Letters of 2006
Letter Archive
|
 Our driver wended his way apprehensively through the narrow bustling
streets of old Fort Cochin. I had given him the address of an Indian
cookery teacher who had promised to teach me some authentic Keralean
dishes.
Maria George and I had been emailing each other for several weeks. She
was anxious to know what I wanted to learn but because I had a very
sketchy understanding of Keralean food, I had no idea what I wanted.
Between us we chose a few dishes. She explained that her house was
above the Monte Carlo Café and the massage and beauty parlour opposite
St Mary’s Anglo Indian High School.
After several false attempts we arrived and peered hesitantly through
the open door. We were shown up a dark and dusty timber stairs, Maria
was there waiting to welcome us. Her kitchen was small and sparsely
furnished, a standard Indian domestic kitchen with pale blue lime
washed walls. A wire grille and blue muslin curtain divide the
functional area from the dining room. Simple wooden shelves held a
variety of cooking utensils and pots.
The ingredients for the cooking class were beautifully arranged on the
oil cloth covered table. Fresh ginger, shallots, chillies, curry
leaves, some fresh sear fish, a chicken and two spice tins. One with a
variety of whole spices, cassia (as cinnamon is called in Kerala),
cardamom, cumin, cloves, the other with a pungent selection of ground
spices – turmeric, white pepper, coriander, cumin and chilli powder.
Her beaming assistant Daisy made us two glasses of chai masala, spicy
frothy sweet Indian tea, a delicious antidote to the heat and stress
of Indian travel.
A long bench with a cushion ran under the grill covered window and a
collection of beautiful old antique chairs and a few plastic chairs
surrounded the table. Outside the window, agile bare footed builders
ran up and down bamboo ladders carrying cement and tiles to fix the
roof before the monsoon rains started.
Like most Indian girls, Maria learned to cook from her mother and
mother in law. Eventually, after much discussion with her family, she
tucked a few tables between the spice and banana trees in the tiny
tropical garden beside the house and opened a little café. Maria
cooked the food she knew, the simple South Indian food of the local
area. Her customers soon began to pester her to show them how she
achieved such delicious flavours. Encouraged by her teacher husband,
she summoned up all her courage and began to give ‘cookery classes’,
charging just a few rupees. She put up a sign in the Internet café and
so her little business continues to grow. Now she is painstakingly
starting to write a little cookbook of her recipes.
First I had a lesson on the basics of Keralean food. We started by
making the most well known of all the Keralean vegetable dishes,
Thoren. Maria used cabbage as a basis but carrots, beans or pumpkin
are also commonly used. Freshly grated coconut is the essential
ingredient here, after all, Kerala is the land of coconuts. If your
only option is dried coconut then use half the quantity of unsweetened
desiccated coconut. The spices with a little water are ground with a
heavy stone rolling pin on an Ammi, a flat grinding stone. The flavour
is immeasurably better than machine ground, I would so love to have
one at home but they weigh about a hundredweight ,so the best I can do
is to use a pestle and mortar. The ammi is still widely used in India
and is often given to a girl as part of her dowry. Maria is convinced
that the final dish tastes better when the spices are stone-ground.
Maria demonstrated how to cook each recipe Thoren, Seared Kingfish,
Fish Molley, Kerala Chicken Masala Fry, Okra Pepperfry, Rice Pullao.
She painstakingly explained the reason for adding the spices in a
particular order and the crucial importance of raising and lowering
the heat as the spices are added.
We pounded the whole spices and massaged them into the fillets of fish
and the chicken pieces. The kitchen filled with spicy aromas.
One after the other the dishes were cooked and laid out on the table.
We tucked into a feast of Keralean flavours.
When I whispered that it was my friend’s birthday everyone sang Happy
Birthday, Granny disappeared into the bedroom and produced her
precious home-made wine, and Maria’s daughter was summoned to
entertain us. She shyly sang the most beautiful classical Indian
songs. Friends dropped in to deliver a wedding invitation and they too
joined in. We felt like part of the family rather than paying guests.
All of this cost R400 rupees each, approx. € 8
If you find yourself in Cochin and want to experience a truly
authentic local experience, contact Maria at
mgeorge24in@yahoo.com
Here are some of Maria’s recipes.
Thoren
Thoren is Kerala’s best known dish. Cabbage, carrots, pumpkin and
beans can be used in this Keralean vegetable dish. Grated cabbage and
carrots and finely sliced beans can be mixed, but pumpkin should be
kept separate.
