Anil Mulchandani By

In the late 1990s, when Pralal Chacko Thomas and his wife Jaya started a restaurant called Four Food with a few Malayali dishes, they never imagined that one day it would become a destination for Kerala cuisine in Ahmedabad. “I came to Ahmedabad from Kerala in the 1980s to study hotel management and catering at a college here. After that I worked with hotels and clubs here, and also went to the middle-east for work,’’ says Thomas.

Four Food happened in 1999 after Thomas bought a place which was being given away at a reasonable price in Thaltej, a suburb on the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar highway. It was during those days when a few dhaba-styled eateries, separated by miles, were the only resort for tired travellers. “I decided to take the shop and start a restaurant there. Today, the highway has become a happening thoroughfare of Ahmedabad with malls, multiplexes and plush residential complexes nearby,” beams Thomas.

When they started the restaurant they decided to include a tri-cuisine menu, as only North Indian, Chinese and a few western dishes were popular in the city. “There are a large number of people from Kerala working in Ahmedabad but there were only a few places for them to eat. It was then we decided to include just four or five Kerala dishes on the menu and offer Kerala meals on weekends, specially on Sundays,” he recalls.

Initially, the response was lukewarm. “People wanting to party at places away from cities started pouring in here. Therefore we invested in a small banquet hall in the same building. However, Keralite dishes were mainly ordered by the Malayali-speaking families. But we continued offering our home cuisine,’’ says Jaya.

Their effort to continue the south cuisine paid off as Gujratis started travelling to Kerala. Gradually that population began to understand and appreciate dishes which were earlier ordered by only a particular clientele. “By about 2005, we saw a growing number of Gujaratis, North Indians and others also ordering Kerala food. The growth of new businesses in Ahmedabad also brought a more cosmopolitan crowd to Thaltej, including executivess and techies from southern India,” says Thomas.

Seeing the growing demand, they began to increase their repertoire of Keralite dishes. The restaurant’s specialties are the Syrian Christian signature dishes like the Meen Moilee—fish cooked in coconut milk and curry masala. “Since Ahmedabad has a sizable vegetarian population, we introduced vegetable korma which we recommend is best when served with Kerala parottas. As many people here eat eggs despite being vegetarian, we have introduced egg roast, egg masala and egg curry to go with appam, puttu or parottas.” They have even introduced their own takes on Kerala food like Paneer Stew. “These mildly spiced dishes are light on the stomach,” says Jaya adding, “for those who like spicy food we have mutton, chicken and seafish, usually pomfret or kingfish, packed with Kerala spice mixes. Biryanis also go well. On Sunday, we offer meals with Thoran, Aviyal, various rice dishes and Payasam besides the curries.’’

With the demand growing, Thomas has expanded the restaurant by buying neighbouring shops. “Being a multi-cuisine restaurant, we have not themed the décor but we have added antique Thooku-vilakku (hanging lamp) in front of one of the columns and two elephant caparisons are hung in the two corners that suggest that this restaurant offers Keralite cuisine,” says Thomas.