From lush tropical jungles where wild elephants roam, to the crystalline waters of the Arabian Sea. And every calm river and stream in between. And the backwaters. A truly unique state, boasts of the highest literacy rate in the country (I believe it's somewhere in the 90%s?? one of my two dummies quickly googled this, and with an air of condescension, specified that its at 96.2%... like that doesn't qualify for "somewhere in the 90%s"!!! ), much different than anywhere else in India. Kerala.
From Left to Right: Backwaters in Alleppey; the Munnar district
Kerala has nearly a nearly 600 km Arabian Sea shoreline, known for those palm-lined beaches and winding backwaters (in Alleppey), a network of canals; the jungles and forests; the ancient cities, whispering sweet stories of times from another era; and the rivers... where you can live in your own little world within the comfort of your "house-boat", on a road... ummm waterway to discover nooks and crannies unknown to anyone else in the world! And as you move inland, there the continuation of the Western Ghats down from Maharashtra... slopes that support tea, coffee and spice plantations as well as wildlife.
From Left to Right (as if I needed to specify): The crazy cocktail of spices; the crazy variants of the banana family; the crazy possibilities with coconuts!
I decided that the fam was used to the standard faire including ghee roast dosa and idli sambhar, so I would save time and effort by just using the super cool instant mixes for these (I know, I know, blasphemy for the purists!!!), and focus on some of the other Keralan cuisine components that they and I needed to be formally introduced to... which is how we went about getting the menu together. After a gut check with the girls, I decided I was on the right path. So here goes:
Parippu Vada for the "apps" part of drinksnapps... I have to give credit to one of my ex-colleagues and dear friends Marc for the coinage of this term... long story, some other time :).. (crispy lentils fritters, tempered with curry leaves and basic spices);
Rava Idli (savory steamed cakes made of a rice and fermented black lentils batter, a very common breakfast food in this part of India), with Tangy Tomato Chutney and Coconut Chutney as accompaniments;
Nadan Kozhi chicken (a super spicy yet scrumptiously rich chicken curry), and Fish Molee (a mildly spiced fish curry, flavored with coconut milk, black pepper and tomatoes) for the main course, with steamed rice as a side; and,
Ada Pradhamam (a Kerala classic rice based dessert, a particular favorite during the Onam festival) for dessert!
Parippu Vada
What you'll need:
3/4 cup split gram lentils; 1/2 cup toor lentils
10-12 shallots, chopped; 2 green chillies, chopped; 3 dry red chillies; 1 tblsp ginger, crushed; 2 sprigs curry leaves
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli pd; 11/2 tsp salt
Oil for frying (coconut oil traditionally, but you can use whatever you prefer)
Soak the two lentils for the couple hours, then wash and drain the water and leave alone for another 1/2 hour. Mix the shallots, ginger, chillies and curry leaves together. Grind the lentils mixture coarsely, and then mix it in with the shallots mixture. Finally add in the spices and mix well into a paste-ish batter.
Take a small ball of the paste, and make a 2cm diameter patty/disc with it - bulging just a little bit in the center. Heat the oil, and when it's ready, deep fry the Parippu Vadas until golden brown. Ready to be had with the evening tea or a beverage of your choice!
Nadan Kozhi Chicken
What you'll need:
11/2 lbs chicken pieces
4 tblsp canola oil; 1 tblsp coconut oil; 1/4 tsp mustard seeds; 1/2 tsp fennel seeds; 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds; 2 dry red chillies; 1 sprig curry leaves; 3-4 cardamom pods; 3-4 cloves; 2" cinnamon stick
2 red onions, thinly sliced; 1 tomato, chopped; 1 tblsp crushed ginger; 1 tblsp crushed garlic; 3 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli pd; 1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 11/2 tsp coriander pd; 1 tsp pepper pd; 1/2 tsp fennel pd; 1/2 tsp garam masala; 11/2 tblsp vinegar; 2 tsp salt
1 cup water (optional); 1 tblsp coconut oil (for the final splash!); 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
While the spices vary as you move from state to state, the general cooking principles remain surprisingly the same... Which makes cooking super easy! You want to start with heating the canola-coconut oil combo, then toss in all of the seeds, and roast for 2-3 minutes before adding in the curry leaves and the remaining whole spices. Once these have been roasting for 2-3 additional minutes, add in the crushed ginger and garlic. Saute for a minute until the raw smell disappears, and now add in the green chillies and onions. Turn the heat down to a medium level, and saute the onions until they turn a lovely brown - nicely caramelised! Next, add in the tomatoes and all the dry powdered spices, and roast the spices until the oil starts separating from the gravy mix.
