The restaurant Kerala, located on Passos Manuel street, in Anjos, Lisbon, is run by Indian chef Vijeesh Rajan, originally from Kerala, who arrived in Portugal in 2018 after stints in Hamburg, Germany. The establishment's decor includes an illustration of a map of southern India alongside the image of Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, creating a historical link between the restaurant and the route traced by the explorer in 1498, when he landed in Calicut, in Kerala, on his first voyage to India.
Vijeesh, 42 years old, graduated in business before dedicating himself to gastronomy in Kerala starting in 2008, later working in Kuwait and Germany before settling in Lisbon. The chef learned Portuguese over five years and created a book-shaped guide for customers to learn about Kerala's history, including pages dedicated to Vasco da Gama and reflections on the colonial process. Vijeesh recounts that a descendant of the navigator, Vasco Teles da Gama, the 18th great-grandson, visited the restaurant last Christmas.
The gastronomy of Kerala differs from most Indian restaurants in Lisbon, using coconut as the base of the cuisine, seafood from the 600 kilometers of coastline, and influenced by proximity to the Middle East, including cassava and papaya. The menu includes dishes such as Meen Mollee, Pollicha Meen and Masala Dosa, as well as northern Indian classics like Naan, Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken. Vijeesh prepared a Pork Vindalho, one of the spiciest dishes in the house, to serve to Vasco da Gama, as an ironic reference to colonial violence.
The restaurant annually celebrates the Onam festival, a festivity from Kerala dedicated to an ancient local king that marks the end of the harvest, usually held in August but moved to September at the request of customers. The celebration includes Sadhya, a banquet of 30 vegetarian dishes served on banana leaves, without utensils, only with the hands, taking place in three sittings over a weekend.
