KeralaIyers.com - Cuisine(IyerTalks)

Kaappeestotram

Sun, 21 Sep 2003 05:52:51 -0700

A toast to coffee (kaappi), but not the present type of filter coffee. The filter mechanism had not become widespread some 60 to 70 years ago. I used to relish the taste of such coffee prepared by my mother. (Of course equally the filter coffee prepared by my wife in later life). Starting from frying the raw coffee seeds on a veraku/varali aduppu, grinding them in an irumboral with an irumbolakkai, filtering through a cheladai, putting the same in boiled water, keeping it to settle, sometimes using a thuni to extract the decoction, add milk (karantha paal) and sugar, the process was laborious. To have a proper mix and an expresso effect, a dawara and tumbler must be used. It might have been during one of those coffee inebriated state of mind that I must have composed this kaappeestortram. It is in Malayalam written in Roman script.

Kalyana Sappadu

Mon, 04 Aug 2003 05:50:33 -0700

Between tasteless bites of Toasted Onion Bagel and sips of Dunkachino at the street-side Dunkin Donuts at a relatively lesser-known town of Niskayuna, New York I remember the good old days of "Kalyana Sappadu" back home. Random thoughts of steaming rice, pappadums & the ever-smiling mami's with their over-flowing plates of goodies, flash through my mind. The picture gets clearer as I try to focus on these random images. Slowly the nearby chatter on the Yankees & the Elvis Presley look-alikes start to fade as I get transported to the "Land of Sambar & Rasam". The onset of winter and the hope to see the first set of snow flakes on the horizon no more seem pertinent as I get absorbed in the tropical heat alive with the buzz & excitement of a wedding feast. As the caterers and unlucky relatives of the bride scuttle around with their heavy utensils serving, the others await to relish the delicious multi-course meal. The fragrance of sambar is in the air and dominates the other less fragrant delicacies. Banana leaves, some dry and others with their dew of sprinkled water, are laid out on the table. Cluttering of stainless steel glasses (a.k.a. Ever silver by most of the Iyer community) are heard as a boy runs through the dining hall placing the glasses on the leaves. Briefly pausing to pick up stray leaves he moves through the tables to help the elders desperately trying to hold on to the leaf against the sharp-tugs of the nearby Khaitan Fan. Faces seem to brighten up as the cooks finally arrive with the delicacies of the starter course. A hoard of sweets including the brightly coloured jangris (excuse me for omitting the jalebis but I really prefer the jangris over them), laddoos & some random pickles are spread. As the elders and kids (who dominate the 'mundal pandi' or the first round of feasting) appear to be ambivalent on the order of sweets to be devoured the second round of delicacies arrive. This time it is the mami's on the forefront with their courteous smiles and quick jokes serving the steaming rice, pure ghee (200% fat), sambar (which I feel needs to be the King of all South Indian dishes) & hot-hot pappadums. Hungry and famished by this time everyone devours the meal without the slightest inkling of the mami's favouring his or her mama's with more goodies on the sly. The next course is in the offing with mountains of rice on a platter and a liquid laced with strains of pepper & diced tomatoes (known as Rasam - a virtually non-existent dish even in the more authentic Indian joints in the US). An optional course (but definitely mandatory for most of the pot-bellied mama's) is the Thayir Sadam (a mixture of Rice with curd and sprinkled with kismis & Kaju). Last but not the least is the 'payasam' (a South Indian version of the Kheer) a terrific digester made of milk simmered with badam-pista-cashew & optionally milk-maid (500 calories straight -definitely on the no-no list of any American)!

The Elusive Rasam

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 05:57:07 -0700

My experiments with rasam would begin with these seemingly harmless words of a very considerate human being, my husband - "make a simple rasam and upperi" {finely chopped vegetables tempered with mustard, red chilies and black gram} and right there would begin my ordeal.

Pizza and Molagapodi

Wed, 16 Apr 2003 05:42:34 -0700

I was just learning to walk on the streets of USA when I got my first job. Having seen over 32 summers in India, this one was just another. But this summer, the sun was on the other side of the hemisphere. I was in Florida. I had seen the beaches of Florida from my couch in India. Guess what!! 'Baywatch'. Sun was shining and the rays found its way through the stubborn clouds. The breeze from the Atlantic was warm and sultry. It was my first Friday on the job. Colorful and casual atmosphere blessed my tense disposition. Fridays bring everyone closer and work is just an excuse. No new projects begin and none of the meetings are serious.