It's time to drop the chicken in! Fold the pieces in so these get evenly coated with the spices, and cook covered, mixing often, so the chicken does not stick to the bottom of the pan. When the chicken is nearly done, add in a splash of coconut oil, to get the flavor in, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with parottas (=parathas) or plain white rice. Sizzlingly hot!!!
Fish (Meen) Molee
What you'll need:
For the marinated fish, 500g fish (halibut perhaps?); 1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 2 tsp lemon juice; 1/2 tsp black pepper pd; 1 tsp salt
2 tblsp coconut oil; 1 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig curry leaves;
3 green chillies, slit into halves; 2 red onions, thinly sliced; 2 tsp ginger, finely chopped; 1 tsp garlic, chopped; 1 tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric pd; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper pd; 1 tsp red chilli pd; 200 ml light coconut milk; 300 ml thick coconut milk; 1 tblsp tamarind paste
Marinate the sliced pieces of fish for about 30 minutes... I used halibut. When you're ready, heat the oil in a pan, and lightly fry the marinated fish in the oil, just so you get a slight crispy skin on the fish so the pieces don't break down in the coconut gravy later. Remove the fish pieces from the pan, and add in the mustard seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute these for a couple minutes before adding in the onions, ginger and garlic - you want to spatula it around until the onions turn pinkish brown. Toss the tomatoes in, closely followed by all the dry spices - these you want to roast for a couple minutes at least. Slowly pour in the light coconut milk, bring it to a boil and then add in the fried fish pieces to cook for 7-8 minutes. Finally, add in the thick coconut milk and the tamarind paste for just a couple more minutes before turning the heat off. Ta daaaaaaaaaaa - the mean, sorry meen molee is ready for being devoured!
Tangy Tomato Chutney (accompaniment to dosa, idli, or food in general!)
What you’ll need:
2 tblsp oil; 1 sprig curry leaves
3 tomatoes, sliced; 1 red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli pd; 1 tsp salt (or to taste); 1/2 tsp cumin pd; 2 tblsp fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat the oil and add in the onions to saute these until lightly browned. Add in the tomatoes and the spices and continue with the sauteing process. Finally, add in the cilantro and a wee bit of water to the mix if its too thick. You can now dip right in to this tangy delight!
Coconut Chutney (accompaniment to dosa, idli, or food in general!)
What you’ll need:
1/2 red onion, cubed; 1/2 cup grated coconut; 1/2" ginger; 1 green chili, coarsely chopped
1 tblsp oil; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds; 1 sprig curry leaves; 1/4 cup onion, chopped; 2 whole red chilies; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 cup water (optional)
You want to mix the onion, green chillies, ginger and coconut, and run this through a blender with the salt and water. Next, heat the oil and drop in the curry leaves, onion pieces, whole red chilies, and mustard seeds and saute until the onions are lightly browned. Take this off the heat, and mix it with the blended mix... add a little bit of water if needed to vary the consistency of the chutney!
Ada Pradhaman
What you'll need:
1/2 cup rice ada (ribbon ada, broken into pieces); 1 cup jaggery, crushed; 2 cups grated coconut
1/4 tsp salt; 2 tblsp ghee (clarified butter); 6 cashews; 12 raisins; 2 tblsp chopped coconut
1/2 tsp cardamom pd; 1/8 tsp dry ginger pd; 1/8 tsp roasted cumins seeds pd
Soak the ada in water for about 15 minutes. Blend the 2 cups of grated coconut with 1/2 cup water. Transfer this over a metal strainer to squeeze out the thick coconut milk - the first extract, about 1/2 cup. Then, put the coconut sludge back into the blender and add a cup of luke-warm water to the blender. Blend. Similar to the first extract, now extract the second extract, about 1 cup, and set aside.
To cook the ada, bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add in the soaked ada, and cook for about 4-5 minutes until soft - remember to keep stirring the ada. Drain the water, and wash the ada well to prevent it from sticking.
And now for the sweetness. Heat the jaggery with 1/4 cup water just until the jaggery dissolves - strain this syrup so any clunky impurities get separated. Set it aside... and now the assembling!
In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the ghee. Roast the cashews, raisins and chopped coconut pieces separately, and remove them with a slotted spoon. In the same ghee, add in the ada and give it a quick friendly stir. Add in the jaggery syrup, and bring it to a boil before adding in the second extract of the coconut... simmer for 3-4 minutes and now add in the first extract as well. Boil for 3-4 minutes and switch the heat off. Now add in the dry spices and mix well. And finally the cashews, raisins and coconut... dessert is served!
Comments