The white funghi (mushroom) pizza at the recently-opened Grana Pizzeria in Panampilly Nagar in Kochi is a gorgeous 11-inch flavour bomb. The pale beauty, cooked in the Neapolitan style, with toppings of mozzarella, butter-sauteed mushrooms, caramelised onions, cream cheese, parmesan and truffle oil is a complex mix of flavours and textures. It has been worth the wait, for Irinjalakuda-native Abraham Mathew to finally open shop in Kochi.
Making pizza started out as a hobby for Abraham, who studied to be a dentist. Spending lockdown, however at home, at Irinjalakuda, gave him time to research, for trial and error. He was due to open a restaurant when the pandemic struck, giving him the time to work on his pizza.
The time spent perfecting pizzas gave him the confidence to make it for others. He documented his journey with the pizza on Instagram, finding followers along the way. Eventually when he started making them, as takeaway, in small batches, he found takers, some even travelling from as far away as Thiruvananthapuram. These were not regular ‘sales’, just a casual announcement which would pop-up on his IG handle the day before and have people from Kochi and nearby places making a dash to Irinjalakuda.
The orange and off-white of the interiors are a mix of chic, fast food places. The semi-circular seating is arranged around an open kitchen (where the pizza is made) — the focus of the action. You can see spheres of dough in transparent boxes as they await their turn, pizzas being stretched, cheese being grated… it is buzzing with activity.
A pizza being popped into the oven
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I am there on day two of the opening, as Abraham seems to be dealing with the minor glitches of running a new restaurant. There is a steady trickle of customers at lunch time. Grana is open from 12pm to 11pm, the first day they ran out of dough, he says, by 8pm.
Grana has an easy, relaxing vibe and is worthy of the Gram. Although there is other Italian fare such as a variety of pastas — ravioli, tortellini, spaghetti, and panuzzo (Italian pizza style sandwich), apart from starters and garlic breads (plain old garlic bread, caper chilli-cheese, chicken sausage-cheese and mushroom, bell peppers, pickled onions-cheese), I pick pizza because I have heard so much about Abraham’s pizzas. A word on the current menu — Abraham says that this is a trial menu which would, over time, evolve.
The round pizzas, baked the Neapolitan way, known for the simplicity of its ingredients and thinness, found their fans. And so, his opening a pizzeria, in Kochi, has created a buzz of expectations.
Pork pepperoni pizza
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Abraham says he explains and ‘educates’ about what makes a good pizza; he has learnt to take criticism in his stride that these are everybody’s cup of tea or slice of pizza! Abraham sources his raw materials carefully — locally and internationally. For instance, the sun-dried tomatoes come from Italy, while the made-to-specification flour comes from Delhi and cheese from Irinjalakuda-based Casaro Creamery and the Vallombrosa cheese made by the Vallombrosa Benedictine Congregation in Bengaluru.
Of opening a restaurant in Kochi, Abraham, who has a restaurant, The Soul Kitchen (temporarily closed), in Irinjalakuda, says the time was right. And picking Panampilly Nagar was because of its growing clout as the city’s ‘food hub’. However, he does not want to focus only here, he hopes to open another outlet at Kakkanad, the other growing hub.
The classic margherita pizza
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The other pizza Abraham recommends is the Garden of Eden with a topping of tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, marinated cherry tomatoes, zucchini, sauteed bell pepper and some more cheese. Again a lovely melding of flavours, the tomatoes serving up a delicious sweet-tangy bite.
As I chew on that thought and the airy, light pizza crust, one of the waiters comes with two dip bowls — spicy ranch and truffle mushroom. The ‘crust dips’ are to, yes, dip the crusts in because some people are not fond of pizza crusts and tend to keep those aside. It is a nice thought and the truffle mushroom dip pairs well with the crust.
The interiors of Grana Pizzeria
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Among the drinks are lemonade, iced tea, limonada, kombucha, cola float, Shirley Temple, and tiramisu latte. Hot chocolate and black tea for those who prefer their beverage hot. Since I have gone entirely with Abraham’s recommendations, tiramisu latte it is. Is it coffee? Yes, of course. Is it sweet? Not too much…it is tiramisu with a straw in a wine glass.
Coming to the most important part of the meal — the dessert. There are, for now, just two — dark chocolate mousse and vanilla panna cotta with strawberry compote. Since I love chocolate, I picked the panna cotta. It was everything they told us one should be. Silky smooth, wobbly with the right amount of understated richness sans diabetes-inducing sweetness and the compote balances the flavours with it tangy sweetness. The dessert recipes are by Samantha, Abraham’s wife, who is a baker.
Sated, I left Grana with a smile.
Published – December 13, 2024 02:51 pm IST