When I step into the Ayesha Manzil, a colonial mansion on the shore of Arabian Sea, at Thalassery in North Malabar, I am struck by the scent of spices.
Soon, I can detect the distinctive aroma of ginger, garlic, curry leaves, green chillies, and half-baked mutton. All this is experienced in the home of Faiza Moosa, wife of C P Moosa, one of the leading exponents of Moplah cooking.
Faiza lives in an old-style colonial mansion, once known as Judges Bungalow. It is among the top 10 homestays in the world according to tourism websites and magazines. The bungalow was constructed in 1862 by Murdoch Brown, an Englishman who came to Thalassery as a trader of the East India company. It was later bought by C P Moosa’s grandfather in 1900.
Inside the kitchen of this grand mansion, Faiza prepares the Irachi Pathiri (mutton stuffed in flour). She asks me to knead maida (flour) in water and prepare the filling using garlic, ginger, chillies,
coriander and onions. Meanwhile, seeing that the meat is tender Faiza shows me how to put the meat mix inside the rolled pathiri .
Moplah food is made by the Muslim women of the Malabar region in Kerala and has a charming history behind it.
Hundreds of years ago, Arabs used to come to the Malabar coast to buy spices and coconuts. Over the course of time, a few Arabs stayed behind, and married the local women. And it was this Arabic influence which has seeped into the local cuisine. Moplah food was the result.
There is a pre-dominance of meat, with lots of beef, in the diet. “But most of the dishes are steamed,” says Faiza. “We don’t use much oil.”
Among the popular dishes are biriyanis, chatti pathiri , rice and fish pathiri (a pathiri is similar to a chapati). Quite a few of the dishes are dry but there are gravy dishes like chena charu (yam with tomato and chillies).
Of course, like any great cuisine, there are sweet dishes. The most popular is muttamala . (It is the yolk of eggs which is cooked in a sugar syrup).
“You have to beat the egg yolk for a long time,” says Faiza. “It is like a jalebi .” And no wedding is complete without having a plate of muttamala .
“According to tradition, the bridegroom and his family are served the muttamala first,” says Faiza. “After that, they are served another dish, which is a porridge called Alisa.”
Alisa is also eaten during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting among the Muslims. “When you eat the porridge, it gives you energy — you can go on for long hours without food.”
Moplah food is a taste that grows on many. Once you’ve tried it, you keep coming back for more.
— sree@expressbuzz.com