1 cup of freshly grated coconut (1/2 cup of unsweetened desiccated
coconut)
250g (9oz) cabbage, thinly sliced
2 large cloves garlic,
1 green chilli
½ tsp cumin seeds
(make a paste of the garlic, cumin and green chilli using a little
water. This is the masala paste)
1/4 teaspoon chopped ginger (this is used only for cabbage to remove
the raw smell of cabbage.)
5 shallots (8 if small), cut in half and sliced lengthwise
3 or 4 fresh curry leaves
2 or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
Maria uses a stone rolling pin on a flat grinding stone to grind the
cumin seeds with the garlic, cloves and chilli with a little water
until it makes a wetish paste. I use a pestle and mortar.
Shallots: She slices 1 side first then turns it on its side
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok, add 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard
seeds when oil is hot. When the seeds have finished popping lower the
flame and add the sliced shallots , then add the masala (that is the
paste of garlic, cumin and green chilli) and chopped ginger. Cook for
a minute or two.
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon turmeric on top of the shallots, not directly to
the oil. Stir then mix the shallots and masala paste well. Fry the
masala paste mixture for 1 minute, then add the curry leaves. Add the
finely sliced cabbage and toss. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt, taste and
add more if
necessary. Lower the flame and add the coconut. Stir well. Cover and
cook over a low flame for 5 minutes.
When it is cooked, leave the lid slightly ajar.
Eat cold.
Seared
Kingfish or Pomfret fish, (Fish masala fry)
2 x 3/4 inch (2cm) cutlets white fish
1/2 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ginger paste – (crush some fresh ginger root with a
pestle and mortar and make paste – add a little water if the ginger is
dry)
1/4 teaspoon crushed pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed make paste with water (always make paste with
a little water)
Put all the ingredients except the fish and vinegar onto a plate in a
little pile. Sprinkle over the vinegar and mix to a paste (masala)
with the fingers. Pat the masala evenly over the sides of the fish and
marinade for minimum 1/2 an hour and better still for 4-5 hours.
When ready to Fry:
Put 2 tablespoons oil in a pan on a high heat. Sprinkle the fish with
an extra little pinch of salt on both the sides of fish. Reduce the
heat and add the fish to the pan. Dip fish in oil on one side, turn
over onto the other side and back again so it doesn’t stick to the
pan. Increase the heat to a medium flame and cook for 5 minutes on one
side, then 5 minutes on the other.
Eat with rice and Thoren
Fish Molley
Serves 2
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 small pieces of cassia or 1 small cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
5 cloves
1 tomato, quartered
1 red onion, cut in half and sliced thickly
1 green chilli, sliced halfway down
4 shallots, sliced through the root (used in the end for seasoning)
3-4 fresh curry leaves
1/2 lime (used in the end of cooking)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk – (diluted with up to an equal quantity of
water, depending on how thick the coconut milk is)
1/2 cup coconut cream
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Add the cassia, cardamom and
cloves for seasoning. When the cardamom pods swell up and absorb the
flavour, add the quartered tomato and fry for a few minutes. Remove
the tomatoes, add the onions and green chilli to the same oil and
stir. Add the crushed garlic and fry for 5 minutes, then add the
ginger. (Maria says never add ginger and garlic
together as the garlic needs to cook for longer.) Lower the flame and
sprinkle generous 1 teaspoon of turmeric over the onions, then stir
and raise the flame. After the garlic is fried add 1/2 teaspoon white
flour and crushed ginger and a few curry leaves, and fry for a little
longer.
Add the diluted coconut milk to the pan where the onions and garlic
are fried and allow to bubble up, keep on stirring till the milk
bubbles or else the coconut milk will curdle. Bring to the boil,
stirring all the time and add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar. If using a
whole fish, make slashes on the sides. If your pan is big enough for
the fish use the same pan. Once you add the fish you can’t stir with a
spoon. The fish should be just covered with coconut milk – cook gently
for about 5 minutes, just swaying the dish from side to side. (If the
fish sauce needs to be a little more sour add lime juice off the flame
or else it will become bitter.)
Add the coconut cream, swirl and bring back to the boil. Taste and add
more salt if necessary. The coconut cream may dull the salt.
To finish:
In a different pan, put a few teaspoons of oil, add sliced shallots.
Brown a few shallots and add some curry leaves. Pour over the top of
the fish sauce. Add the quartered tomatoes.
Eat hot or at room temperature with rice or any bread
Kerala Chicken Masala Fry
2 chicken breasts
Scant 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 level teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon garlic paste (crushed garlic)
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Put all the ingredients together on a plate and mix with the fingers.
Rub into the chicken breasts (skin off, but still on the bone and
slashed). Marinade for a minimum of 1/2 hour - longer is better.
After each marination, add salt a bit on both the sides because the
salt added earlier will have been soaked in.
