KOCHI: With great festive fervour, April brings about a season of celebrations for many religions. It’s a month foodies love. This weekend marks the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, which calls for yet another grand feast. Ramadan food traditions still hold the authentic flavour, with both elders and new-generation foodies cherishing them. From crunchy samosas and soft meat cutlets to the trending haleem, there is a lot to gorge on!
Mymoona Syed Mohammed, a 70-year-old settled in Kochi for over four decades, insists on serving and savouring delicacies prepared at home. This is a custom that she cherishes. “May it be any snack, dessert or main course, everything should be cooked by ourselves,” says Mymoona. “It is a sign of the family’s unity. As we hail from Thalassery, Malabar specials dominate our Ramadan feast table.”
Mymoona adds that she keeps the main course less spicy so as to avoid irritating the stomach lining, as most people would be feasting after a month of religious fasting. Her family feast menu begins with thari kanji made using semolina, followed by appetisers such as sambusa (similar to samosa), chatti pathiri, kaipola, unnakkaya and muttamala.
In the sweet segment, Mymoona’s favourite pick is the Arab Alieesa. “It is prepared by cooking whole husked wheat with coconut milk and meat, and seasoned with fried shallots and ghee,” she explains.
“We can use mutton or chicken meat while whipping the wheat. Aleesa and Haleem can be called sisters as they are prepared similarly, but the latter is spicy. Also, it’s a ritual to make achappam and chukkappam too during the Ramadan days.”
Other highlights include orotti pathiri, adukku pathiri, and neypathiri served with mutton kurma, chicken roast, aadu thala curry, and aadu liver fry.“Thalassery special must-haves at our feasts are kakka rotti made from the dried and ground flour from mussels, kallumakkaya nirach porichath, and muttayappam made using beaten egg and flour. Chemeen appam, where the prawns roast is filled inside the pathiri dough and then steamed, cannot be missed, along with kozhipidi and kunji pathiri,” she says.
Appam-cutlet sandwich, bun nirachathu…
Kochi-based 52-year-old home chef Sajana Jefferson shares some unusual Ramadan food combinations she has witnessed in the suburbs. “One was eating parippu vada by squeezing it inside two vellayappam pieces. The similar cutlet-vellayappam sandwich is another must-try,” she says.
“Bun-nirachathu has minced chicken or beef meat sautéed in mild masalas stuffed into a bun. Served hot, it is delicious and filling.”
She also shares that muttamala, which has been quite popular of late, is believed to be the local version of the Portuguese dish fios de ovos aka jala mas. .Sajana notes feasts are a great time for people to come together. “For Ramadan feast or Iftar parties, our non-Muslim friends also drop in,” she says.
“My children turn the Ramadan feast into their summer hangout, as they get to taste seasonal delicacies like falafel, pazham nirachathu, and other authentic food items with their friends.”
Malappuram native Abida Yosuf is equally excited to celebrate Ramadan with her children and grandchildren for the first time after the pandemic. The 56-year-old homemaker has planned an exhaustive menu.
“Iranipola, chattipathiri and cutlets are popular starters. The favourite bread item savured with non-veg dishes is pathiri. May it be beef, chicken or mutton dishes, pathiri is the best accompaniment,” she says. “Then, of course, there will be the usual biriyani, thenga choru, and mandi rice.”
Payasams are a must for the feast, especially semiya and cherupayar, she adds. “This time I will cook tapioca pudding for my grandchildren. One handful of tapioca is cooked in 500 ml milk. After that, melt 100g of china grass and add to it along with 1/3rd glass of condensed milk. Stir well and add sugar if needed. Set it aside and pour the thickened solution into a bowl and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours. Garnish with some dry fruits and serve!”
Two extremes
For Kasaragod-based food vlogger Mohammed Jamsheed Y (‘Plates of Flavour’), Ramadan memories revolve around distributing homemade snacks and savouring the special gruel at the local mosque.
“The festival is also a time to share and help the needy. There are many who are unable to hold a feast or have food at their house due to financial constraints,” he notes.
“Such people will be given treats at the mosques. So I used to go to the mosque along with snacks and juices prepared by my mother to distribute to the needy.”In Kasaragod, he adds, the specialties are varieties of samosa, phirini, soochi made using semolina and milk, and thari kanji.“Though there are many delicacies like mandi, biryani, mutton and beef main course dishes, for me, the happy food is eating a few neypathal with chicken curry garnished with fried coconut,” says Mohammed.
Sharing his Ramzan diaries, Thiruvananthapuram-based food vlogger Mohammed Muhusin (‘Crumbs on my beard’) says paalaada or thin rice crepes, and orotti with mutton curry for breakfast is “heaven”.
“Mutton curry or kuruma paired with paalaada is the best combination to start your Ramzan food affair in Thiruvananthapuram,” he says.
“Lunch is mostly homemade biriyani with chicken fry, beef varatiyath, beef fry, etc. And come evenings, we visit family members and spend dinner with a menu similar to the breakfast menu with a lot of starters. Kinnathapam is a special Eid delicacy of the capital city. There are many seasonal kinnathappam makers in the Manacaud region. The latest food trend stars are the Hyderabadi Haleem and Arab kunafa.”
Falafel
Ingredients
Chickpeas - 1 cup
Garlic - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Onion (diced) - 1/2 cup
Parsley/cilantro - a bunch
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1/2 tsp
Flour - 1tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Cayenne pepper powder / red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cooking oil - 1/2 cup
Preparation
Mix all the ingredients and blend them well in a food processor or mixer. Pour the mix into a bowl and cover the top with a cling film. Store it in a refrigerator for two hours. Moisture your finger (dip in water) and shape the falafel into balls and fry them for five minutes in hot cooking oil.
Recipe by :
Sheeba La Fleur, home chef, Thiruvananthapuram
Omani Mutton Kabuli Rice
Ingredients:
Mutton 2 kg(with fat)
Oil or ghee 250g
Bay leaves 2
Green cardomom 5
Cinnamon sticks 2
Black cardamom 3
Cloves 8
Black pepper seeds 1 tblspn
Cumin seeds 1 tblspn
Ginger garlic paste 2 tblspn
Black pepper 1 tblspn
Onion 3 ( big)
Hot water 3 ltr
Basmathi rice 1 kg
Raisins 1cup
Garam masala 1 tblspn
Preparation
In a heated pot add 250 g of oil or ghee, add whole spices in the hot oil and fry for a few seconds. Then add the sliced onion and stir until it becomes a light golden brown colour, next, add the mutton pieces. Mix them well then add salt. Cook the mixture on a medium flame for 5 minutes, until the mutton changes its colour.
Then add ginger garlic paste and garam masala. Stir and combine it well. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. Continue to stir. While cooking, add black pepper powder and 2 ltr hot water cover the lid and put on medium flame.
The rice and meat will be cooked in the stock in the hot pot. Once the rice is 90 per cent cooked, splutter the raisins in ghee or oil in another pan, once it’s done, sprinkle it on top of the mutton-rice mixture, mix it well and close. Turn off the heat and serve after five minutes. Serve along with raita.
Recipe by:
Munseena Mohammed, food vlogger and chef, Kasaragod