A taste of Kerala’s Syrian Christian traditions comes alive in Chennai this Easter

A distinctive take on the traditional Easter feast is coming to the city, as Chef Kavya Verghese teams up with her mother, Shirin Mammen, to present a Nasrani-style sadya rooted in memory, faith, and the layered culinary history of Kerala.

Set to unfold as a one-day pop-up on April 5, the Easter Sadya brings together both vegetarian and non-vegetarian menus, offering a peek into the food traditions of the Syrian Christian (Nasrani) community. While the traditional sadya is often associated with dishes such as sambar, avial, and rice, this version expands to include community-specific festive dishes. 

 Shirin Mammen and Kavya Verghese
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The menu reflects this layered tradition, featuring dishes such as vattayappam and stew, Kerala matta rice, sambar, pineapple moru curry, avial with cheera, pappadam, ulli theeyal, tender jackfruit pickle, inji puli and jackfruit chips. Alongside, there are distinctly Nasrani additions like mappas, meen pollichathe, pothu olarthiyathu and duck mappas, rounded off with desserts like jackfruit payasam and nungu tender coconut pudding.

Kavya, who runs a multi-cuisine restaurant called Mex It Up, in Teynampet, frequently experiments with pop-ups, but this is the first time they are doing an Easter sadya. “We’ve served bits and pieces of Kerala food before, but this is the first time we will be serving the sadya in a way we actually eat at home.” 

For Shirin, the menu is as much about storytelling as it is about food. “We call it the Nasrani way of cooking,” she explains. “It is a blend of Indian and West Asian influences. Our family traces its roots to the early Christian settlers, and over time, the cuisine evolved by adapting to Kerala’s ingredients and culture,” says Shirin.

The meal also marks the end of a long period of fasting. “We observe a strict fast for about 40 days before Easter, so the feast becomes very special,” says Shirin.

The non-vegetarian menu includes meats and seafood, while the vegetarian menu reimagines meat-based dishes traditionally. “For instance, mappas is usually made with duck, chicken or fish,” Kavya says. “But we are creating a vegetarian version using seasonal produce, possibly the breadfruit if we can source it.” Another twist comes in the form of sprouts, green gram cutlets for the vegetarian version, which adds more nutrition and a slightly different flavour.

The pop-up is an invitation and introduction for Chennai diners to experience the flavours and traditions of Syrian Christian cuisine. 

Priced at ₹1,499 for non-veg and ₹999 for veg, the sadya will be served on April 5, from 12pm to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm at Mex It Up, Teynampet. For reservations, call 7338706553