The bullrace, a traditional part of the Onam festivities which always draws a crowd of tourists. (Sachin Polassery/Getty)
Onam
One of my very close friends, Rakesh Ravindran Nair, gave me an insight into the significance of Onam and how it is celebrated. The following is what he had to say:
Onam is a Hindu harvest festival celebrated all over Kerala and lasts for over ten days. It is celebrated specifically by Keralites to remember their agrarian past and as a way to thank God for their blessings. The rich cultural heritage of Kerala comes out in its best form and spirit during the festival, and always evokes happy memories as it is an occasion for everyone to return to their ancestral homes, meet friends and family, exchange gifts and have lots of fun and games. For expatriates like me, it is even considered rude and disrespectful to our parents and other family members if we do not make the effort to go back to meet them and take part in the festive activities! Unfortunately, with schools here in England reopening in September, it is not always possible to take children back home to celebrate Onam (if only the English education system realised how important Onam is!). The most important day of the festival is called Thiruvonam and is characterised by a big vegetarian feast or sadya, served on banana leaves.
The bullrace, a traditional part of the Onam festivities which always draws a crowd of tourists. (Sachin Polassery/Getty)
The festival falls during the Malayalam month of Chingam (August to September) and marks the commemoration of Vamana Avatara of Vishnu and the homecoming of the mythical king Mahabali. Mahabali is said to return every year from the underworld to make sure that his subjects are thriving and living happily and he blesses them; a feast is thrown in his honour. I remember that my uncle, who used to live in a village a bit far away, once travelled in a bullock cart (in the late 1970’s) overnight to bring rice and vegetables from his field to our ancestral home to use in the Onam feast! Even though both he and the driver were fast asleep when the cart reached us, the bullocks were wide awake and knew their way! There is even a famous Malayalam proverb ‘kaanam vittum onam unnanam’ which means one must enjoy the Onam feast even if one is forced to sell the last of one’s property or possessions.
Onam is also celebrated through a number of rituals and traditions such as talappanthukali, a ball game for boys and men; vadam vali, a tug of war; pookkalam, in which children lay out floral carpets outside the front door of a house and they grow in size throughout the festival, with more added to the patterns each day; onavillu, a bow-shaped musical instrument which is played to accompany the kummattikali, a famous colourful masked dance, which sees the dancers go from house to house entertaining people and collecting small gifts; thiruvathira kali, a group dance performance by women in a circle around a lamp; kaazhchakkula, the offering of fruits; and onakkodi, the exchange or offering of gifts practiced by the adults as they give gifts to the younger ones.
As well as the rituals mentioned here, Onam is well known for the famous vallam kali, a snake boat race that is held on the River Pampa. One hundred oarsmen row huge and graceful snake boats throughout the day and people come from far and wide to watch them. One of the most iconic rituals is the puli kali, which sees performers painted like tigers and hunters parade and dance through the streets.
Traditionally the eldest member of the family presents gifts and new clothes to the other family members. Clothes are a special part of the festival, with women wearing traditional white saris with a gold border and men wear white dhoti with a golden or colourful border.
My earliest childhood memories of Onam are of the fun and games that I had with all the kids in the family and also from the neighbourhood. Boys usually played talappanthukali and the winner had all the bragging rights in front of girls. The girls used to collect flowers from the garden for pookkalam or played hide and seek. Both boys and girls took turns at the swing and the competition was always to see who could go the highest. For the kids, these were the next best thing to receiving gifts from the elders. These days, with the advances made in international tourism, you often see foreigners taking part in the festivities. I once saw an English lady, very efficiently, taking part in thiruvathira kali with the local ladies and also a rather large American gentleman playing the part of an overweight tiger in puli kali!
The Onam sadya (or feast) consists of rice and around twenty to thirty different accompaniments or dishes served in a particular sequence on a banana leaf and consumed in a specific order using lentil based dishes to begin with, and yoghurt based dishes to finish the meal. They can be broadly classified into eight types of dishes (fries, pickles or chutneys, stir-fries, stews, starch, lentils, soups and desserts). Water served with the meal is usually simmered with cumin, dried ginger or the bark of an acacia tree. The banana leaf is first placed in front of a person so that the tapering end always points to the left side. The sadya is served from the top left corner of the leaf and then continues to the upper half of the leaf, leaving the lower half for rice and a few fried accompaniments. Traditionally, the Onam sadya is served in at least eight courses. It starts with parippu served on rice followed by sambar and rasam, served with more rice. Then comes the dessert course of payasam followed by at least two pradhamans. Rice makes an appearance again and this time is served with pulissery and then sambaram. All the accompaniments are replenished throughout the meal.
