The sayings ‘way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’ and ‘small is beautiful’ have been proved beyond any doubt by the four-member Pai Brothers who own the 75 year old Madras Café at Paravoor near Kochi. This is the ideal destination to relish Udupi masala dosas, crispy vada, fluffy idly and scintillating pooris and that too in typical homely ambience. More than an eatery, the Café has brought Udupi from Karnataka to this sleepy town of Kerala. What adds to the power of the Udupi food served here is the homely touch which is unusual in typical hotels in Kerala.
It is not just an eatery or restaurant but a joint family. The groceries and vegetables along with the masala powders are carefully handpicked by the family members led by 70 year old Sarvothama Kamat, the reigning patriarch. His brothers Gopinatha Pai, Sadananada Pai, Purushothama Pai and their sons Jayan, Raju, Deepesh and Roopesh constitute the ‘crew’ which take customers for a flight of fantasy through the world of delicacy.
“We open at 6 am and wind up the sales by 11 am. The evening hours start at 4 pm and we shut down by 8 pm. That way we manage to sell whatever delicacies we prepare in the mornings and evenings,” said Jayan who act as manager, bearer as well as part time cook. His brothers Raju, Deepesh and Roopesh work from 5 in the morning till 8 in the evening to ensure the Madras Café flag is flown without interruption.
All items are prepared and cooked by ladies in the house led by the octogenarian mother of Jayan. “What is unique is that the family members too eat the food prepared by our mothers for our customers. There are no workers in this eatery who are not from the family. We have hired the services of three Tamils for cleansing the vessels, plates and other equipment,” said Raju.
Though the Café could accommodate only 20 customers at a time, the queue outside the eatery for buying packed foods is quite long and necessitates the services of local cops for ensuring smooth flow of traffic in Paravoor to Cherai beach road. “The café has been build on land given to our forefathers by the Maharaja of Kochi. We consider this as an honor and an auspicious sign,” said Deepesh.
According to Roopesh, the management of the small eatery offers them happiness and peace of mind during these troubles times of Covid-19 and economic slowdown. “We are quite content with whatever we make out of this hotel because our needs are limited. If someone wants to open a big hotel, they are welcome but we will be here with this small venture,” said Roopesh while helping his mother in chopping and pealing onions for uthappam. "For us, this kitchen is a temple and cooking is our pooja," said Jayan's octogenarian mother.
Ernakulam had a mighty Madras Café that served the famous Madras Mani Iyer’s Masala Dosas way back in the 1960s and early 70s. That is gone long back but now all foodies make their way to Paravoor in search of the Madras Café here. Small is paying off.