Vegetarianism and I

Tue, 08 Apr 2003 05:58:30 -0700

I have to confess that this may not be the ideal article to put up in this virtuous site and you may not particularly enjoy this article as it is on a very unorthodox subject. Far from talking about the usual Brahmin food styles, this article deals almost exclusively on my journey from Veg world to the non-Veg and back. This article deals on a widely known reality of the present day world, which is of particular significance to our community. No one as such would like to talk about it; but the non-vegetarian food eating habit is now rampant in our community. I ask my readers to kindly excuse me for not revealing my name as I, like anyone else, am a hypocrite about my non-vegetarian food eating habit and would like this secret to remain a secret.

Thayir Chaadham

Thu, 03 Apr 2003 04:48:32 -0800

The importance of thayir chaadham was inculcated into our lives at a very early age. My sister as a 2 year old would stand near the window of our house and invite passers by telling them 'Chapthaacha, Ulla vaa, Amma thayir chaadham tharuva'. So great was her appreciation of thayir chaadham that she preferred to offer it to chocolate and ice cream. 'Oru pidi morum chorum kazhichittu po' is a suggestion often made to people in hurry. Karacha Sambhaaram and dosa maavu occupied 70 percent of the refrigerator space in my uncle's house in Chennai. He worked as a medical representative and easily had 2-3 glasses after his morning rounds of calls. Any visitor at that hour of the day would be given tall glasses of cool sambharam that was very refreshing. He would be quick to point out; that Pepsi and Coke were new entrants and not as half nutritious as the sambharam. He would tell me that while buttermilk helped increase appetite, sodas suppressed it. I have vivid memories of my grandfather finishing every meal of his by emptying the glass of buttermilk into his plate and drinking it. It was not bad manners in his age. I recall when we went home for our annual vacations to our ancestral home in Kerala; there would be three large bharanis full of buttermilk placed in the kitchen. Like wine, kept for ageing, in different caskets there would be buttermilk, 5-6 days old to the fresh one. My grandmother would tell me that cow's buttermilk was good for both dhahana and budhi sakthi {digestive and brain power}, both of which we needed at our age.

Palada Pradhaman

Tue, 01 Apr 2003 04:59:29 -0800

Among the first batch of guests who came out after a marriage feast in the Kalyana Mandapam at Palakkad was the beaming Krishna Iyer. As he relaxed comfortably in a chair, the host offered him the plate of 'Thamboolam'. (Betal leaf, nut, lime etc.) "No" declined Krishna Iyer. "But why not?" enquired the guest. "Because" replied Krishna Iyer, "if there was space enough for this beeda in my stomach I could have enjoyed one more round of Paaladai". The dhoti-clad, bare -chest, Narayanan, resting in a corner of the hall after a laborious day, felt elated by this comment. He had reasons to feel so because as Chief Cook in-charge of catering, this was the first feedback he got about the quality of his workmanship.

Forgotten Fakir and His unforgettable Drink

Thu, 27 Mar 2003 04:44:43 -0800

The holy month of Ramzan has started when the children of Allah all over the world will be remembering the great Prophet (Shanthi be upon him) and his great gift to humanity. On this occasion my memory goes back to one of the forgotten sons of Allah who brought great pleasure into the life of all the children of Allah. He is very special to me as he gave me the Allah's drink (coffee) without which I cannot even move. You are all familiar with this great Mahan as Mike Wieser and myself have earlier discussed his Haj trip in 1650 and the rich dividends it provided (1, 2). He is none other than Haji Baba Budan, a holy man or Fakir from Chikamagalur, Karnataka state, South India.

Life without Thayir Chadam

Thu, 06 Mar 2003 05:08:46 -0800

"Pazhai Chadam and Thayir" advised my Pati always. It never mattered whether it was early in the morning or any part of the day. She always had a knack of slipping a version of this recipe in to my diet. With all the mutterings that came out, the mix always reached the destination. Pati had everyone under the radar. No one could escape the preparation. My dad had it three times a day and mom had it several times. My friends dreaded it!!! She always believed in it.

The Odyssey of my Naiyappams

Thu, 06 Mar 2003 04:51:32 -0800

"What do you want me to send you?" asks Amma, "Girish has agreed to carry a small packet for you", she says. I can sense the excitement in her voice, miles away, a doting mother who immensely missed her darling daughter. "Well, don't bother, Ma. It will be too much trouble" I reply. "No, this is your lucky break, you constantly complain about how you miss my cooking, so tell me what do you want me to send you?" she persists. I think for a split second. Having endured my culinary disasters for the past ten months, I was craving for something palatable and familiar. The offer was too tempting to resist. " Naiyappams!" I shriek loudly into the phone. "Yes! That's what I am dying to eat!" "I shall try my best," says amma and she hangs up.