Every Nair family in Kerala has a sacred grove, its a place where family deities along with ancestral spirits live and if generally pleased and affable bestow the tharavadu (the lineage) with blessings and good fortune. The sacred groves have long fascinated me, its a magical piece of land where snakes, yakshi (banshees), goddesses, tree spirits, all commune and conspire to make your life a fortunate incident or a living hell.  A sacred grove must be protected, no trees are cut here, and life in all forms is allowed to live here, unfettered.

In the grove after a special pooja, prasadam, which has been cooked in a makeshift kitchen in the grove, is offered to gods and then to us to partake. Its a simple Sarkara Payasam, but having been slow cooked in an uruli over a wood fire, its mulled over with the scent of smoke. Chunks of candy sugar, coconut, holy basil, and chethi flowers, generously garnish the prasadam.

Sarkara payasam can be easily made at home, and tastes every bit as good as the payasam of the gods.

Ingredients
1 cup rice
about a cup of jaggery syrup (boil 1 cup jaggery with 3/4 cup water)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup shredded coconut (or chopped fresh coconut)
1 tablespoon clarified butter (optional, vegans can omit this)

Method
1. Wash and cook the rice with 1 1/2 cups water, until its just cooked, but not mushy.
2. Pour the jaggery syrup into the rice and simmer on low heat, until the jaggery is almost absorbed, the mixture would be still wet.
3. Add the grated coconut, give it a good stir and let it cook on sim until most of the liquid is evaporated.
4. Turn off heat, add ghee if using, and keep covered until ready to eat.
5. If desired you can add a chopped banana along with the coconut, gives a nice wholesome taste, I often add one.

Rice Porridge & Jackfruit Curry copyright 2010 eat.write.think

Happy Vishu to all my readers! Vishu this year was a complete success for me, everything went right! My daughter, who’s growing up so fast, not only comprehended what the early morning fuss was about but also appeared to thoroughly enjoy it. The previous evening we made the mandatory trip to the local supermarket and picked up most of the stuff that’s needed to celebrate Vishu in the most authentic way possible. We got Konna Poo, neat bunches, packaged in clear pastic bags with the price tag in place, we got a packet of pre cut sambhar vegetables, also a neat roll of banana leaves, to eat on – that was really our best buy. Perfect leaves, not a tear, no black spots, I have quite a few left over – so tommorow morning I am looking forward to making Elai Ada! Yum!

For any of my readers who are familiar with malayalam do drop by this post Vishu Ashamsagal, very nice write up on vishu celebration 50 years back in a hamlet in Kerala. My own celebration couldn’t be farther from that, no large family, no essentials like nellu, unnakkalari, uruli and so on, no river to run to and take a dip or enjoy the early morning fireworks which are much enjoyed part of vishu day celebrations.

We woke up at 4 am saw a beautiful Kani that I had set up the previous night, did the traditional game of checking the year’s fortunes, some roll a coconut – we tossed a shiny new rupee coin – heads means a great year; tails means the year has its lows, but you get two more chances – its the best of three! My daughter loved this the best

Vishu Kani copyright 2010 eat.write.think

To carry the traditional mood forward, I made Vishu Kanji and Chakka puzhukku for breakfast. I believe ordinary boiled rice is used to make this thick porridge, I didn’t have any so I made some with basmati rice. We had earlier picked up a quarter of a mature (but not ripe) jackfruit. And I spent 40 minutes just to cut, clean and chop it! The women in my family will be horrified, but the time it takes to clean it up is precisely the reason I pass up opportunities to cook with this fruit. All it takes is a practiced hand. If you feel inspired to try this yourself, remember to liberally rub your hands and the knife with some coconut oil (or any oil), unripe jacks release a very sticky gum, as you can see in the pic. below. Now for the recipe,

Right before the kill! copyright 2010 eat.write.think

For the Vishu Kanji (serves 3)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup basmati rice, washed
4 1/2 cups water
1 cup coconut, grated
2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon ghee/clarified butter

Method
1. Cook the basmati, with the water and coconut in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle.
2. Remove from fire, add salt and ghee, mix and serve.

For the Chakka Puzhukku (serves 3 – 4)
Ingredients
1/4 piece of a large mature, unripe jackfruit, pitted & chopped
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup coconut, grated
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 sprigs curry leaf
1 tablespoon coconut oil
salt to taste

Method
1. Boil the chopped jackfruit, with 1/2 cup water, salt, & turmeric. After the first boil, reduce to sim, cover and cook. This should be done in 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Grind the coconut and cumin to a paste using a little water.
3. When the jackfruit appears cooked, add the coconut cumin paste and let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Turn off the flame, garnish with curry leaves and a generous spoonful of coconut oil.

The lunch was also traditional, I couldn’t manage to make all the sadya dishes, but there was sambhar, avial, manga kaalan, thoran & puli inji (a traditional ginger tamarind sweet & sour chutney). I will be posting the puli inji recipe next.

copyright 2010 eat.right.think

I was recently visiting my dad in Madras and he decided to make kali and kootu for breakfast since I had skipped making this dish for Thiruvadurai this year [kali kootu is traditionally made on this day – I am clueless as to why this particular dish and even why this festival is celebrated – but I refuse to google it since I’m a lover of mystery and I like figuring out stuff through various well-informed and ill-informed sources and piece together my own version of celestial events!]

