Would you like to hear a story? This happened over a couple of decades ago. A dozen girls, studying in high school, gathered at their tuition center at Calicut. Their happy faces indicated that they had no intention of attending tuitions that day. The elder sister of Rahianath, one of the girls in the group,…
Gluten Free
Shallot Rasam – A simple Kerala pouring curry (Vegan + Gluten Free)
At my parents’ home at Calicut, comes a sprightly old lady named Maniyamma. She started to work as our house maid ever since I was 3 or 4 years of age. Though she is probably in her eighties now, she looks more like 50. Short and stocky, with a smiling visage, she even plays with…
Kadgi Chakko – A delicious Konkani side dish (Vegan + Gluten Free)
It is the start of the jackfruit season in India. Everywhere, millions of jackfruit trees are in celebration. While the younger trees bring forth just a few, the ancient matriarchs sometimes produce hundreds, covering their trunks and branches and even a few exposed roots with beautiful fruits. The fruits usually ripen in the months of April…
Kadgi Podi – Tender Jackfruit Chips (V+GF)
There were several jackfruit trees embraced by pepper vines in our land when we bought it more than 8 years ago. To add to their number, my husband planted around 25 different varieties of special, grafted jackfruit plants. To my delight, some of them have started to blossom now. This morning, he brought in a…
Mango Blossom Chutney (Vegan + Gluten Free)
Covering the courtyard of my ancestral home at Thalassery stands a huge old mango tree. Proud and tall, it produces baskets of delicious country papaya mangoes (also called popai ambo in Konkani and kappa manga or ko manga in Malayalam) invariably every year. During the ripening season which coincides with the summer holidays, we children used to run to the base of…
Sweet Khichadi – A traditional teatime snack (Gluten Free)
Whenever I think of Khichadi, all of sudden, I am a little schoolgirl again, transported back to the magical time of childhood. I remember waiting for the long bell to ring at the end of the last period to rush back home, often running at breakneck speed, to see what goodies mother has cooked for…
Collard Dal – A hot and spicy curry (Gluten Free)
Collard greens is one of the perennial leafy vegetables I love most. I only need to step out of our home to gather a handful of crisp, tender collard green leaves for the kitchen. We grow a dozen or so clumps in fully organic fashion. This ensures that we get extra-tasty leaves round the year….
Dudali – A traditional arrowroot dessert (Gluten Free)
In the good old days of my childhood, when fast food was unheard of, pure unadulterated arrowroot powder was freely available in the market. Whenever a person in the family was struck down by illness, especially typhoid or diarrhea, and unable to take solid food, arrowroot powder would promptly be used to make a reviving hot…
Arrowroot Drink (Gluten Free)
Historians believe that mankind has been cultivating and using arrowroot for well over 7000 years. During my childhood, nearly every household in Kerala had a patch of arrowroot and of turmeric. All members of large joint families participated in planting, tending, harvesting and processing of organic produce of the finest quality. Alas, with the change…
Cherry Arrowroot Jam (Vegan + Gluten Free)
This year, the acerola cherry (Barbados cherries / West Indian cherries / Wild Crepe Myrtle cherries / Malpighia Emarginata) bush in our compound bore way too many juicy, red cherries. Even after making squash, syrup, curry and pickles, there were plenty left to spare. My husband brought in some freshly dug arrowroots. Seeing them, an…