Taste of Kerala
A still from Salt ‘N’ Pepper
Salt N’ Pepper (2011) is perhaps Malayalam cinema’s first film that dishes up all things that Malayalis hold dear about their cuisine. In the first scene the protagonist as a youngster slurps on a tangy piece of tamarind, forgetting his surroundings and transporting viewers back to summer vacations spent gorging on valanpuli.
Then there’s the delectable introduction song, featuring everything from Chemba rice to syrupy palada pardhaman and banana puliseri . And don’t forget the rainbow cake that brought two foodies together on screen.
This love story directed by Aashiq Abu sets tastebuds tingling. Even now, each time you watch the film, you need to tuck into a plate of ‘ thattil kutti dosa .’
Bonding over food
Suleimani in Ustad Hotel
Biryani by the beach, piping hot suleimani and a whole lot of kismath . That’s our takeaway from Ustad Hotel (2012). Scenarist Anjali Menon’s recipe for bridging the generation gap is a touching tale of a grandfather and grandson, who bond over their shared loved for food and cooking. It found a willing director in Anwar Rasheed, who, in turn, created a wholesome movie that’s become a cult favourite. The film also made the Malabar biryani , a hot favourite and suleimani tea an essential ending to every meal.
Love bites
Sai Pallavi in Premam-Stills-Images-Malar-Onlookers Media
Red velvet cake’s the cake that spawned a 1,000 love stories over, well, cake.
Alphonse Putharen’s Premam (2015) tells us that the best way to fall in love is over spongy, creamy red velvet, now ubiquitous in bakeries all over Kerala. In the final segment of the film, the protagonist, George, sheds his gangsta image. He is now a keen baker and runs the posh Café Agape in Kochi. How that happens is still a wonder, for his only prior references to food in the film are stray dialogues on sardine fry and lime juice with kaskas (poppy seeds)! Of course, his future lady love is a fan of his double-layered red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. How sweet!
What’s for lunch?
‘ Ayala porichathundu, Karimeen varuthathundu... ’ — the original food song that makes us long for a homely meal, preferably served on a banana leaf, sadya style. It lists some of Kerala’s favourite lunch-time treats such as ayala (mackerel) fry, deep-fried karimeen (pearl spot), prawn curry flavoured with kokum, avial made with padavalanga (snake gourd) and chewy drumstick, sambar with okra, brined mango and so on, all to be had with fine Cherumani rice. Wash down those spices with a glass of piping hot chukku (dry ginger) water.
Written by Sreekumaran Thampi, tuned by the indomitable MS Viswanathan and sung by LR Easwari, it’s from Venalil Oru Mazha (1979).
Mammootty’s favourite
“Juice, juice, juice, kummattikka juice/Mammokkakku eshtapetta kummattikka juice.” Did you know that superstar Mammootty loves drinking kummattikka (watermelon) juice? Thanks to the sprightly Crispin in Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), now we do! Mahesh, the protagonist, meanwhile, is a fan of the kumbilappam (also known as therali ).
It’s a favourite tea-time snack of Malayalis, right up there with vazhakappam (banana fritters) and vada . It’s essentially jackfruit dumplings wrapped in aromatic vayana (Indian bay leaf) and steamed to perfection, preferably on a wood-fired stove.
Unique unnimadhuram
Okay, unnimadhuram is a figment of Malayali imagination, specifically P Balachandran’s while he was writing the script of Pavithram (1994). The hero, Unni, a sadya chef, burns a sweet dish he is making, and promptly renames it unnimadhuram .
It’s said to have been inspired by a real-life incident, and now unnimadhuram has come to be synonymous with something that’s been made rather unintentionally while setting out to create something else.
Puttu by another name...
Let’s go back in history a bit, back to when settlers were trying to carve fiefdoms by fair means and foul, in Amal Neerad’s period drama, Iyobinte Pusthakam (2014). We learn a few nuggets about the history of two of Kerala’s beloved dishes in the film as well.
In the wilderness of Munnar in the early 1900s, puttu was apparently known as kambanthoori and also arikandi . It’s possibly a reference to how puttu was then steamed in hollowed-out bamboo. Later in the film, Angur Rawther, a businessman from Tamil country, introduces biryani to the locals; biryani that’s been prepared the old way, dum style over coal.
