would turn out wonderful.”

One can safely assume that an appetite for experimentation runs in the family DNA. The menu at ‘Quilon’, a MICHELIN-starred restaurant in London, will agree. It is indulgent, personifying Chef Sriram’s genetic craft through classic South Indian dishes. Perhaps it is this alchemy that he brings to the table which has helped him repeatedly crack the MICHELIN code — Quilon was awarded its first MICHELIN Star in 2008 and has not missed the mark ever since.

From Mumbai to London on a ticket of South Indian flavours

The baked black cod at the restaurant is pegged as ‘divine’. The Japanese speciality........

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