essential for a malayalee kitchen

When I started the kitchen in my house,i was at a loss as to what formed essentials in a good malayalee kitchen.After much discussion with my mother i zeroed down to some basics.The cheenchatty(kadai) is a must have,as is the earthen pot(chatty).The flat ladle(chattuvam) and the tavi(scooped ladle's) are other essentials.But the real must have is the knife.The kerala pichati is so essential to us as is the finger shield.The average Syrian christian malayalee doesn't use the cutting board.For us all cutting is done with the pichati and the finger shield on out fingers.The finger is the cutting board.Strange as it may seem,the knife and the finger shield are two things i import from kerala on a regular basis.While i have mastered the butting board over the years,the true slicing of onions and tomatoes or the fine slicing of mango for home made pickle can only be achieved with these two kitchen essentials.

earthen pots for most things mean the real difference between a tasty meal and a not so special one.Its almost the difference between the old fashioned cheese making and the more modern processed varieties.The fact that masalas don't mix with metal and instead bring out the freshness of the earth is a taste unique and fantastic.And its not difficult and can be adapted to any modern kitchen.These are my kitchen essentials,very little stuff but very important to kitchen life

Ericheri

Yam-1/4 kg

raw banana-1/4 kg

grated coconut-some 100 grams

green chillies-4

garlic-3 pods

cumin seeds -a teaspoon full

turmeric-1/2 a spoon

oil-1 tsp

mustard-a pinch

curry leaves-a few

grated coconut-1 spoon(additional)

cook the yam and banana in a pressure cooker with water and salt.Cool and mash into pulp.Grind the coconut,garlic,green chillies and cumin seeds into a fine paste.Add to mashed vegetables mix well and add turmeric.Add water if too thick.Put back on gas and bring to boil.Set aside.Heat oil in a pan and when hot,splutter mustard,curry leaves and add the spoon of grated coconut.fry a bit till its golden brown and blend into the vegetable mix.Serve hot with steamed rice and appalam

Onam

Onam,the harvest festival in kerala is celebrated by all malayalees irrespective of religion and cast.To the likes of us who have been born and brought up in madras,pongal is more familiar than onam.To me eating the onam meal dates back to the days when i was six or seven and we all got invited to our dad only mallu hindu friends house.Then the feast was laid out on plantain leaves and my mother had to remind me not to overeat as there were lots of dishes to finish but i was already stuffing my face with the ones that came first.I didn't know then how to make all of the dishes(don't know now either) but i remember the names,olan,kalan,ericheri,pachadi,thoran and ada pradhaman were the ones that stuck in my memory.The friend died and the feasts stoped.We never celebrated onam at home as its a meal to be eaten with a large group and ours being a small family it just didnt seem like fun.

This year however thanks to the many ads in the papers of meals that could be ordered,we are finding ourselves eating the foods of every festival,be it hindu,muslim or christian.So for ganesh pooja we ordered the typical foods and had a feast.My mom knew most of the dishes but we decided to keep her for better things.So naturally when onam reared it head and the ads started,the husband keep reading out the names of all the things on offer.The mother worried that the boy may just decide to order out or heaven forbid,go to some mallu joint for lunch.She would have been insulted beyond belief that a mallu house couldn't dish up its own recipes for the son in law(he still being rather important in the house).So we went into full swing.Of course we did eliminate all dishes with curd base(rather a lot but the husband doesn't eat these) and decided to stick to sambar,ericheri,sweet banana chips,appalam,pickle,two thorans and one dry vegggie.We had to have the pride of the feast,the ada pradhaman.I must say my mother loves a challenge so she got into the kitchen to dish up all the favourites and despite my pleas to help refused to let me cut the veggies.I cannot understand this obsession with all pieces being the same length and width,when all we were to do was to puree them.What possible difference did size make.But the mother is a perfectionist so we left her to it.I must admit that the obsession to perfection pays off.The feast was so good that we all had difficulty getting up from the table.Thank god we didn't go too traditional and sit on the floor that would mean sitting there till the food was digested.I must admit that this new idea that we should celebrate all festivals for their food is something i like.Ramzan is next so if that means mutton biryani after the whole vegetarian fare at onam,then I am not complaining.

Simple and safe

Having lived in one culture for years and having grown up to eat the lovely food of kerala,it took a while to appreciate another Indian culture and the foods that go with it.Simple south Indian food always appealed but vegetarian food not being my favourite,it took a while.In fact it took around ten years for me to zero in on the things i liked about the Telugu Brahmin's recipes.The much loved pulisu was something I stayed away from simply because it didn't look too good.But it takes a foodie to inspire one so on one visit to the husbands aunts house(she is a fine cook and loves food) the pulisu was the food of honour at the table.After much persuasion I tested and tasted and was hooked.The simplicity of the dish and the taste can lull any novice into thinking they are master chefs.But like all recipes,each household has their little variations.I checked out the taste at a few homes and zeroed in on my own version which the husband claims can rival his mothers recipe and coming from a man that must be the biggest compliment.After perfecting the recipe and deleting a few things and adding a few more I have hit upon the pulisu that passes muster at our house and is a neat dish to dish up when one is low on lentils,vegetables or are too lazy to run to the vegetable stall and stock up.Fusion is the operative word so I have started mixing telegu and mallu cooking

Pulisu

bottle gourd-1/2

red pumpkin(butternut squash)-1/2 

tamarind juice-1 cup

salt to taste

turmeric-a pinch

sambar powder-1 tbs

jaggery-1 tsp

mustard/curry leaves for tempering

cut vegetables into small pieces and cook with salt,turmeric and water till soft and cooked.Add sambar powder and continue to cook for a few minutes and add tamarind juice and jaggery and bring to boil.Reduce to a thick consistency or add a bit of rice flour to thicken.Hear oil,splutter mustard seed and add curry leaves.Add to mix and serve hot with steamed rice.

Kadu Manga

raw mango-cut into slim small pieces

red chili powder

salt

hing

methi seeds

whole mustard

whole jeera

oil

vinegar

heat oil to lukewarm,add chili powder(it will burn and spoil the taste if the oil is too hot).Add salt and mix.Add raw mango.In the meanwhile dry roast the methi,mustard and jeera and grind coarsely.Add this mixture to the mango already mixed with masala.Add vinegar and mix again to coat all the mango pieces.

Make in small quantities as this can ferment and spoil easily.Keep in the fridge for a week only for best results

Mango salsa

raw mango

onions

green chili

salt

red chili powder

chat masala(optional)

chop mango,onions and green chili into bite size pieces and mix together with salt and chili power.Leave to soak for some 10 minutes and serve.