A performer displays his painted body in preparation of the Puli Kali, the ‘play of the tigers’. (Subhendu Sarkar/LightRocket via Getty)
Sambar
Tamil Spiced Lentil Broth
Much like kheer, or aloo gobhi, Sambar is a dish made all over the country and everyone has their own recipe for it. And the most contentious thing is that no two people can agree which recipe is better, let alone the best. This is Rakesh Nair’s recipe, made by his family for Onam. It includes drumstick (also known as moringa or moringakkai), a vegetable available from south Indian shops.
Serves 6
150g toor dal
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 shallots, quartered
100g French beans, cut into 2.5cm pieces
2 carrots, diced into 2.5cm cubes
2 baby aubergines, quartered
1 drumstick, peeled and cut into 2.5cm pieces (optional)
50ml tamarind pulp
2 tomatoes, quartered
For the sambar masala
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon chana dal
6 whole dried red chillies
1½ teaspoons peppercorns
2 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
For the tempering
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
4 whole dried red chillies
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Wash the toor dal lentils in cold running water, then place in a pan with the turmeric and salt. Add 750ml of water, bring to the boil, then simmer until completely mushy. Remove from the heat and set aside (there is no need to drain).
Prepare the sambar masala by dry roasting all the ingredients in a frying pan until they start to release their flavour. Grind them to a fine powder using a blender or food processor.
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the shallots and sauté for a couple of minutes. Now add the remaining vegetables and sauté for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 1½ tablespoons of the spice mix and the tamarind pulp. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add this to the cooked lentils and stir well. Add the tomatoes and more water, if required, to adjust the consistency, which should be like a dal, i.e. a thick soup that can be poured, with chunks of vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the mustard seeds and when they crackle add the whole chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves. Stir for 30 seconds as the spices splutter, then immediately pour it over the sambar and mix well.
Clockwise from top left:
Sambaram; Pritvichakka Pachadi; Sanku Khichadi; Puliyinchi; Pulissery; Narial Laddoo; Manga Chammanthi; Puliyinchi
Masala Dosa
South Indian Pancake with Spiced Potato Filling
Dosa pancakes are served as breakfast, as a snack or as a main meal at any time of the day and all over the country. Several good Asian stores now sell ready-made packs of batter, saving both time and the mess. The same applies to grating coconut from the shell, which is time consuming and can be messy – frozen grated coconut is also becoming increasingly easy to find these days.
Serves 6 (should make 10 pieces but allow for wastage as spreading a dosa can be tricky!)
For the rice pancake
50g split urad dal
150g basmati or dosa rice (parboiled rice is available in most speciality ingredient stores)
1 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil, for frying
For the spiced potato filling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 sprigs of fresh curry leaves (optional)
2 red onions, chopped
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2.5cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
1½ teaspoons salt
2 large potatoes, boiled in the skin, peeled and grated
To make the pancake batter, soak the rice and the dal together in water for at least for 3 hours. Drain and blend together in a food processor to a fine paste, adding enough water to make a smooth, spoonable mixture. Leave overnight to ferment in a warm place (about 35–40°C). The dosa batter is ready when bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the batter.
To make the filling, heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and let them crackle and pop for 30 seconds. Add the curry leaves and onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the turmeric, chillies and ginger and sauté for 1 minute. Add the salt and the grated potatoes and mix well. Set aside at room temperature.
To make pancakes, add the salt to the batter and mix well.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, smear the base with a few drops of oil and pour in a small ladleful of batter (approximately 60ml). Using the ladle, spread it out into a thin circular pancake. The thinner the pancake, the crispier it gets, but this needs some practice. Drizzle a few drops of oil over the top while the pancake cooks. Normally dosas are cooked on one side only; however, if yours are thicker, it’s okay to cook on both sides.
When crisp and golden, spoon approximately 50g of the filling into the centre of the pancake and fold the pancake over. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling. Enjoy with the Onam chutneys that appear later in this chapter.
