Warm Buttermilk with tempering from Kerala / Kachiya Moru

Kachiya moru is a preparation from Kerala meaning warm buttermilk with tempering. Buttermilk is an integral part of a meal in Kerala and is normally had with rice at the end of a meal. According to Ayurveda, buttermilk is considered to be cold and hence one is discouraged from having it when a person has a cold or if the weather is chilly. This kachiya moru or moru kachiyathu is made for all those kind of occasions. It is also sometimes served with rice as a curry especially when there's a spicy fish or mutton fry on the menu, providing the perfect antidote to a fiery hot dish. This lightly seasoned buttermilk is good for the stomach and is great to have on those days when the stomach is a little delicate. Or have it like a soup before or after a meal on a cold winter day.

Ingredients
Buttermilk - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 4 to 5
Green chilli - 1, slit
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Run the buttermilk in a blender along with salt to get a smooth mix. Heat oil in a saucepan or kadhai and add the mustard seeds. After it splutters add the curry leaves and the slit green chilli. Sauté for a couple of seconds to coat with oil. Add the turmeric powder and add the buttermilk immediately. Switch off the heat and swirl the saucepan so the whole thing is mixed well. Pour it out into a serving bowl.
The buttermilk should not be boiled just heated, else it will split. It takes only a few minutes to prepare kachiya moru and is usually prepared just as the food is being served so it gets to the table hot.

A variation is to add pepper powder to the kachiya moru instead of green chilli.

Semiya Kheer / Payasam

No sadhya is complete without kheer / payasam; in fact nowadays most sadhya in Kerala serves not one but two payasams - usually one milk based and the other coconut milk based. When payasam is served at a sadhya, it is served along with pappadam and pickle. It is said that having pappadam and pickle between mouthfuls of payasam helps in having some more payasam! Many people ask for the payasam to be poured on the banana leaf and then crush pappadam into it and scoop it all together. Most times it is a jaggery sweetened payasam that gets this treatment. I have never tried this but maybe sometime :)

At home, we make payasam on occasions like Onam, Vishu, and piranaals (birthdays) and it is either semiya or parippu payasam. This year for Onam, we made semiya payasam and for a change, I added saffron strands along with cardamom powder.

Ingredients

Semiya / Vermicelli - 100 gms.

Condensed milk - 1 tin (400gms)

Whole Milk - 1.5 ltr.

Sugar - 3tbsp (optional)

Cashew nuts - 20

Raisins - 20

Green Cardamom - 4

Ghee - 2tsp.

Saffron - 1/2 tsp.

Powder the green cardamom seeds finely. Warm a little milk and mix in the saffron and keep aside.

Heat a pan and add the ghee, when hot add the cashew nuts and fry till light brown. Scoop the nuts out, draining as much oil as possible and place on a paper towel. Add the vermicelli to the pan and sauté on low heat till light golden. Take off the heat and add the raisins in and stir for a minute, drain as much ghee as possible and put it on a paper towel and keep aside. 

 

Take a saucepan and boil the milk in it. Keep stirring it in between so that it does not catch the bottom. (I changed the vessel after boiling the milk because it did catch the bottom a little).  Once it boils, lower the heat and add the condensed milk and stir till it mixes completely. Add the roasted vermicelli / semiya little by little into the milk stirring all the while so it does not clump together. Add the cardamom powder as well and stir. It will take about 15 minutes for the vermicelli / semiya to cook on low heat. When the semiya has cooked, add the sugar (I added it because I found the payasam a little less sweet) and stir till mixed in. Add the saffron milk, cashew nuts and raisins and mix well. Take it off the heat. Serve hot or cooled in a frig.  

Tips:

1. Stir when adding the semiya and continue stirring in between else it will clump.
2.To powder the cardamom finely in a mortar pestle, add a teaspoon of sugar to the cardamom seeds when powdering. 

3. Sugar should be added only after the rice or semiya is cooked, else the milk may split.

4. Choose the thinnest vermicelli for payasam.

Update:
This Semiya Kheer / Payasam goes to these events

-  "Diwali Special" hosted by gayathriscookspot.

