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Tribal tastes to savour
TRIBAL LIFESTYLE has always interested citywallahs. Their food, their dress, their language and their habits are all a source of curiosity to us. Here are two recipes from the tribal areas, which are different and new.
Pandithavalam Kozhi Charu (Tribal speciality)
Ingredients
Country chicken - 1 kg
Potato -2 nos: medium size
Shallots (small onion) -100 grams
Tomato- 150 grams
Garlic- 1pod
Ginger - 10 grams
Pepper -10 corns
Green chillies- 3
Jeera -1 tsp
Fenugreek - ˝ tsp
Chilly powder -3 grams
Turmeric - a pinch
Curry leaves -1 sprig
Tamarind -50 grams
Stock or water
Salt to taste
Oil - 100 ml
Method
Clean and cut the chicken (with skin on) into small pieces and keep aside. Skin and cube the potatoes. Clean and slice the shallots and tomatoes. Crush garlic, ginger, jeera and pepper. Soak the tamarind in 150 ml warm water. Heat oil in a vessel, crackle fenugreek, add curry leaves and green chillies. Add shallots and sauté till it turns golden brown. Add sliced tomatoes, chilly, turmeric powder, crushed garlic, ginger, pepper and jeera and sauté it a little longer. Then add the chicken, potato and salt and fry for some more time. Finally add the tamarind water and the stock. Cover and cook well. Check the seasoning and remove from fire. The gravy should be of a thin consistency. Ideally served with rice.
Green masala grilled mackerel
A grilled speciality this is made in a traditional homemade oven. The marinated fish is wrapped in banana leaf and the edges sealed with spines of coconut leaves. It is then placed in an earthenware fire wood oven on coconut leaf stems to grill. A dry preparation with green masala Kane fish (lady fish) or white Pomfret can be substituted in the place of mackerel.
To prepare 10 portions
Ingredients
Mackerel - 10
Green chilly -15 grams (12-15 nos)
Garlic -10 grams
Ginger - 20 grams
Turmeric powder- 1 gram
Banana leaves for wrapping
Salt to taste
Lime juice of 2 lemons
Clean and wash the fish. Grind green chillies, garlic and ginger to make a fine paste. Add turmeric powder to it.
Method- Apply the prepared green masala, salt and limejuice thoroughly on the fish and marinate for at least an hour. Wrap each fish individually in banana leaves and seal with coconut leaf spines. Grill over on live fire by keeping the fishes on coconut leaf stems kept across the earthenware fire wood oven. To serve, unwrap the leaves and serve with cucumber salad
RAJU PHILIP
(The writer is executive chef at Cardamaom County resort.)
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