Pritvichakka Pachadi
Pineapple and Yoghurt Relish
This is a lovely, fresh and fruity addition to the sadya (a grand feast, usually vegetarian, served on special occasions), bringing the meal to life with its clean taste. Think of this as a cooked pineapple raita – it could make an interesting addition to your lunchtime wrap too.
Serves 4
35g grated fresh coconut
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 pineapple, diced into 1cm cubes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
15g jaggery or palm sugar
215ml plain yoghurt
For the tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 whole dried red chillies
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Grind the coconut, cumin seeds and mustard seeds to a fine paste using a little water and set aside.
Place the pineapple in a pan with the salt, turmeric and jaggery and 500ml of water and cook over a medium heat for about 30 minutes until soft. Reduce the heat to low, add the ground coconut paste and cook for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes dry again. Add the yoghurt, mix well and remove from the heat (do not let the yoghurt boil).
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and when they splutter, add the red chillies and curry leaves. Pour the mixture over the pachadi.
Sanku Khichadi
Beetroot and Yoghurt Relish
Even though its name labels this recipe a kichadi, this accompaniment is more like a pachadi or tempered yoghurt. The brilliant beetroot colour adds drama to the feast, and it’s unlike anything else you may have come across.
Serves 4
35g freshly grated coconut
2 shallots, sliced
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 raw beetroot, peeled and grated
4 green chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds, crushed
215g plain yoghurt
For the tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 dried whole red chillies
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Grind together the coconut, shallots and cumin seeds to a smooth paste, adding 2 tablespoons of water.
Cook the beetroot in a pan with the green chillies, salt and 2 tablespoons of water, covered, over a low heat for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the coconut paste and the mustard seeds and mix well. Remove from the heat and stir in the yoghurt.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a frying pan, Add the mustard seeds followed by red chillies and curry leaves. When they splutter, add to the kichadi and keep covered. Serve warm or at room temperature with rice, or chill it down and serve like a raita with kebabs.
Left: Cabbage Thoran
Middle: Koottukari
Right: Masala Dosa and Manga Chammanthi
Rasam
Spiced Tomato and Tamarind Soup
This hot, peppery soup from Kerala has travelled well to all parts of the world. In many hotels you will be served a refined version of the soup, i.e. strained to remove any whole spices, tomato skins and seeds, but at most events and in most homes the soup is served straight up with rice.
Serves 4
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
12 tomatoes, cut into quarters
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaves
For the tempering
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 whole dried red chillies
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Crush the garlic, coriander seeds, peppercorns and cumin seeds together using a mortar and pestle.
Heat the oil in a pan, add the crushed spices and curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute until they release their flavour. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder and salt and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the tamarind pulp and 600ml of water and simmer for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes are completely cooked. Sprinkle in the coriander leaves.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a pan, add the red chillies and mustard seeds followed by the curry leaves and let them crackle. Plunge it into the hot soup and leave the soup covered with a lid until ready to serve.
Pulissery
Yoghurt and Coconut Gravy
Think of this as a warm yoghurt and coconut kadhi, except this isn’t boiled for as long which results in a much lighter taste and cleaner flavours.
Serves 4
35g freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 shallot, sliced
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
430ml natural yoghurt
For the tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
Grind together the coconut, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds, shallot and turmeric into a smooth paste, adding a little water if required. Mix it with the yoghurt and set aside. If the mixture is too thick, or isn’t smooth, add a little water to thin it down.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. When they start spluttering, add the yoghurt and coconut mixture to the pan and cook over a low heat, stirring continuously, until the yoghurt is warm. Keep it warm for another couple of minutes, then remove it from the heat. Note: never allow the sauce to boil or it will curdle.
Serve warm, in a bowl, as part of the meal.
Puliyinchi
Sweet and Sour Ginger Chutney
This is a wonderfully spicy ginger chutney that lifts the entire meal in a tiny lick. Sweet, sour, warm and deep, it’s a great one to have in your fridge for a rainy day in the UK.
Serves 4
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
7.5cm piece of ginger, sliced
½ teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 green chillies, halved lengthwise
5 fresh curry leaves
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
40g jaggery or molasses sugar, dissolved in 3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the sliced ginger and fry until golden brown and crisp. Drain the ginger and let it cool, then pound to a coarse powder.
Using the same oil, add the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to the pan and when they begin to crackle, add the green chillies and curry leaves. Add the ground ginger and red chilli powder and stir until the oil separates. Add the tamarind, the dissolved jaggery and salt and cook until the oil comes up on top. Remove from the heat and let the chutney cool before serving.
