Kerala Kitchen serves up delicious Indian fare at our markets in Eastpoint, Mespil Road, Sandyford and Percy Place, Grand Canal .  We grabbed Lewis Cummings for a chat about his stall.

Tell us about your stall, how did it come to be?

Having worked for a national newspaper for 16 years I decided it was time to bite the bullet and set up my own food business, which is something I had always wanted to do.  I travelled to India and learned all I could about south Indian food and on my return I worked in some fantastic restaurants in London before setting up Kerala Kitchen.  My girlfriend (now wife) encouraged me to set up in Dublin and now our stall is the one you see around Dublin with the pink elephant.  Thankfully it is fast becoming a popular place to find authentic Indian food.

Have you always had a passion for food?

Absolutely, I was always fascinated by food.  My gran was a great cook and I remember my eyes being out on stalks when she was skinning eels or serving up pigs trotters.

When you’re not feeding people, what do you like to do?

Relax.  As it happens I like to cook, but in smaller quantities!  You’ll find me in Donegal or London at the weekends.

What is the best thing you’ve ever eaten, and where did you eat it?

I have been lucky enough to eat in some fantastic restaurants over the years, but a prawn curry in a tree house on a beach in Kerala takes some beating.

Other than your own, what stall would you recommend people visit at Irish Village Market?

They are all good but The Gourmet Kitchen and Say Fish would be my favourites.

We don’t know about you, but we’re experiencing some pretty strong cravings for some of Lewis’ food right about now.  Fortunately, he’s kindly shared one of his recipes with us!

Tomato fry – One of the first dishes I made in Kerala, great served as a side or with an Indian bread.

Ingredients:

3 Dried red chillies

4 Large vine tomatoes – sliced

2 Fresh green chillies – chopped

Handful of fresh curry leaves

Teaspoon of mustard seeds

2 garlic cloves crushed

Teaspoon of grated ginger

Pinch of tumeric

Pinch of chilli powder

Pinch of Hing (Asafetida)

Salt to taste

Coriander

Instructions:

• Heat a little vegetable oil in a frying pan, add dried chillies and mustard seeds.
• When mustard seeds begin to pop add curry leaves and spices.
• After a minute add garlic, ginger, green chillies and then tomatoes.
• Fry until tomatoes are soft and add salt to taste.
• Garnish with coriander.