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A mouthful of Kerala
Photo S. Siva Saravanan
Rare fare At Ketra Fest 2007
There is something irresistible about a big, black, smoky and greasy tava spluttering and sizzling at you. So welcoming, and a harbinger of such treats! And, when Chandran, in a series of smart moves smacks, flips and spins out a f
loating round parotta out of a lump of dough, you know you are in the presence of a master. Though with not nearly as much drama, nearby, aapaa chettis all in a line, yield delicate, lacy aapams.
And a gently steaming puttu-maker makes just that — puttus. We are waiting impatiently to sample some of the traditional ‘sadya’ at Ketra Fest 2007, a Kerala Food Festival organised by the Malayalee Suhruth Sangham.
You can have all your three meals there and snack in between too. Breakfast is aapam, idiappam, ada, unniyappam and so on with a variety of curries.
There is the puttu kadala already mentioned and piping vegetable curry to go with the crumbly, Malabar parathas.
A meen meal
For those who have just skimmed their eyes over the vegetarian bits of the write up, and are fishing around for something more, there is plenty. “Kallumakaya Fry!” squeals one young visitor and joyfully jumps in line to get the delicacy she has not had for ages. These are molluscs, a speciality of the Cannaore, Tellicheri region. Then there is Koonthal that is squid. The menu is long and varied. Njandu, Chemeen, Karimeen (famous in Alleppey; if someone says you have karimeen kann it’s a compliment), duck, pork, beef all simmer and bubble and stew in huge urulis. We stand corrected as we are told that the massive vessels are actually called varappu. Urulis are smaller. Tapioca, bananas, pumpkins and huge cucumbers are cut and prepared for the various kootus, pachadis, aviyal, and so on.
If you are in the mood for a complete meal, a vegetarian meal for Rs. 65 (unlimited) comes with 12 types of curries, two sweet dishes and rice. Remember to ask for the wonderful red rice they serve up in traditional Kerala homes. You can get a non-veg dish of your choice by paying extra. An anxious query about the delectable puli-inji brings a heartening response. It is very much there and is served with the meal, assures K. Kumara Prasad, an organiser. He also tells us how the ratio of puli to the inji depends on which region the puli-inji has been made.
Ketra Fest could just be what you needed for the weekend.
And, if you are the kind who prefers the quiet of your home to the hustle and bustle of a fair, then you could just get whatever it is your heart desires packed and take it home.
A variety of paaysams are also sold by the litre.
Ketra Fest 2007 is on at Sri Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam till October 7, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
PANKAJA SRINIVASAN
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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