Meet the 90-YO Grandmother Whose Legacy Kerala Recipes Are Going Viral on Social Media

Saraswathy N’s memories of food are not simply cerebral. Agreed, she knows the ratio of masalasthat go into a dish by heart. But her culinary intuition is tactile; it lives in touch: in the feeling of ground masalas, the soft resistance of kneaded dough, the gentle press that tests a ripe tomato. 

The 90-year-old from Palakkad, Kerala (Saraswathy is currently based in Bengaluru) is an archive of recipes. While today passion shapes her culinary trysts, she explains that her foray into the kitchen grew from loss and responsibility. 

“I lost my grandmother and mother when I was very young. I had to set foot into the kitchen by the time I finished class 8,” she explains. 

Much of paati’s — her social media following knows her as @theiyerpaati (paati translates to grandmother in Tamil) culinary learnings were from her paternal aunt. “I watched her cook and learned the basics from her.”

She adds, “I was constantly observing and learning from people around me; such were the times back then. We grew up in a joint family set up, and everyone contributed in some way or another.” 

But today, paatidoesn’t just share recipes. She ties them with generational knowledge of what flavours can cure ailments. Her recipes are marinated in decades of practice, patience, and inherited wisdom.

No matter what the concern, paatialways has a remedy

A boost of warmth is how most would describe kollu rasam, a nutritious, spicy, and tangy South Indian soup made from the broth of cooked kollu(horse gram in Tamil). It is prized for its earthy flavour and numerous health benefits. 

In one of her videos, with a voiceover dictating the amounts of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and other spices that need to go into the soup, paatidetails out its many benefits, “Kollu rasam is particularly popular as a home remedy for colds and coughs,” she shares. 

Through her kitchen paatihas created a technicoloured universe of self-sufficiency. And she shares this knowledge with her followers on social media through reels, which are often flooded with comments either asking for advice on how to handle the ingredients — “Should we grind them?”, “Should we soak them overnight?” — or simply shower love on her skills. While paatihas been cobbling together quick recipes for over seven decades now, it’s only in January 2024 that she decided to join the Instagram bandwagon. 

And today, when people recognise her as ‘the Iyer paati’, she is thrilled. 

“Recently, I was at a wedding and noticed a group of women pointing towards me. I smiled and waved at them. They waved back, and one of the women walked up to me and said, ‘Mami (aunty), if you don’t mind, can I ask you something?’ I told her to go ahead. She said, ‘Are you ‘the Iyer paati’? You resemble her so much.’ I told her I was, and she was thrilled. She immediately called out to her friends, who shared that they follow me and have tried many of my recipes. It was a special moment for me,” paati says.  

Owning the internet at 90

Within the buzzing algorithm of YouTube and Instagram videos, you’ll find legacy recipes interspersed. It’s a delicious dichotomy of contrasts.

Take, for instance, paati’s jhuram kashayam (remedy for fever). “The herbal concoction is very effective in bringing down the fever. It is made up of various herbs and spices that are good for the body. It helps improve the general vitality and boosts immunity,” paatishares. 

At 90, she runs the internet with the same authority she once ruled her kitchen. She treats technology like a new grandchild, one that is occasionally confusing, endlessly fascinating, and entirely hers to command. Talking about how she ‘adopted’ this new kid on the block, she says, “⁠I used to watch my granddaughter scroll through Instagram and watch videos. One day, while she was watching a video, fascinated by how social media worked, I asked her, ‘Can anyone post on social media?’” 

Soon, grandmother and granddaughter started the channel. Meenakshi (36) would record paatiin action, preparing meals. The intent at the time wasn’t for the world to see; it was simply to build a repository that paati‘s family would cherish. But today, she’s thrilled with her digital family too. “Every reel that I have posted has brought so much love from all my viewers, and I feel extremely blessed by all the love and encouraging words of support,” paatisays. 

The way she sees it, “My page is nothing but a diary for all my family (followers) to be able to refer to at any point in life. I see that so many remedies and recipes have been lost over time, so I thought I would use social media to publish them and share them with all.”

The emojis, the Gen-Z encouragement — “Paati, you’re a rockstar. I wish I were half as enthusiastic as you are when I’m your age.” — is a cheeky nod to her digital adventure. As paatiexplains, she never tried to force-fit health benefits into ingredients. That happens naturally. 

“A lot of the remedies I learned from watching my paternal grandmother. She seemed to have an instant remedy for so many things, and they were all simple ingredients that had great benefits. Others I figured out on my own or through family and friends who shared them with me,” she explains.

And now, through her online shop, The Iyer Paati, she is ensuring her spice blends can make their way into your kitchen. The culinary venture brings the authentic flavours of handcrafted spice blends, ready-to-cook mixes, vadams(fritters), papadams(crisps made from lentils, black gram or rice flour), avakkai (pickles), and podis(dried and spiced South Indian condiments). 

In a food landscape that’s tainted with quick fixes and one-minute meals, paati’s recipes urge you to slow down, to breathe in aromas, and to understand that food was never about the outcome, always about the process. 

All pictures courtesy Saraswathy paati

Sources

‘Paati puts purpose on a plate’: by Rama R, Published on 11 January 2025.

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