By Jojo Dass
For Food Trip Magazine
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – People don’t stay in one place for long; they move on.
Among them is Chef Avinash Mohan, who left a convenient corporate life to blaze a trail in the culinary world.
“I have always wanted to bring my soul food to the world,” Chef Avinash tells Food Trip Magazine.
Chef Avinash, who headed Emaar’s hospitality and catering operations at the recently-concluded Expo 2020 Dubai, decided it was finally time to go solo following his career-defining stint at the global event.
Aching to deliver “rare recipes of Indian cuisine…in its original form,” Chef Avinash, who hails from Kerala, opened Cochin Harbour Restaurant in July 2022, to satiate his cravings for the next level, answer the existential question on his reason for being, and be happy about it, if you will.
“Running restaurants has been something which I had done all these years,” he said. “Now, running my own place has given me an added enthusiasm and greater joy.”
Namesake
Cochin Harbour Restaurant, located in Karama, is namesake of a major city in the coastal state of Kerala.
“Cochin is the amalgamation of all cultures in Kerala, being the hub of business in the state. The cuisine here is a melting pot of all cities in ‘God’s own country.’ Above all, this is where my home is. Thus, the name and the inspiration behind the food,” said Chef Avinash.
“We are focusing on seafood specialties, thus the ‘Harbour’ factored in.”
By official accounts, there are more than one million Keralites in the UAE. Kerala has often been referred to as “God’s own country.”
“We see Cochin Harbour as our home, and with that thought, we are definitely having a steady increase in the guests coming to our home,” said Chef Avinash.
Famous dishes
Kerala’s cuisine, he said, is a beautiful union of the unique touch of the state’s very own culture along with Arabian, Malabari and French influences.
“From ‘Sadya,’ which consists of a wide array of traditional vegetarian dishes made during any special occasion, to non-vegetarian dishes, foods from Kerala is varied and full of flavours, which is not found anywhere else in the Indian subcontinent,” said Chef Avinash.
Some really famous dishes from Kerala are the Karimeen Pollichathu, a fish dish prepared in an eccentric way with rich spicy flavours; Prawns Masala made with shallots, black pepper, coriander and curry leaves; and Kulathoor Vazhailla Neymeen, a very unique dish where Kingfish is cooked with coconut milk as well as spices then served on a banana leaf.
Others include Nadan Kozhi Varutharaccha (Kerala Chicken Curry(, which is made with roasted coconut, spices, red chili to ensure spiciness, also traditionally served on a banana leaf and toned down with fresh coconut milk; Puttu and Kadala Curry, one of the most famous breakfast among Keralites usually savoured with kadala curry, a Kerala version of Black chickpea curry; and Beef Fry with Malabar Parotta, one of the most traditional and famous dishes in Kerala where beef is cooked with spices and then slowly dry-fried on a pan till its dark brown in colour.
Cochin Harbour Restaurant has a total seating capacity of 36 guests indoors and 12 outdoors. The culinary team is composed of 15 members.
Chef Avinash arrived in Dubai eight years ago and joined Address Dubai Marina to be its executive chef. From there, he moved to Palace Downtown as culinary director, then on to EXPO 2020.