Kerala

Bought some books, including this cookbook.

The synogogue is in Fort Kochi, famous for its spice traders. I ended up in some place which looked as though Laboratoire Garnier had decided to trade spice but prices were perfectly reasonable. Prepacked and loose. I can make out Mace, cassia and star anise here. Green cardamom, turmeric, star anise. Dried ginger, clove (?), cinnamon. This is a mixture of Ayurvedic medicinal herbs. Add coconut oil to infuse, and you can then rub it in your scalp for those with grey or thinning hair. Different preparations for different complaints. @sartoric were you asking about something similar when you did your blog in India? I bought a few herbs and spices of varying difficulty to obtain in the UK, including this: Kudam puli, or pot tamarind, a souring agent for Keralan fish curries.

Next morning we made a quick visit to Jew Town in the Fort Kochi suburb. There has apparently been Jewish settlement in Kerala since the second sacking of Jerusalem.

The crab curry was prepared with little gravy. Thoran is usually vegetables stir fried with grated coconut. Mezhukkupuratti is vegetables stir fried without coconut. Pulisheri is a mild, slightly sour yoghurt curry. Only the crab curry was hot (spicy.)

So here we are, back on the Kayal. This backwater network is used for transport, coir production, agriculture, shellfish farming, fishing and is a major draw for the tourism industry. We hired a boat with crew for a few hours and headed out. Not much to do except chat, sip a beer, watch the world go by. We stopped at a waterside fish shop to supplement lunch. We handed over the catch to the galley crew, one man from Nepal and the other from Assam, neither of whom spoke much English nor Malayalam. The tour operator reassured us they could cook in the authentic Malayali tradition. We set off After a while I popped down to see how they were doing. They seemed to be doing alright. Crab Chicken. Prawns skewered on eerkil, the stalks of the leaves of coconut palms. Karimeen fish. Chicken curry Crab curry,cooked almost dry. Crab, Thoran, Mezhukkupuratti, Pulisheri. Banana fritters and masala chai to finish. Bonus pics:

That's a mystery to me, @Duvel !

My pleasure, @TicTac The vegetarian cuisine here is very subtle and nuanced. The nonvegetarian cooking is even more varied, but tends to operate at spicy to hot levels. I appreciate the vegetarian options more now than when I was young.

Sadya is a big subject. It is the meal served at the Onam feast. Onam is Kerala's most important festival. The rules for Sadya are strict and rigid with every dish and its position on the banana leaf prescribed by tradition. There is regional variation, but no variation within the region. I won't pretend to be an expert, and even Malayalis raised in Kerala get it wrong if they are not experienced.

Here is the man of the hour,our little Kailas during his Chorunnu (rice feeding) at Guruvayur. He is having just a dab of each of the servings on his little sadya. Rice, banana, jaggery/payasum, papadom, and 4 vegetable dishes.

I fully intend to cook from it, and to report back! The limiting factor is the real-life audience for my food, who don't like it hot. The family I was born into like Asian food hot. We'll see.

We stayed at the Hotel Gokul Vanamala which is just two minutes walk from the temple at Guruvayur. The town has developed almost solely for the purpose of servicing the temple. The hotel provides only vegetarian food. So, dosa overload! First, a couple of snacks on arrival. Banana fritters in a batter with cumin seeds and turmeric. Vegetable "cutlets." Usually these would be breaded meat patties with potato, onion and spices but here, all veg. Dosa. This was mine, I think. The accompaniments are, clockwise from the top, sambar, chutney and red chammanthi. These are all coconut heavy preparations. The chutney has no resemblance to English chutney what so ever. These side dishes are for dipping, and came with each of the dosas. Masala dosa. Aloo gobi, really North iIndian but welcome to accompany Malabar parotta. This is a lighter, flakier flatbread, composed of strips of pastry pressed together, quite different to the North Indian paratha. Paper roast, or paper dosa. Look at the size! The rice batter is spread over a much larger pan, giving a bigger proportion of crisp, even brittle dosa to the fluffy central portion. Lots of surface area for the Maillard reaction, producing that golden brown delicious crust. Battura, something like a big heavy puri. North Indian again. Apparently very good!