&

-  "Diwali Bash 2013" hosted by cooksjoy.

Meen chaaru / Fish Curry straight from Kerala

Fish is a staple food in the diet of most people living along the coastal region in India. In Kerala, many families can have a meal of just rice and fish with no accompaniments and be content. There's an oft-said  joke that a person from the coastal area can have a plateful of plain rice just by sniffing the aroma of fish wafting in from a neighbor's house.

The last time I went to the fish market I got some black pomfret and decided to make this fish curry with it. Traditionally in Kerala, this fish curry is cooked on a wooden fire in a chattee and is supposed to be served only the next day. Since coconut is not added to this fish curry it keeps well for the next day by which time the spices have seeped into the fish and the gravy has absorbed the fish flavor as well. The mud chattee, the smoke from the wood fire and the kodumpully (type of tamarind / kokum) all lend their own flavor to this curry. This curry is thick and very very hot and hence just a few drops would be enough for a ball of rice. In Kerala, balls of rice are made and one side of these balls are lightly dipped in the curry and popped into the mouth. Anymore curry and one would have the whole galaxy bursting in the mouth, it is that hot.

This recipe is not that hot since I have added coconut milk to it and hence it also does not keep for the next day unless put into the frig. Though this curry does not have the flavors of the chattee and the wood fire, the inclusion of the kodumpully, the cheriya ulli (sambhar/small onion) and the karuveppila (curry leaves) manage to make it a yummy curry. Kodumpully is a sour fruit that is first sun dried and again dried in smoke imparting a smoky flavor to fish curries. It is the kokum of Kerala and is primarily added to fish curries as a souring agent.

Ingredients

Fish - 250gms cleaned pieces (any fish -sardine, mackerel, pomfret, king fish)

Sambhar onions - 10 to 12
Garlic - 10 to 12
Ginger - 1.5 inch
Red chilli pwd - 1.5tbsp
Coriander pwd - 1.5tbsp
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Fenugreek pwd - 1tsp (fenugreek seeds roasted and powdered)
Coconut milk - 6tbsp
Vegetable / Sunflower Oil - 2tbsp

Coconut oil - 2tbsp

Curry leaves - 4 to 5 sprigs

Slice the shallots or sambhar onions and finely chop ginger and garlic, Mix the red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and fenugreek powder together in a bowl and make a paste with a little water.

Heat a kadhai, add 2tbsp oil and 1tbsp coconut oil and when hot add the sliced onions and fry till light golden. Add the chopped ginger and garlic and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the masala paste and fry till the oil starts coming out and the mass comes together into a ball. Add 1.5cups water, 3 sprigs curry leaves, salt and kodumpully and let it boil. Check for taste and add the fish pieces and let it cook. Add a couple of tbsp of coconut milk and when done add the rest of the coconut milk, curry leaves and let it come close to a boil. Pour the remaining 1tbsp coconut oil on top, cover with a lid and immediately take off the heat. 

 

Notes: 

- The curry tastes best after letting it rest for a couple of hours.

- Use a mix of Kashmiri chilli powder and hot chilli powder to get the red color along with the hot spiciness.

- The fenugreek may make the curry taste a little bitter at the start but let it rest and the bitterness will go down.

- Use at least a little coconut oil to get the authentic Kerala taste.

This Fish Curry - Kerala style goes to the "Side dish mela", hosted by cooking4allseasons.



Chemmeen / Prawn / Kolambi Masala Fry

On those days, when you want your prawns / chemmeen and don't have much  time on hand, try this dish. It is easy and quick to make but very flavorful dish. It is a shorter version of the chemmeen olarthiyathu.

