Recreating a nostalgic meal

An eggplant flower

I am the youngest of the two girls in my family. Being the youngest hard its perks, but it was unimaginable horror at some times. I was expected to go along with my elder sister to all her visits to her friend’s houses as an escort. If there was some grocery item missing and was needed suddenly, I was send to buy it. I couldn’t understand why my sister wouldn’t go and get it. She had created this assumption that being the eldest, she did not have to do these menial tasks. I remember how frustrated I felt at these times and no amount of tears would budge her!

When I finally grew up and was her age, I had no escorts and was left to fend for myself. Ah! That is how I learnt that life is usually unfair and you would be better off dealing with it rather than crying about it..especially when it came to family.But anyway, one good thing about visiting her friends was the food I got to ate. It was our ( me and my sister) assumption that any food other than made in our house always tasted better. This was one thing that me and my sister usually agreed upon.

In Kerala, back in the days there were a great many kids being brought up by i grandparents, as their parents were in the “Gulf”.These kids had the coolest toys and outfits that we could only dream of. I had often wished I was one of them ( now I know better). One of my sister’s friends who we visited was one such family, kids living with their grandmother. When it was time for lunch, we realized there was not much to eat. The friend said, ‘Dont worry we will make brinjal fry’. We both had never had this dish before and we watched as she split the long eggplants ( vazhuthananga),added salt and chili powder and shallow fried it in some oil. We had this with some rice ,achar and some mooru. What a delicious meal! We were convinced that outside food was best. We often reminisced about the brinjal fry although the friendship had been long lost. I think we tried making it at home once but decided it was not the same.

Recently when I grew my first eggplant, the long kind that you see so often back home, I had the sudden inkling to make the long thought of and salivated dish. Got the freshest eggplant off the plant, sliced it thin, applied a paste of salt and chillly powder, shallow fried and had it with rice. Ahh! It was one of the best meals in along time ! All the more tastier just because of the nostalgia associated with it.

This post if for my sister, remembering all the walks we took to your friends place, the fights we had on the way…and all forgiven when finally we sat for lunch( remember the ambazhanga sammanthi at SB’s place?)

A terrible event..

The bombings in Bombay have dampened the spirits of Indians everywhere. Hope the people raise their voices prompting the government into action.

Learning Kerala food- Kaalan.

I have never had a curry made out of ripe plantains. When I saw a recipe using ripe bananas, I was skeptical and almost repulsed at the idea. But when I finally mustered courage to make it, Satish had already eaten the one ripe plantain that we had as his breakfast. So the recipe was forgotten. Then LG posted a fabulous recipe for the same.

Couple of days ago I finally made this. It tasted so wonderful with rice. It tasted even better the next day. I wasnot sure how this is supposed to taste after I had made it, but S declared that it was perfect. I was overjoyed at the fact that this Kerala dish was finally mastered by me. One more dish under the belt for Onam this year.

Recipe and method:

One ripe plantain , peeled and cubed.

To the diced plantain, add 6 green chillies (slit lengthwise), 1/4 tsp. turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp. chilly powder, half cup water and about 1/2 tsp.salt. Cook on low flame until the plantains are soft and the water is almost evaporated.

In a blender, grind till silky smooth a cup of freshly grated coconut and 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds. Add this to the cooked plantain.

Gently crush the plantain while mixing the coconut paste. On low heat, let the mixture come to a slow boil.

At this stage add about 2-3 cups of mooru ( yogurt made lighter by adding water and mixing well to make it to a more flowing consistency) . Continue to cook on low flame, stirring continously till the mixture attains a thick consistency.

Remove from fire and let it cool. You might need to stir it after removing from fire for some more time to prevent curdling of the mixture. Once slightly cooled, add 1/2 tsp. of fenugreek powder.

In a seperate pan, heat about 1.5 tbsp of coconut oil, crack a tsp of mustard seeds. To this add a couple of sprigs of curry leaves and dried green chillies. Remove from fire after a minute on the fire and add it to the kaalan. Add more salt if needed to suit your taste. Stir well and serve.

I have always dreamed about making a traditional Onam lunch (Onasadya). As a kid my mother made a few of the traditional dishes but never the whole parade. I remember promising her all my help in the kichen on the day of Onam, but after one hour of prepwork I would be tired and drift off. She would then have to slave by herself in the kitchen to make the rest of the meal. This happened too often that my family soon learnt not to take too seriously my offer for help in the kitchen.

After reading Annita’s post today and looking at that sumptous meal, I am determined mone than ever to learn more of the traditional Kerala dishes.I had this with rice and some fish. Oh man! It was so good and so proud to learn this new dish! This sure is a good start.

Recipe source: Mrs. K. M. Mathew ( Lalitha pachakam)