Be it a simple rice porridge or an exquisite feast, anything made by our mothers and grandmothers are an irresistable and mouth-watering treat. The gastronomical journey of Rejimon P R, sous chef, took nearly a year to complete. He explored and learnt the heirloom recipes from the kitchens of the home chefs across Kerala.
And bringing those interesting and often unheard-of dishes to the culinary plate is Culinary Yathra, a 15-day food festival which is on at the Crowne Plaza.
“The journey was a was a bid to rediscover precious and forgotten gastronomical traditions and unearth some recipes that reverberates within the soul of Kerala. I travelled from Malabar, through Kochi, to the southern-most tip of Travancore, visiting myriad households and local restaurants which celebrated their knowledge and pedigree in the local cuisine.”
The seed of his passionate inspiration was his Grandmother’s recipes. “She painstakingly cooked for the people who flocked to her popular tea-shop, in Vechoor near Vaikom,” explains Rejimon.
Each dish in the menu set by Rejimon has a long back story. “I started my journey from Thalasseri. I visited the famous Mambally Mana, home of the late Mambally Bappu who is acclaimed because he made the first cake in Kerala in the early 1900s, borrowing the British recipe from the Burra-Sahibs in Coorg. While there, I learned some innovative snacks and desserts typical of this region,” he says.
In the menu, for the starters, one can go for Kozhikkal (spiced tapioca fritters similar to French fries) and Kozhukatta kaduku varuthat, (tempered mini rice dumplings). These are recipes shared by Usha Jayaram of Mambally Mana.
From the non-veg starters, the must try dishes are Attirachi niracha pathiri (pan fried wheat dough stuffed with spiced mutton mince) and Ammai niracha kozhi (masala fried whole spring chicken with friend onion, tomato and roasted spices), a recipe shared by Bushra Shamsuddin of Calicut.
“Though we follow the authentic recipes shared by the homemakers, the styling and some improvements are also made to suit the guests,” says executive chef Rajeev Menon.
The piping hot and healthy historical soup ‘Attin bharani soup’ (mutton broth with brain, flambeed with rum) is also a must-taste one.
Exploring the maincourse platter, Pinky Joy’s ‘Muringa kaanthari pork’ (pork cooked with a paste of drumstick skin, green chilli and black pepper) is one of the most interesting. “Pork has plenty of fat content and we all know that drumstick carries a lot of medicinal qualities, too. So cooking the skin of drumstick with pork balances the fat,” explains the chef.
Chandran Pillai’s tea shop, at Kollam, is a much frequented place for its fish curry meals. The fest offers ‘Meen thala curry’ (fish head simmered in cocum and garlic flavoured spicy gravy), and ‘Neendakara njandu curry’ (Ashtamudi mud crab cooked in spicy garlic, ginger and cumin flavoured curry) from Chandran Pillai’s kitchen.
Thenga Chuttaracha kozhi curry (chicken simmered in a roasted coconut and coriander gravy), a recipe of Thressyamma Thomas, Pala, Vanjikkaran tharavu curry (Kuttanadan duck curry with potato, coriander and fennel infused coconut milk) from boat man Thampi Kunju, Kumarakom, Attirachi Vendakka (mutton and ladies finger cooked with roasted onion, tomato and spiced ground coconut), a recipe of Lally Mokkan from Thrissur and Kakka roti (chicken cooked in roasted onion tomato masala with rice dumpling) by Bushra Shamsuddin, are other delectables.
All the main dishes can be accompanied by ‘Nei pathal’, ‘Ari pathiri’, appam, puttu and rice.
To satisfy the cravings of sweet lovers, the fest offers Kaya payasam (ripe banana cooked with jaggery in cardamom infused coconut milk). This is a recipe by Usha Jayaram. Then there is Kunji kalathappam (deep fried sweetened rice pancake), which is by Rajendran of Mambally Mana and the chef’s grandmother’s Ilaneer Kodappan Pradhamam (banana flower cooked in a jaggery sweetened coconut milk)
The a-la-carte fest is on from 7 pm - 11 pm.