Ingredients
Chemmeen / Prawn / Kolambi - 500gms
Savaalla Ulli / Onion - 2 medium
Thakaalli / Tomato - 1 medium
Ginger - 2 inch pc
Green chilli - 3
Curry Leaves - 8 to 10
Red Chilli pwd - 2tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Coconut milk - 3 tbsp (optional)
Coconut oil - 2tsp
Salt as per taste

Clean and devein the prawns. Finely chop the onions, ginger and tomatoes. Chop the green chillies.

Heat 1tbsp oil, add finely chopped onions, turmeric pwd, and chopped green chillies and sauté till brown. Add chilli powder stir and add the prawns and the ginger and sauté for a minutes. Add 1 cup water, salt to taste and tomato, close the lid and let cook for 5 minutes till the tomatoes are blended. Add the coconut milk and curry leaves and cook for the water to dry up. When the water is almost gone add coconut oil and on high fry for a couple of minutes. Take it off the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.  

 

Lunch: Rice, Prawn Masala Fry, Achinga - Chenna mezhukkupuratti and sambhar

Payar (Achinga) Chenna Mezhukkupuratti / Yam and Long Beans Stir Fry

In Kerala, subzi is made either with grated coconut called thoran or with coconut oil called mezhukkupuratti. Here I have a recipe of payar and chenna mezhukkupuratti. a stir fry of sorts from Kerala. Many households in Kerala have a vegetable garden outside or near the kitchen and achinga / payar and chenna are usually homegrown in it. Payar or achinga mezhukkupuratti can be made on it own or can be  paired with chenna (yam / suran) or kaya (raw plantain / kacha kelaa). For me, chenna with either the yard long beans or the french beans is what touched the taste octave.

Ingredients
Achinga / Payar / Chawli / Yard Long Beans - 1 cup
Chenna / Suran / Yam - 1/2 cup
Green Chilli - 4 slit
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Curry Leaves - 6 to 8
Coconut Oil - 1tbsp
Salt as per taste

Wash the beans and cut it in 1inch long pieces. Chop the chenna into the same size and wash nicely. Heat a pan, add the yard long beans, the chenna pieces, turmeric powder, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and about half cup water. Mix well and cover with lid which has a little depth; add some water in the lid and cook on low heat. Check after 10 minutes, if its not cooked cover with the lid again and cook for another 5 minutes. The vegetables should retain a little crunch and this may not take more than 15 to 20 minutes. When done drizzle the coconut oil on the achinga and chenna and stir fry for a couple of minutes on a high. Check for salt, adjust if necessary.

 

If you do not like coconut oil use your normal sunflower or vegetable oil and stir fry. But to get the authentic Kerala taste use only coconut oil. Sliced sambhar onions can also be added, in which case heat the coconut oil separately in a kadhai and fry the sliced onions, then add the achinga and chenna to it and stir fry for a few minutes.

 

Have the payar and chenna mezhukkupuratti with hot rice and rasam with a few drops of ghee on it. It is a great comfort food.

Cabbage Thoran / Gobi sabji

The other day, my mother-in-law mentioned that she always kept cabbage in the frig because it stored well and was easy to prepare when people came over unannounced. That's true, the chopping does not take much time and the cabbage is a no-fuss vegetable that cooks quickly. In Kerala, the sabji is made in an easier than other ways. Cabbage has to be cut thin and fine and should be cooked only as much that it retains a slight crunch to it. The best thing of all, is that you can put in all the ingredients and leave it to cook without having to stir it. And it takes just about 10 minutes to cook.

 

Ingredients
Cabbage - 2 cups, tightly packed
Green chilli - 2
Curry Leaves - 4 to 5
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
Mustard Seeds
Salt - 1tsp
Oil - 1tsp
Coconut - 1tbsp, grated

Cut the cabbage in thin and fine pieces, wash it and put in a colander to drain. Heat oil in a kadhai and when hot, add the mustard seeds. When it splutters add the green chilli, curry leaves, turmeric powder, chopped cabbage and salt. Mix well and bring it all together in the kadhai and cover with a lid and cook on low heat. After about 10 minutes check to see if cooked and sprinkle the grated coconut and mix well. Wait for a minute and take off the heat. It is ready to be served. 