Heat some oil in a wok to a medium heat. Dip the pieces of chicken
backwards and forwards in the hot oil so they won’t stick and continue
to cook until browned all over. Can be cooked in the oven also. If
using in the oven just drip very little oil over the chicken piece .
Juices should run clear when the chicken is cooked – test with a
pointed knife.
20-30 minutes.
Chicken Masala
Serves 2
4or 5 tablespoons oil
a few small bits of cassia
2 cloves
2 onions, halved and sliced (remove the root – it is not good for the
stomach and was not used by ancestors according to Maria)
1 heaped teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 green chilli, slit
1 heaped teaspoon crushed ginger
4 teaspoons coriander powder
Small bunch of coriander leaves
1 semi heaped teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 chicken thighs
2 chicken drumsticks
2 tomatoes, sliced into strips
Ten minutes before cooking, sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon chilli powder, pinch
of black pepper , a little salt, and a 1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar over
the chicken pieces. Coat well.
Put 4 or 5 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. When the oil is hot,
add a couple of small bits of cassia and 2 whole cloves, then add the
onions and garlic paste and the green chilli. Stir for a minute or two
and lower the flame.
(Always lower the flame before adding any powdered spices.)
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon turmeric on top of the onions, stir, then increase
the heat. With a dry dish use less turmeric, and with a wet dish use
more turmeric). Stir and cook for 5 minutes to cook the garlic. Add 1
well heaped teaspoon of crushed ginger, cook for 1 minute. Reduce heat
and add 4 teaspoons of freshly ground coriander powder, stir for a few
seconds then raise the flame to fry the coriander powder well so it
loses its raw taste. (Chilli powder frys very fast, so only add it at
the end.) Lower the flame again and add 1 semi-heaped teaspoon garam
masala powder, then stir for a few seconds then raise the heat, stir
again and fry the masala for 1 minute. Lower the flame, add 1/4
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (or
1/2 teaspoon paprika) then 1/2 teaspoon salt on top of the onions.
Mix and increase the heat again.
Add the sliced tomatoes and stir. Fry to soften the tomatoes well -
about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and coat well with the masala and
tomato. Add a little water, about 1/4 glass. Cover and cook the
chicken over a medium flame. Stir occasionally. When the chicken is
cooked add the coriander leaves and warm it through. If you don’t want
the dish to be too spicy, add ½ -1 cup of coconut cream at the end.
Taste and correct seasoning.
Garam Masala Powder
50g fennel seeds
5 cardamom pods
6 cloves
4 flat cinnamon (cassia) sticks size of your pointed finger.
Roast in a dry pan on a very low flame. And then blend in a dry
blender till powdered well. Use within 1 month. Store in a sealed
container.
Okra Pepper fry
Serves 2-4
10 okra
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 pinches of salt
Wash, top and tail the okra and make a slit with a knife on three
sides. Mix the spices with your hands and toss the okra in the spice
mixture and allow to marinade for 10 minutes. Just before serving, fry
in a little butter or oil over a medium heat for 2-5 minutes. The okra
will be slightly
brown.
Serve with fried chicken or fish fry and some fried potato.
Foolproof food
Rice – cooked with spice
Serves 2
1 cup Jeera rice (like Basmati but smaller, wash to remove starch)
2 bits cassia
1-2 tablesp oil
4 cardamom pods
5 cloves
¼ teasp. turmeric
2 cups water or a little more 1/4 cup more
1 teaspoon salt
Wash the rice in cold water, drain well.
Break the cassia into pieces. Heat a casserole on a high heat and add
1 or two tablespoon of oil. Lower the flame and add the cassia,
cardamom and cloves, stir to pop. Add 1/4 teaspoon flat turmeric over
a very low flame. Stir then add the washed and drained rice and raise
flame and fry for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of water and 1/4 cup more,
add a generous teaspoon salt the water should be salty. Cover and cook
for approximately 10 minutes in medium heat or until the rice absorbs
all the liquid. Remove the lid, stir, cover and leave to relax for 10
minutes.
Hot Tips
Get ahead for Easter –
Make sure to order Spring Lamb from your butcher for Easter Sunday
Make a Simnel Cake
Buy some fluffy Easter chicks and speckled eggs and hide them away t0
decorate your Easter treats.
In Season:
Wild garlic has just emerged after the Winter. Use the leaves in green
salads, fluffy mash, wild garlic butter and pasta sauces ……
The Ancient Craft of
Bee-Keeping and producing your own honey
1 Day course at Ballymaloe Cookery School on Saturday 22nd April, 2006
9.30am-5pm
€155. The course will be given by Michael Woulfe and Michael
O’Callaghan of the Federation of Irish Bee Keepers
|