Back in the time line, we are on pilgrimage to Guruvayur Temple. For the duration of the trip, until after the temple, we are vegetarian - a couple of days. It's a long journey so we set off at 5 in the morning, catching breakfast on the road. A friendly lobby cat. Monsoon rains. Sambar at the fore, masala dosa at the rear. Sambar is a savoury vegetable stew: moringa pods, okra, yams, tomatoes, onions. It's an absolute staple in Kerala, to accompany dosa, rice, Idli... Fine for breakfast, lunch or supper. Plain dosa. These were massive. Dosa at home are much smaller. Hotel dosas are made on a larger pan, and crisper, fattier and cruncher. Upma with kadala curry. Kadala= Black chickpeas. Upma. Rice flour with layers of ground coconut, pressure steamed in metal cylinders. In the past we used bamboo stems bound in rope instead of steel. The texture is moist and crumbly, falling apart at the poke of a finger. Three idli: steamed rice flour dumplings. Denser than upma. Fried vada, red and green chammanthi for dipping. The red was a bit spicier, and the green more fresh and vegetal.

I just bought this while in-country. The writer takes a systematic approach to different types of dishes and then variations. He pays attention to regional and communal variations without getting bogged down. The recipes are approachable and the ingredient lists are achievable in any large UK city. There are a few line drawings, but no photographs. I have no idea about the availability of this book abroad. I am so looking forward to cooking from this when I get back to England.

The brand is Chaizup. Rs 10 a packet. We'll be keeping an eye out.

I am sure you are right, @KennethT I share your view of what constitutes a biriyani, but there is a lot of variation in what people think. The duration of the steaming you mention varies tremendously. If you're not pedantic, layered rice with chicken in an appropriately spiced gravy steamed through could be called a biriyani. In any case, it tasted fresh, and 6 hours later my digestive system is reporting no difficulties, so I'm happy. The rice used is a shorter grain than basmati. That's quite a specialist Kerala biriyani choice. Incidentally, no spoon was provided. I had one available in hand luggage. Hand hygiene can be difficult on the train.

I'm going to break continuity for a moment. It's been a busy few days and I will catch up when I have time, but I thought a live report would be fun. I'm on a train journey from Ernakulam/Kochi to Thiruvananthapuram. I've bravely ordered chicken biryani from a vendor on the train. along with an altogether less risky cup of tea. The biriyani is nothing tremendous, but a tasty, hot and filling meal. A chicken wing with the flat and the drumstick, in a biriyani flavoured sauce, with plenty of rice if you are actually hungry. Not photogenic, but for Rs 120, hard to fault. The tea was an instant, powdered tea. The vendor pictured above is carrying hot water in that polished vessel, which we thought would have contained brewed tea. We all agreed it was astonishingly good, with a rich cardamom flavour and aroma we never expected. Not bad, again, for Rs 20.

They were very small, but were gutted and washed before being dredged in seasoning to be fried.

Anchovies, quickly fried.

I'm happy to report the fish seller doesn't carry that on her head door to door! Her cousin drives her around in an auto-rickshaw. My mother bought 2 kg of prawns for Rs 1000, about £10 or $12. Since we were travelling the next day, she froze half of it. The mackerel was just Rs 125 a piece.

Well look who turned up!

Beef ulartthiyathu is small pieces of beef with shallots and coconut pieces, fried and cooked down with ginger and lots of spices to a dark brown, almost black sticky reduction. It's so great that even many Hindus who don't eat beef give it a free pass. No kidding. Only in Kerala!

A quick lunch at the Taj Vivanta in Thiruvananthapuram. Large portions, well prepared. Paratha with mutton ulartthiyathu. Traditionally beef, but no one wants the controversy. Edited just now by Kerala (log) Mango lassi. Nasi goreng. A quick lunch at the Taj Vivanta in Thiruvananthapuram. Large portions, well prepared. The Nasi goreng was nice, not an Indianised version.

Breakfast again. A mild egg curry. Idi appam with a bit of sugar for one of the girls.

But, you know, don't quote me!

Chicken 65 was item number 65 on an apocryphal menu. It was so popular that the recipe lives on long after the restaurant, the chef and the owner are forgotten. Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!