“Unconditional love came in big helpings of food”

Hazeena Seyad has done serious food lovers a big favour by documenting the cuisine of her community in her difficult-to-put-down book, Ravuthar Recipes

September 28, 2017 02:24 pm | Updated 02:24 pm IST

The Kari Katti Kola urandai is a huge favourite at home. And I was thrilled to see it featured on the cover of a cookbook, titled Ravuthar Recipes. The attractive book design, the art directions and the photography were by Ashik Jaffer-Ali and Sujini Meiyappan, the creative heads at Rock Paper Scissors Studio. They also organised the book launch recently at Zone by the Park.

a panel discussion kickstarted the launch. It was moderated by by Ranjana Singhal of On the Go restaurant along with Shreeya Adka of The French Door and of course, the lady of the day Hazeena Seyad, author of the Ravuthar Recipes .

A largely unfamiliar cuisine to most of us present there and we were all ears as the conversation flowed. As a food blogger who attributes much of her passion for food to family love and enthusiasm, Hazeena’s words resonated deeply. Seyad spoke feelingly about time spent with both her paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather and surrounded by food. She recalled a childhood filled with the memories of a house filled with children where there was no dearth of food at any time of day. Not only were they constantly fed choice delicacies but they were fed in copious quantities. Back then, unconditional love came in big helpings of food. She said she was all of 11 years old when she cooked her first dish. It was a boiled egg encased in minced meat, something like a nargisi kofta.

The decision to launch a book on Ravuthar cuisine happened when Seyad realized that there was no known documentation available for the food that is so special in her community. Her recipes are a result of what she was taught by her mother and that which she learnt from her mother-in-law after getting married at a very young age. Her quest for authentic recipes from other members of the family resulted in a compilation so large that it completely overwhelmed her team who toiled tirelessly with the editing and printing.

As an audience we could not help but be moved by this lovely lady when she spoke about her dynamic mother, uncles and friends who motivated her to pursue her dream in the culinary arts. Her mother Mirzath Begum was there who said even a near accident with boiling hot oil in her grandmother’s kitchen did not dampen Seyad’s love for cooking.

For Seyad food is an extension of the ingredients that are contained in her pantry. She says,”If I want everyone to try my recipes then I should work with the kind of spices and products that are available in all homes”. Though she dabbles in different cuisines, it’s the Ravuthar recipes that she finds gets the maximum likes and comments online.

Seyad’s years of blogging and sharing recipes have earned her an enviable fan following and seeing some of her fans at the launch had her all teary-eyed. Jaishree.S. Santhosh who made it to the venue just in time to get an autographed copy of the book has been her fan for six years. They met for the first time but it seemed like they had been friends forever. “Hazeena’s ginger chicken is a recipe that I keep going back to everytime. Not only does her food turn out great but I look forward to the memories that she shares with every recipe. She is such a vibrant, warm person,” said Santhosh.

The cookbook has a wealth of information. I was reminded of the huge volumes of wonderful cookbooks that my mother had passed on to me and I’m certain that this book of Ravuthar recipes will also be one to pass on to the next generation. The fact that Hazeena spent a great deal of her childhood here in Coimbatore is evident in the fact that the book included a thakkali bajji recipe, which is so typically from these parts!

Just reading the cookbook wasn’t enough, so my cousin Harini and I decided to try out some of the recipes . Between us, we made the Thoda Kari-Raan , the venthaya keeraiyum kaimavum and the red chilly egg fry. They turned out to be delicious and unlike anything we had made before. The ‘pinch of love’ Seyad recommends with every dish you cook is the secret.

The cookbook is versatile. There are many vegetarian recipes in it too as Seyad’s daughter Anisha is a vegetarian. Whether it is every day food, a feast or a home remedy for common illnesses it is wonderful kitchen therapy and great value for money. I just can’t seem to put this one down!

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