 

Cabbage thoran can be served with rice and sambhar or any other Kerala kootaan.

Urllakizhangu / Kizhangu Ishtew / Kerala Ishtu / Potato Stew

This stew is normally made to go with Appam for breakfast in many Malayali homes. Appam ishtew is a typical breakfast item from Kerala. Although nowadays this breakfast is mostly limited to weekends since weekday mornings mean rushed breakfasts. Appams can be paired off with chutney or potato stew or vegetable stew or egg roast or a varutharache curry (egg or vegetables). We mostly make urllakizhangu or kizhangu ishtu / ishtew (that's potato stew in Malayalam) at home, a practice that my mother-in-law follows. And a combination I have fallen in love with.

My mother makes an orange colored coconut chutney to go with appams at home. And after marriage, I have mostly made potato ishtew to go with the appam. This ishtew is different from the one prepared for a sadya (feast served on a banana leaf) in the sense that this has onions and is watery. The best thing about making potato stew is that you pile everything into the pan and leave it to cook without having to add ingredients (except coconut milk) in stages. So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients
Potato - 2
Green chillies - 2
Ginger - 1 inch
Coconut milk (thick) - 1/2cup
Curry leaves - 8-10
Coconut oil - 1tsp
Salt as per taste

Peel the potatoes, wash it and slice it into pieces, slit the green chillies, cut the ginger into juliennes and keep aside. Heat a pan add about a cup of water and add the potatoes, ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, a little salt and cook on medium heat. Check after about 10 minutes if the potatoes are almost done. Make sure the pan still has water and add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk and cook on low heat till the potatoes are completely done. Then add the rest of the coconut milk, adjust with more water if needed and let it come close to a boil. Drizzle coconut oil and a few curry leaves on top, close the lid and take off the heat.

Get the appams ready and serve the ishtew with it.

Tips:

If using full coconut milk from a can or tetrapack, water it down (3 coconut : 1 water).

The lite coconut milk can be poured straight to the cooked potatoes.

 

Erachi Ularthiyathu / Mutton Fry

At my parents home, we had fish more often than chicken and hardly ever had mutton. One reason for not having mutton could be that there was no good mutton shop nearby. At my husband's home they had aatterachi / erachi / mutton more often than chicken and that's when I actually started appreciating its taste. At my in-laws place it was my father in law who made the mutton. And it was awesome. My husband would go buy the erachi fresh in the morning and my father-in-law would cook it with 2 assistants - my sister-in-law and I. My mother-in-law was not involved in the cooking because by then she had given up eating non-vegetarian food. Me being a novice in cooking, my father-in-law would actually cut one piece to show how he wanted the onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes cut. He made a erachi ularthiyathu / erachi olarthiyathu with the good pieces and erachi curry with a few meat and bone pieces. At that time I never considered learning how to make it but thankfully my husband knew. And now, I think we are able to recreate that same taste.

Ingredients
(these ingredients are enough for 2 people, just double or triple according to required quantity)
Mutton (goat meat) / Ghosht / Aatterachi - 400gms
Onion / Pyaaz / Savaalla ulli - 1 large
Tomato / Tamatar / Thakaalli - 1 medium
Ginger / Adrak / Inji - 2 inch piece
Garlic / Lehsun / Velluthulli - 10 pods
Shallots / Sambhar onions / cheriya ulli - 8-10
Curry leaves / Kadipata / Kariveppila - 5-7 sprigs
Masala powder:
Cloves / Lavang / Graambu - 4
Cinnamon / Dalchini / Karvapatta - 1 inch piece
Coriander / Dhaniya / Malee pwd - 2 tbsp. heaped
Aniseed / Saunf / Perinjeerakam - 1 tsp heaped
Cardamom / Elaichi / Elakya - 1
Marinade:
Turmeric pwd / Haldi / Manjallpodi - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd / Lal mirchi / Mollagupodi - 1tsp
Pepper pwd / Kali miri / Kurumollagu - 0.5tsp
Salt to taste

Clean and cut the mutton in small pieces. Mix the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and apply well onto the mutton. Keep for an hour, then pressure cook the mutton in a separate vessel without any water for 2 to 3 whistles, till just cooked. This is a dry dish and hence do not add water to the mutton, it will release water. The number of whistles depends on the tenderness of the mutton - we get quite tender meat here and normally 2 whistles are more than enough. Also this recipe calls for stir frying the mutton again with the masalas so if your mutton is overcooked, the end result will be mutton mash and not pieces.

