The Hindu : Kerala News : The rare prowess of ethnic cookery

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Thursday, Feb 28, 2008
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Kerala

The rare prowess of ethnic cookery

Sherin Mustafa banks on the culinary traditions of Kozhikode’s Thekkepuram area to churn out innovative dishes.

Sherin Mustafa’s prowess in cookery is founded on the culinary traditions of Kozhikode’s Thekkepuram area.

The women of the area in Kuttichira in the city have time and again hogged the headlines for the unique cookery they are associated with, and now labelled under the exclusive ‘Malabar Muslim cookery’ — the nomenclature for a feast of ‘neichoru,’ ‘pathiri,’ ‘kozhiada,’ ‘unnakkai’ and scores of other dishes. Sherin says women in her family, including her mother Zainabi Noor, are great cooks.

But Sherin has graduated from the traditional slot to cater to tastes of the modern day gourmet. Her ingenuity in combining the ingredients to churn out innovative dishes is amazing.

Sherin was selected from among scores of women as the best cook in a State-level contest of several rounds, held recently. Her expertise in Chinese cuisine in the final round won her the prize.

Her mussel pie for instance that has as its base shredded and sauted shell fish, onions and tomatoes and with topping of steamed macroni and white sauce leaves the food fad amazed.

Another rare dish is a pudding exclusively for the strict vegetarian that has as ingredients grated carrot and vegetable marrow combined with biscuits, condensed milk and desiccated coconut to make a delectable dessert, garnished with walnuts.

Desserts and cakes are Sherin’s forte. She has used her imagination to experiment with all sorts of ingredients to create delicious results.

Sherin conducts classes in cookery and plans to write a book of the recipes she has tried out with a great deal of success.

Maleeha Raghaviah

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