Chef Regi Mathew takes Kerala’s toddy shop culture to New York

On a crisp February morning in New York City, Chef Regi Mathew takes me on a virtual tour of his latest project—Chatti—situated between 7th and 8th Avenue. 

“We are only three blocks away from Times Square,” Chef Mathew exclaims as she shows me the facade of Chatti, featuring full-length glass windows.

Back in the restaurant, the chef shows me around the bar, next to a curated wine collection. The bar leads to the dining area—a space quite large compared to other New York establishments, with the tables intentionally spread out to create a more comfortable environment.

Chatti in Malayalam refers to the flat, round earthen pots usually used in Kerala’s famous toddy shops. Chef Mathew wants to recreate the Kerala toddy shop experience in New York City, letting guests enjoy a few drinks with ‘touchings’ or small plates, and make a new friend or two. 

Chef Mathew has subtly retained a few elements of Kerala. The large glass windows allow in the sunlight; the ceiling is green—reminiscent of the vegetation-covered rooftops in Kerala houses; there’s natural vegetation around the corners; the furniture is made from Nilambur teak, adding to the richness and warmth of traditional Indian furniture in an industry otherwise obsessed with ‘minimal’ furniture. The walls are adorned with copper-cut murals brought from India. The laterite stones used in the restaurant are shipped from Kannur. 

A fleet of stairs leads to the upper floor, the private party space that can accommodate up to 70 people, and also features a private bar. 

From Kerala’s toddy shop to the world 

Down south, in God’s Own Country, every evening the streets smell of freshly brewed toddy—an alcoholic beverage brewed from coconut palm sap—and of spices and fresh seafood. 

While toddy remains more or less the same across shops, what changes are the food or ‘touchings’, says Chef Mathew. India’s answer to Spain’s tapas, touchings are small plates served in these taverns. The toddy shop cuisine is hyperlocal and closely based on the recipes from Kerala’s home kitchens. This is also the reason why they are not just frequented by men, but also by families. 

“I wanted people here to enjoy the warmness of Kerala hospitality. We needed to have something like the toddy shops that show our commensality, sharing moments with friends and family over hearty food and the drinks which embraces the Kerala culture and root,” Chef Mathew explains. 

Interesting drinks from the Chatti menu include Elephant Whisperer—a tribute to the bond between elephants and caretakers that uses white rum with banana puree, coconut, and Prosecco. The Sam Bar (word play on sambar) is a clarified vodka cocktail, inspired by the South Indian lentil curry. Ayyo Kaapi is a take on the classic Espresso Martini using filter kaapi. 

But why NYC, we ask? 

“People from all over the world come here and are exposed to a lot of food cultures. And they appreciate it as well. So I thought beginning in New York was the best. It is a very good market, despite being a tough market.”

The making of Chatti

Between 2015 and 2018, before establishing his critically acclaimed restaurant Kappa Chakka Kandhari in Bengaluru and Chennai, Chef Regi visited more than 300 homes and 100 toddy shops across Kerala, tasting over 800 recipes. 

“The best thing about regional cuisine is that each street, and each village has a different flavour…People work on the hyperlocal ingredients that are readily available and the flavours of the food also change based on where it is sourced from. That is why even fish curry has a number of variants. We need to be very clear about which variant we want to go for,” states Chef Mathew, narrating how trying out all the different recipes acts like research. 

“When you go to a house and meet the lady of the house, it is like opening a Pandora’s box, in terms of the recipes. The 800 recipes that I collected is probably one-hundredth of the whole thing that is there,” Chef Mathew says, adding that he and his team continue to visit toddy shops whenever they get the time. 

Given there’s no shortage of concepts and ideas for new recipes, the team at Chatti plans to add new dishes to the menu in due course. 

Much like Kappa Chakka Kandhari, the team at Chatti sources the spices directly from Kerala farmers—peppercorns from Pulpally in Wayanad, jaggery from Marayoor, tea leaves from Munnar, and cold-pressed coconut oil from homemakers’ collective in Ernakulam. However, the protein is sourced from the American markets.

Focusing on the concept

Chef Mathew is a graduate in Chemistry; following which he pursued Hotel Management and Catering Technology at IHMCT & AN, and then earned a postgraduate diploma in business management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. His diverse background has helped the Chef not just establish and run two restaurants, while starting a new one in New York, but also analyse food, and cooking in general. 

“Cooking is not only an art, it is also a science. When you cook something, you don’t put the tomato first. First you heat the oil, then you put the whole species and infuse the aromatic oils into the oil. Probably that will be acting as a catalyst in the next ingredient that comes in…” Chef Mathew explains. Adding, business management helped him strengthen his vision. 

Keeping this in mind, rather than adapting to New York’s preferences, Chef Mathew has shortlisted dishes that would be approachable for the global audience.

Generally toddy shop food is spicy, sans the pungency. “We don’t want to reduce the spiceness or the flavours. But we practice slow cooking so that the food is not heavy in pungency.” 

For instance, the Trivandrum Chicken Fry uses fennel, garlic and chilli to create a flavour bomb, while the Border Chicken Fry puts the focus on freshly ground pepper; the Cochin Calamari is coated with coconut crumbs, while the coconut clams have the added twist of delicate spices and tamarind. 

Looking ahead, the Chef has not set any targets for himself and is not worried about opening multiple outlets. “We take enough time to develop the whole concept…I want to concentrate more on New York,” he says candidly. 

The Chef’s recommendations? Prawn Pouches, Toddy Shop Beef Fry, Beef Dry Fry, Malabar Mutton, and Tapioca Patties. 

“You should definitely come, New York is not very far…One good sleep and you will reach here,” the Chef says before disconnecting, his warmth felt from across the continents.