Separately heat a flat pan to roast the whole garam masalas. Dry roast the whole masalas one by one and grind into a fine powder and keep aside.

 

Heat oil in a kadhai and add the chopped onions, ginger and garlic and fry on medium heat. When the onions are fried to a light brown color add the ground masala powder and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the stock of the mutton and chopped tomatoes and mix well stirring all the time on high heat. Lower the heat and add the mutton pieces, little red chilli powder and pepper powder and sauté to combine all together. Add 2 sprigs of curry leaves and keep stir frying the mutton on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

 

Separately heat the coconut oil in a small kadai and when hot add the chopped shallots / cheriya ulli and fry till they are light brown in color. Then add the slit green chillies and the remaining curry leaves, stir it and add this over the mutton. Keep on low heat and mix the mutton and the tadka / varathu iddal well. The mutton should be fried well by this time; take this off the gas and keep covered.

 

You can add thengya kothu / coconut slice pieces to the frying mutton closer to the end of frying and use only cheriya ulli for a very very coconutty Kerala taste. We preferred not to add it since we were doing a tadka / varutha iddal in coconut oil and wanted the masalas to stand out. When my father-in-law cooked this as a no coconut dish and the curry was the one with coconut paste and we were trying to be as close to that recipe as possible. I remember him saying once that adding finely chopped fried potatoes when frying the mutton just added to the awesome taste of this dish. Am going to try it sometime.

Our lunch on days that erachi olarthiyathu is made, usually comprises rice, sambhar, and this mutton fry. This is a hit menu at our home, hope it becomes a hit with your family too!  

 

This exact same recipe can be used for beef as well, for an amazing dish.

 

- To my father-in-law who is no more.

Tomato / Thakkali Pachadi

This Pachadi recipe is a curry from Kerala, essentially a curry with a gravy base of ground coconut, curd/yogurt and mustard seeds. To this paste, one can add either Tomatoes / Thakaalli or Ladies finger / Vendekkya to make Pachadi. When adding Ladies finger make sure it is fried so that it is not gooey when added to the curry. In Kerala, most curries have a gravy base of ground coconut and cumin seeds / jeera. This may be the only curry from Kerala in which mustard seeds are ground. So if you love the taste of mustard paste, I would suggest you try this Tomato / Thakalli Pachadi.

My mother mostly made Pachadi with tomatoes and that is the one I like. After marriage, I did not make this kootaan (curry) at our home for long because my husband is allergic to curd/yogurt. Hence curries or dishes made with curd / yogurt are usually not prepared at our home more because it is tedious to cook different curries when there are only the two of us at home. Tomato Pachadi was included in our menu at home after my mother made this kootaan using just a couple of tablespoons of absolutely fresh curds, going by the premise that if my husband ate aviyal that has a little curd then he could take this as well. On trying this kootaan, he did like it, so we had one more kootaan added to the list of curries made at home. So a kootaan that is usually made with equal amount of coconut and yogurt is made at our home with just a couple of tablespoons of yogurt.

