Sweet Pazham curry

Long time no post! Trying out Malabar cuisines out here in Chennai is a little difficult, as I do not have the tools & implements required for the purpose, so please bear with me :D

Puttu is one of the main players in a Malayali diet. It is also one of my favorites - along with Kadala(Bengal gram) curry. However if you are a working woman who just slumped into bed at night without remembering to immerse the Bengal grams in water to make them soft, I have a sweet alternative for you here today! Presenting the Pazham-curry for the busy bees ...

Ingredients:

2 Nendran(Kerala) Bananas

Rice powder(Puttu powder would do)

Sugar

Procedure:
Slice the banana into 1 cm thick circles. Add some sugar(2 or more tablespoons depending on how sweet you like it), 3 tablespoons of rice powder, enough water to cover and boil. Lower the flame slightly and let it cook for 10 minutes or so. If your curry is not thick enough, add some more rice powder. When done, the banana would have partly disintegrated into curry. Add some coconut and heat for a minute. If you're like my mom, you may want to add some cardamom powder for flavour, but I like to keep mine simple. Your pazham curry is now ready to eat!

Sweet Pazham curry

Puttu

(I wanted to put a photo of the whole puttu,

but couldn't wait to eat, which is why you see a broken puttu ;) )

Unveiling the master-chef

Be it the locals of the Arabian peninsula, or the Mappilas of Malabar, Muslims love eating. In the Malabar, cooking has developed into an art-form that is perfected by every girl by the time she gets married. The Muslim men are equally adept at appreciation of this art-form. Ask any Mappila man, and he will swear by his mom's 'Thalassery biriyani'. Like much of the rest of her life however, this skill of the Mappila woman has remained behind the veil, gaining her great appreciation and veneration within her family, and almost no recognition outside it. Mappila cuisine is one of the most exotic, and yet, one of the least known, of India's major cuisines.

Like any regional cuisines, Mappilas have also developed a cuisine that makes the best use of locally available ingredients. As such, most dishes are made from various forms and combinations of rice, banana, coconut and egg, besides of course, meat. In addition, the Muslim tradition of using lots of dry fruits can be seen even here.

This is my first post on this blog, and has to come with a confession. I am not a gifted cook. So while my blog may not be used as a Mappila cookery manual, I can promise you enough fun as I post on mistakes I make while stumbling across masterpieces of culinary art.

Check out these photos of food we prepared for this 'Bakri Eid'. Bakri Eid is the festival of sacrifice, where Muslims slaughter an animal in the name of Allah, remembering Abraham(Ibrahim) who had been ready to sacrifice his only son at the behest of God. Bakri Eid was doubly special for us this year, as my cousin-sister had got married only recently, and had come home with our puthiyappila (the 'new groom' - her husband)

Mappila cuisine is notoriously HIGH on cholesterol and sugar. So if you are suffering from diabetes, heart-related ailments, or are over 35-40 years old, please do not prepare any of these dishes for yourselves!

Unnakkai ( yum!)

Kallumakaya narachathu( mussels stuffed with ground rice & masala & deep fried)

Attinde thala ( a whole goat-head - special for the puthiappila :) )