Chef Ajay Panicker

From Kerala
to the Pacific Northwest

Born and raised in Kerala, India, Chef Ajay Panicker grew up surrounded by the bold, coconut-rich flavors of South India's coastal kitchens. He trained in hotel management in Chennai before making the journey to the United States in 2001, spending years honing his craft across Florida, New Jersey, and the Pacific Northwest.

After settling in Seattle in 2012, Chef Panicker set out on a mission — not simply to open an Indian restaurant, but to bring the real thing: the food of Kerala, the dishes made at home, the traditions rarely seen outside the subcontinent.

"I wanted to bring the food I grew up eating to a city that hadn't seen much of it… not just South Indian food. I wanted to focus on Kerala. The real thing."

Today, Chef Panicker leads three distinctive restaurants, each a love letter to the regional cuisines of India — earning national recognition along the way, including a 2025 James Beard Award Semi-Finalist nomination.

Three Restaurants,
One Culinary Vision

Kathakali

An Indian Eatery

11451 98th Ave NE, Kirkland, WA — Juanita

Panicker's flagship and the restaurant that earned his James Beard recognition. Kathakali is devoted to the cuisine of Kerala — coconut-forward gravies, banana leaf preparations, and coastal seafood dishes rarely found in the Pacific Northwest.

Signature: Meen Pollichathu — spiced fish wrapped and roasted in banana leaves

Visit Kathakali

Aahaar

South Indian Cuisine

Snoqualmie, WA

Aahaar — meaning "nourishment" in Sanskrit — was Chef Panicker's first restaurant and the foundation of his culinary vision in Washington State. The menu explores the breadth of South Indian cooking, spanning Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka traditions.

A celebration of the full spectrum of South Indian regional flavors

Visit Aahaar

Roaring Indian

Bold Indian Flavors

Pacific Northwest

Roaring Indian channels the vibrant, unapologetically bold side of Indian cuisine — big spices, confident flavors, and dishes with personality. A counterpart to the more refined Kathakali, it showcases the full range of Chef Panicker's culinary expression.

Where Indian cooking roars with confidence and heat

Visit Roaring Indian

Cooking from Memory,
Cooking with Purpose

Rooted in Kerala

Kerala's cuisine is among India's most distinct — shaped by the Arabian Sea, lush spice gardens, and centuries of trade. Chef Panicker draws on this heritage to create food that is at once deeply traditional and entirely alive.

Coastal & Coconut-Forward

From aviyal — a coconut-yogurt vegetable medley — to meen pollichathu, the flavors of the Kerala coast thread through everything Chef Panicker cooks. Coconut milk, curry leaves, and mustard seeds are not accents; they are the foundation.

Authentic, Never Watered Down

In a culinary landscape where "Indian food" is often flattened into generic curries, Chef Panicker insists on specificity. He cooks the food of a particular place, particular people, and a particular way of life — and that commitment is what earned him national recognition.

From Keralato the Pacific Northwest

Three Restaurants,One Culinary Vision