 

Ingredients

Tomato / Thakaalli - 2 medium

Coconut / Thenga grated - 1.5 cup

Curd / Yogurt / Thayir - 2tbsp

Dried Red chilli /  - 4

Green chilli - 2

Turmeric pwd - 1tsp

Mustard seeds - 1.5tsp for grinding

Curry leaves - 3 sprigs

Oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Salt to taste

Chop tomatoes into medium sized pieces. Heat a saucepan with a cup water, add chopped tomatoes, salt and turmeric powder and cook on medium heat. Separately grind coconut, mustard seeds, green chillies and 2 of the dried red chillies. Add minimal water when grinding so that the mustard is ground well. Then add the yogurt also and give it a quick whisk and this fine paste is ready to be added to the curry. Once the tomatoes are cooked add the ground paste and mix well. Add a little water as required to get a thick curry consistency. Let it boil once, lower the gas to check for salt and then take it off the heat and keep it covered. Heat a small pan for the tadka / vagaar / varathu iddal and add the oil. When the oil is hot put in the mustard seeds, let it splutter then tear 2 dried red chillies into pieces and add it in along with the curry leaves. Stir it and take off the heat and pour the mix into the curry and cover immediately. Open the lid when ready to serve.

 

To get the authentic taste of this curry more yogurt is to be added when cooking. Like I said we restricted the amount of yogurt to suit my husband's palate. The tomato pachadi is best had with rice and paired off with thoren and pappadam.

Ulli Chammanthi / Onion Chutney

The chutney or chammanthi elevates the taste of food, just like that spicy achaar with a bowl of dal chawal. In Kerala, we have a variety of chammanthis made to complement different dishes. I remember as children when we vacationed with my grandparents in Kerala, the day would start with two items for breakfast. My grandparents needed their fix of kanji (rice gruel) and the rest of the family wanted some palaharam that was either idli or dosa or rawa / godambu upma or godambu or aree podi puttu or appam. We children were encouraged to eat both by our grandparents. They would offer all the accompaniments as enticement - the regular fixture - chammanthi, next papadam, add to that thoren and not to miss the kadumaangaa or any uppilittathu. Actually, I did not need much coaxing - I loved it, but it was nice to have muthachan and ammumma encouraging us. For me, the best combination was hot kanji with a bit of ghee and salt and lots of chammanthi in the side plate. The chammanthi was especially yum if made by my P ammayi. It was a simple coconut-green chilli-curry leaves ground on the ammikalu (grinding stone) with mango when in season. The slightly ripe mango elevated the chammanthi to ambrosial heights. Just thinking of that chammanthi makes my mouth water.

 

Today, I bring you a simple Ulli chammanthi that goes very well with idli and complements the coconut chutney. Ulli chammanthi is made in a lot of ways in Kerala, one version uses the cheriya ulli / sambhar onions / shallots simply crushed with green chillies to go with boiled kappa (tapioca). The one I am making today has savaalla ulli (onions / pyaz) and dry red chillies as the main ingredients. Without much ado, lets go to the recipe.

 

Ingredients

Onions - 2 medium

Kashmiri dry red chillies - 7-8 or Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp.

Coconut Oil - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - about 8-10 crushed and torn to pieces by hand

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Chop the onions roughly. Grind the red chillies and the onions to a fine paste with a little salt and keep aside. Heat a kadai, add the coconut oil and when it is hot add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard has spluttered add the curry leaves and stir with spoon. Add the ground onion - red chilli paste and mix it well. Keep the heat on low to medium and stir it on and off so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Taste it for salt at this stage and add some if required. When the oil starts leaving the sides and the mix starts coming together take it off the gas and serve it!

Pair this chammanthi with idli, it really complements the blandness of idli. Enjoy!

Chai tea latte, Chai, Cha, Chaaya, Tea.... my high

Tea is made in so many ways in India and this post is to reminisce on the way chaaya is made in Kerala. I will try some other methods and post them later.

Chaaya

In Kerala Chaaya - that's tea in malayalam, is made a little differently. It is prepared by  adding some strong tea leaves to boiling water and the vessel is covered with a lid. The gas/ heat is shut off at this point without boiling it any further. Heat the milk separately, add sugar and pour in the black tea. Now comes the difference in method. Kerala chaaya making process is complete only after beating the tea! This is done to mix the sugar, tea concoction and milk really well. Also, my mom believes that the taste of milk changes when it is beaten like this. 