Manga Chammanthi
Green Mango and Coconut Chutney
I love the freshness, acidity and sourness from green mangoes that add another dimension to an otherwise rich coconut chutney. It is a brilliant accompaniment to most grilled fish.
Serves 8
3 green mangoes, peeled, deseeded and diced
70g freshly grated coconut
1 shallot, sliced
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a smooth, thick paste, adding a little water (up to 3 tablespoons) if required. Refrigerate and serve with grilled seafood. This can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Parippu
Curried Moong Lentils with Coconut
This is the equivalent of dal in any other north Indian meal or feast, but here the lentils are first roasted and then cooked. This gives an extra depth of flavour and nuttiness to the lentils.
Serves 4 as an accompaniment
100g yellow moong lentils
35g freshly grated coconut
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 green chillies
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ghee (optional)
For the tempering
2 tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies
2 large shallots, chopped
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Dry roast the moong lentils in a frying pan over a medium heat until they are lightly coloured.
Grind together the coconut, cumin seeds, green chillies and turmeric with 1 tablespoon water to a smooth paste.
Rinse the lentils in water, then place in a pan with 950ml of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes until slightly mushy. Add the ground paste and salt to the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add more hot water if required. Once cooked remove from the heat and set aside.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add the red chillies, shallots and curry leaves and fry until the shallots become golden brown. Pour over the cooked lentils and serve with rice.
If you wish, drizzle a teaspoon of ghee over the lentils just before serving to improve the taste even further.
Koottukari
Pumpkin, Gourd and Chickpea Curry
This is another one of the complex vegetarian combination dishes that form part of the Onam sadya.
Serves 4
100g black chickpeas, soaked overnight in water (available in Indian grocery stores)
1 teaspoon salt
70g freshly grated coconut
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black peppercorns
150g elephant yam, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes (alternatively, use potato)
150g ash gourd, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes (alternatively, use bottle gourd [doodhi] or cucumber)
150g red pumpkin, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
For the tempering
3 tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
35g freshly grated coconut
Drain the soaked chickpeas and place in a pan. Add 1.2 litres of water and a pinch of the salt, bring to the boil and boil for 45 minutes or until soft.
Grind together the coconut, cumin seeds and peppercorns. Set aside.
Place the yam, gourd and pumpkin with the turmeric, chilli powder and remaining salt in a pan with 235ml of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes until tender. Add the chickpeas and their cooking liquid, followed by the ground coconut, and cook for another 5 minutes over a low heat. Remove from the heat.
To prepare the tempering, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and when they crackle, add the curry leaves and coconut and stir until the coconut becomes golden brown. Add it to the koottukari, mix it in and serve.
Cabbage Thoran
Cabbage and Coconut Stir Fry
This is yet another of those easy, quick and simple dishes that is both great looking and great tasting. What’s more, it is very good for you.
Serves 4
3 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
½ teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
3 dried red chillies
10 fresh curry leaves
3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ white cabbage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
50g fresh or frozen grated coconut
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and crushed
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the mustard seeds and when they crackle, add the red chillies and curry leaves and fry over a medium heat until the chillies change colour and become darker. Add the green chillies and onion and sauté until the onion becomes translucent. Now add the turmeric, cabbage and salt and stir well. Cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is cooked.
Stir in the grated coconut and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Serve hot as an accompaniment.
Avial
Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Curry
As you will probably see, this is a feast of vegetables, served as an accompaniment. If you can’t find snake gourd or elephant yam, feel free to use more of the other vegetables.
Serves 4
100g carrots, cut into batons 5cm long and 1cm wide
100g cluster beans or French beans, trimmed
100g elephant yam (optional), peeled and cut batons 5cm long and 1cm wide
100g snake gourd, scraped and cut into batons 5cm long and 1cm wide
½ cucumber, peeled and cut into batons 5cm long and 1cm wide, seeds removed
1 green plantain peeled and cut batons 5cm long and 1cm wide
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
70g grated coconut, fresh or frozen
4 green chillies
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
100ml plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
Place all the vegetables in a pan with the turmeric, salt and 120ml of water, cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they are 50 per cent cooked. (Avial is traditionally a mishmash of vegetables and not all of them are expected to retain their shape after cooking.)
Grind the coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds into a coarse paste using a little water.