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

In our family, kootu is made using an amazing root vegetable much like Yam that we call Kavathu – its looks quite odd with its skin on [sadly it had been scrubbed before I could take a pic] but once it is peeled and chopped, kavathu reveals its purple hues. Another important ingredient is avarakkai – the larger variety. Our recipe for kavathu kootu is mind-bogglingly simple and delicious.

copyright 2010 eat.write.think

Ingredients

Equal quantities of kavathu, avarakkai and carrots chopped.

a cupful of peas

green chillies to taste

1 cup of grated coconut

a little bit of tamarind soaked

salt to taste

1 teaspoon turmeric

coconut oil

Method

1. Cook the vegetables [drop in the kavathu first, then as they are half cooked the rest] in tamarind water – add salt and turmeric.

2. Meanwhile grind the coconut and green chillies to a fine paste.

3. When the vegetables are done, add the coconut-chilly paste. Let it simmer once. Stir well to combine. Switch off. Pour a little coconut oil on top. Some of my relatives like to splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves in coconut oil on top. That tastes good too.

Now you’ve got to eat this kootu with kali – it’s the most amazing combination of a sweet and spicy meal.

We make kali with coarsely ground wheat instead of rice. I can’t list exact ingredients because I really don’t know – basically what you need to do is dissolve jaggery in water – I guess about half cup powdered jaggery to a cup of flour depending on how sweet the jaggery is – when the water with jaggery starts boiling, add a pinch of salt and add the wheat flour and stir like you would an uppuma…when everything is cooked, stir in some finely cut coconut pieces.

Switch off and enjoy it steaming hot with kootu on the side.

About the author: Nina is a film maker based in Bangalore, India.  She likes to eat and feed her friends; loves animals and a good laugh. To see more about her work visit Elephant Corridor.

In Kerala, like in the rest of the world, for all official purposes the gregorian calender is used. But malayalis always refer to the old solar calender of the malayalam era called the Kollavarsham. The history of this calender is said to date back to around 825 AD and is attributed to Nestorian merchants who had settled down in Kollam (Quilon), though some people also believe that the theologian saint Sankaracharya to be the father of the Kollavarsham. The calender is based on astronomical calculations and corresponds with the cycle of rice harvest in the state, with every month having a cultural or religious significance.

The malayalam month of Karkidakom roughly falls in between July and August of the gregorian calender.  The monsoons are on full swing in this south western coastal belt of India. The 1st of this malayalam month, is Sankranti, when the sun enters a new phase. My dad tells me that that there are four such phases – Karkidakom, Thulaam , Makarom & Médom.

During Karkidakom with the incessant rains beating down the roof stepping outside is out of question, so traditionally this month is spent in rejuvenation of the mind and body. Most Hindu households read the Ramayanam (the epic story of Rama where good wins over evil and the Ramarajya/order is restored in the world), other than that its also an ideal time for Ayurvedic massages & treatments.

Right before the first day of the month households do some spring cleaning and make a great show of chucking out the trash. Now in Malayalam they’d call it something like chétayé kalayuka (throwing out the junk). My dad says Chétta or Jyéshta is the elder brother of Sree Bhagavathy (the goddess of prosperity) – so in the old days after the cleaning session the lady of the house will shut all the doors and windows from inside, throw out the muck and say “chétta purathu, Sree Bhagavathy agathu” (meaning chétta out and in comes Sree Bhagavathy).

Women also traditionally wear the Dasapushpam (10 flowers) in their hair – primarily for its spiritual and physical healing properties. The dasapushpam are a cluster of ten herbs commonly found in Kerala – Karuka, Krishnakranti, Muyal chéviyan, Thriuthali, Chérula, Nilapana, Kayyunnyam, Poovan kurunnila, Mukutti and Uzhinja. My dad was sweet enough to take the pictures and mail me.

A special healing diet is taken during this month called Marunnu Kanji/Karkidaka Kanji (Herbal Soup). These days you get Karkidaka Kanji mix in readymade sachets, but if you happen to be somewhere you can access the ingredients & herbs there’s nothing like making it from scratch. My parents were sweet enough to provide me with all the information and photographs so that I could share this with the rest of you who drop by. Happy Monsoons!

Ingredients
1 teaspoon each of the following herbs: Aashali, Fenugreek, Cardamom, Cumin, Coriander seeds, Aniseed, Dry Ginger, Black Cumin, Nutmeg, Cloves, Varattu Manjal, Uzhinjil, Thazhuthama, Kurunthotti, Karikurinji, Puthirichundu, Changlam piranda, Ayamodakam, Ariyaaru mix
1/2 cup Navarra Rice
2 tablespoons whole mung beans
2 tablespoons broken wheat

1/2 cup fresh cow’s milk
1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon ghee
2 pearl onions/shallots
1 teaspoon salt
Jaggery/Karipetti to taste.

Method
1. Boil the first 4 ingredients in a litre of water.
2. When the rice, beans and wheat appear cooked add the milks. Let simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the salt and jaggery, stir to combine.
4. Heat ghee in a pan and sauté chopped shallots to a golden brown and pour the tempering over the kanji.

I am always amazed at how traditional wisdom is so engineered to embrace our climate and environment, and how integral one is to the other. So maybe you can get hold of a couple of packets of the readymade mix for the next time Karkidakom is around and you feel nostalgic for a great idea on a wet day! Big big thanks to my amma & achan for keeping the tradition alive!