For this, take two mugs or glasses and pour from one cup to the other from a height repeatedly to create a frothy top. This could sound crazy when written so check the pictures and you will get an idea. Your tea is ready when the froth is formed at the top of the glass/ cup and the sugar is well mixed in.

Now for the measurements, for a glass of tea of the size shown below, take water - 3/4th glass, milk - 1/4th glass, tea leaves - 1tsp heaped, sugar as per taste. Chaaya is normally strong and hence the color is more brown than milky! 

The method of making chaaya and pulled tea of Malaysia is the same. Pulled tea is also poured from one container to the other to create a layer of froth at the top. It is likely that this method of preparing tea was taken to Malaysia from India by the immigrants when both countries were British colonies. Not sure of the taste though, maybe I will taste it sometime in the future. Cheers :)

 

P.S. I use either Wagh Bakri or Girnar tea, both are strong teas.

Brunch with leftovers!

Take some leftovers, put them together with some additions and voila! you have a lovely brunch.

On a cold Sunday morning, the urge to sleep in under a warm comforter is really high and hence a meal of leftovers makes life easy. The menu was - an onion and green chilli omelette, potato masala sandwiches, cheese slices, sweet puttu and bananas and tea to round it all off.

I had some potato masala in the refrigerator and I used this to make some stuffed sandwiches which I then toasted with butter in a pan. I also had some puttu which I had steamed with sugar and extra coconut to make an instant sweet ending to our breakfast. Added some small bananas to the steamed puttu - all Kerala style! All this needed was a Kerala chaaya and my meal was ready to be served.

Puttu and Kadala curry - YUM!!!

Puttu (steamed rice cake) and kadala (black gram) curry, a favourite Malayali breakfast, so warm and filling on a wintery morning. Add a malayali chaaya (tea) to this to round off the meal!

Natural Fish Pedicure

The Kullam / Pond

 

A fish starting to nibble on my foot

A pond or kullam as it is called in Malayalam was an integral part of most old houses in Kerala. These were private ponds within the grounds and was used by residents of the house for bathing. This was much before bathrooms became common in Kerala.

During our annual school holidays in summer, we would love to bathe in the pond instead of the bathroom. Accompanied by a whole horde of cousins, it was more of a time to splash and play than bathe. We were often scolded by the elders for muddying the water and asked to get out. We would take along our towels (called thorthu mundu in Malayalam) to use as mini-nets to catch fish. Most of the times we hardly caught any fish because all our splashing had long scared the fish off. And if we did catch any, they were released into the water since these fish were neither good for eating nor displaying in fish bowls. I once took home a fish I had caught and put it in a pot in the verandah. I forgot all about it till after lunch and when I checked, it had just vanished. My grandmother guessed that a crow would have most likely made a meal of it. That was the last time I ever brought a fish home from the pond.

Many years later, my husband and I were discussing the lovely times spent in the pond with cousins and we were reminded of the fish again. He told me of times when he and his cousin would sit on the stones with their feet immersed in water and the fish would come to nibble at them. Like I wrote earlier, I never sat still long enough for any fish to come near me and had never experienced this. We decided we would try this out on our next trip to Kerala.

Last year we visited Kerala and were staying over at my husband's ancestral home. We were up very early one morning and were walking the grounds when we decided to get into the pond. It was before 6 in the morning, the sun was just rising and the only sounds were from the insects around and the birds chirping in the trees. It was a beautiful moment sitting on the stones at the pond-side with our feet dipping in the water. It wasn't long before the tiny fish came to investigate our feet. I could not take the tickling and pricking sensation of the nibbling fish and kept taking my feet out of the water. And on my husband's insistence would put it back in. But not too many fish came near my feet, I guess because my moving feet did not assure them of a meal. Whereas, my husband's feet was a feast fit for kings, albeit fish kings.

It was a very different, fun experience. The best thing was, it was in an all natural setting with no worries about hygienic conditions associated with fish pedicures nowadays.