Add the ground paste to the pan and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes over a low heat. Add the curry leaves and yoghurt, mix gently and cook for another couple of minutes until the vegetables are well cooked but not mashed. Drizzle the coconut oil on top and keep covered until ready to serve.
Sambaram
Chilled Curry Leaf and Ginger Yoghurt Drink
Don’t be fooled by the name – this isn’t anything like sambar! This is rather like a very thin lassi or chaas – a thin yoghurt drink infused with curry leaves, chilli and ginger. In Rajasthan, they temper the drink with asafoetida, ginger and chilli, but this Keralan version is simply infused, chilled and served.
Serves 4
650ml low-fat plain yoghurt, stirred
475ml chilled water
1 green chilli
1 shallot, diced
1 sprig of fresh curry leaves
1cm piece of ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
Whisk the yoghurt with the water. Crush together the green chilli, shallot, curry leaves, ginger and salt and add to the yoghurt. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Strain and serve chilled.
Payasam
Kerala Rice Pudding
Much like the revered kheer in Bengal or the rest of northern India, this Keralan version uses raw red rice instead of basmati and a mixture of milk and water rather than just milk. In essence though, you can see how similar it is to the alternative version offered at other feasts and celebrations.
Serves 4
50g raw red rice, washed and soaked in water for around 20 minutes
710ml whole milk
½ teaspoon green cardamom powder
150g sugar
1 tablespoon ghee
1 tablespoon cashew nuts
1 tablespoon raisins
1 tablespoon dried coconut, diced into 5mm cubes
Drain the rice and place in a pan. Add half the milk and 175ml of water and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice is cooked. Now add the remaining milk and another 175ml of water and continue to simmer until you get the consistency of a rice pudding. Stir in the cardamom and sugar and allow it to dissolve completely. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat the ghee in a small frying pan, add the cashew nuts, raisins and coconut and fry until golden brown. Add it to payasam and mix well.
Payasam is traditionally served hot, but it also tastes just as good served chilled.
Narial Laddoo
Coconut Laddoo
In Kerala, any excuse to use up a bit of coconut is always welcome. Of all laddoos in the world, these are probably the easiest ones to make, so go for it!
Makes 36–40 small laddoos suitable for petits fours
200g coarse semolina
50g desiccated coconut
300g grated fresh coconut
400g sweetened condensed milk
50g caster sugar (optional)
½ teaspoon green cardamom seeds (pods removed and discarded, seeds crushed)
Roast the semolina in a dry pan over a medium heat, constantly stirring until it starts turning first golden and then light brown. Remove from the heat and set aside. In the same pan, toast the desiccated coconut and keep aside.
Add the grated fresh coconut to the semolina and allow the mixture to cool down.
Add the caster sugar, if using, to the cooled mixture, then add three-quarters of the condensed milk and mix well. If the mixture is not too wet to be shaped, add the remaining condensed milk. Add the ground green cardamom and mix well.
Make small balls of the mixture by taking a teaspoon of the mixture and rolling between your palms, then place on a plate.
Roll the balls in the toasted desiccated coconut. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes until chilled and set, then serve.
Kalan
Plantain Curry
Kalan takes its name from the Hindi word kela, or banana. Kerala loves its plantains as well as its coconut. Plantains are used extensively and pretty much every part of the tree is used – the leaves used as plates, the raw fruit in curries, as a snack in the form of plantain chips both sweet and savoury, and the ripe bananas used for dessert in payasams, or fritters.
Serves 4 as an accompaniment
2 green plantains, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
3 green chillies, chopped
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
70g freshly grated coconut
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
650ml thick plain yoghurt
For the tempering
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 whole dried red chillies
a sprig of fresh curry leaves
Place the plantains in a pan with the green chillies, pepper, turmeric and salt with 235ml of water. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the plantain is tender and cooked, and most of the water absorbed. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Grind the coconut with the cumin seeds with 3 tablespoons of water to a smooth paste, then mix with the yoghurt. Add to the pan containing the cooked plantain and mix together. Simmer, stirring continuously, for about 5 minutes until it thickens. Remove from the heat.
Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the fenugreek seeds, red chillies and curry leaves, let them splutter for 30 seconds or so then pour the mixture over the kalan and mix well.
Muslims gather for prayers at Jama Masjid at Eid al-Adha. (Money Sharma/AFP/Getty)
