Every cuisine has its association with culture, religion and geographical location. But specific
cooking techniques and practices and eating habits are interconnected to the ingredients available
locally. Kodava cuisine’s use of wild plants and marine animals mixed with traditional Indian spices and fruits which is then cooked, grilled or fried, reflects the culture and historical spirit of Coorg, and this is what makes this cuisine stand out from the others. Here are few recipes from the land of tranquil forests and hills.
Mutton Chops- Coorg Style
Recipe Courtesy: Chef Anjana Shanker
Ingredients
6 -8 lamb (or mutton) chops
½ tsp fresh turmeric (or powder)
1 tsp kaachampuli
½ tsp chili powder
1 tbsp olive oil
Combine turmeric, kaachampuli, olive oil and chili powder in a bowl. Toss the lamb chops and mix to coat the chops and let it marinade for 30 minutes.
Spice for lamb chops:
8 small red pearl onions
8 garlic cloves
½ inch ginger
4 cloves
2 tsp white poppy seeds
1 small cinnamon stick
3 green chilies
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 cardamom pods
¼ cup coconut milk (light)
¼ cup cilantro leaves
Combine and grind to a fine paste.
To cook lamb chops:
Ground spice from above
1 cup of water (or substitute coconut milk)
1 tbsp of Kaachampuli
Cilantro leaves or mint leaves for garnish
Crispy shallots (optional) for garnish
Method
Heat the oil in a cooking pot, add the finely ground spices and cook on low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until aromatic.
Add marinated lamb chops and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 1 cup of water and cook on low heat until almost dry.
Season with salt and cook until the meat is tender. (There should be very little gravy left in the pan). Add kaachampuli and remove from heat.
Granish with crispy shallots, cilantro and mint leaves.
Serve with roasted potatoes or roasted vegetables.
Mutton Pulav: Kodava Style
A richly flavourful dish that will keep you asking for more.
Recipe Courtesy: Smitha Kuttayya Boppanda
Ingredients
½ kg Jeera rice or Chingri akki (a very special variety of small grained rice available in Coorg)
¾ kg mutton pieces (with bones, as bones lend a lot of flavour to the dish)
4 medium onions, whole and peeled
2 onions chopped
½ cup coconut grated
1 whole garlic peeled and cleaned
2 to 3 inches ginger cleaned
4-5 green chillies
5-6 cloves
3”cinnamon
4 whole green cardamom
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
3 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
Salt to taste
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 bunch coriander leaves cleaned and finely chopped
Oil for frying
Method:
- Clean and wash the mutton, drain out all the water, add salt, turmeric, chilli powder and 4 or 5 pods of crushed garlic. Mix well and leave to marinate for about half an hour.
- Wash the rice and drain it.
- Take some oil in a pressure cooker and fry one chopped onion, the crushed garlic, crushed ginger. Fry till the onions are golden. Now put in the mutton and stir till most of the water is dried up. Add half a cup of water and slightly cook the mutton (I cook for about one whistle).
- Now take the ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and heat it. Add 2 cloves, a small bit of cinnamon and about 4 tablespoons of the chopped onions and fry till golden. Add the washed and drained rice and fry. Be very careful while frying the rice as it will be brittle and can break easily.
- While this is happening, put a whole peeled onions (one by one) on the flame of the gas burner directly and allow to burn on slow flame till the outer layers get tender and transparent.
- Now fry the cumin, coriander, poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, green chillies and grated coconut with about 1 tablespoon of oil for about 5 minutes on high flame, stirring continuously.
- Put the fried coconut etc in the blender along with the whole onions. Blend. This need not be a smooth paste, but coarse like a chutney.
- Now drain out the water from the cooked mutton and measure it. Add more water to this measured quantity to make it a total on 2 cups. Bring these 2 cups of liquid to a boil and add it to the fried rice. Add the mutton and the ground masala to it. Carefully stir and add the chopped coriander.
- When it starts boiling, turn the flame to minimum and close with a tight lid. Check in about 8 minutes. Slowly turn the rice and mutton so that the top and bottom layers get mixed. Close again and cook till done. This should be about 20 minutes. (You can also put the vessel on a thava and allow it to cook on even low heat for 30 to 35 minutes)
(If you are short on patience, you can skip steps 5, 6 and 7. Combine all the ingredients in these steps in the blender and use it in step 8. There is a difference in taste but both methods turn out a good Kodava style mutton pulav.)
Serve this with cucumber raitha or sweet tamarind chutney.
Kaad Maangé Curry
Kaad Maange curry has a certain magic that nothing else can match- the sweetness of jaggery, combined with red chillies, and the unique taste of these beguiling mangoes has to be relished.
Recipe Courtesy: Shalini Nanda
Ingredients
1/2 kg wild mangoes (If wild mangoes are not available, try this curry with any mango you like. If the mango is very sweet, add a little tamarind extract to provide the sour element)
2 medium onions, finely sliced
3-4 green chillies, slit
3-4 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder, or to taste
1 tsp mustard seeds
One sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp jaggery, or to taste (add more or less, depending on how sour the mangoes are)
3-4 tbsp oil
Grind together
1 tbsp dark roasted coriander seed
1 tsp dark roasted cumin
1 tsp mustard, roasted until it sputters
A few peppercorns, lightly roasted
Method
Wash the mangoes. Slice off a small section where the stem is attached. Make two cuts on either side of the kernel to make three pieces of each mango. If the mango has an unusually large seed that doesn’t allow for slicing, peel the mango and reserve the skins. Add some water to the collected skins and squeeze out as much juice as you can. Strain and use the liquid in the curry.
Heat the oil in a deep pan, kadhai or wok and sputter the mustard. Put in the garlic and when it begins to brown, add the curry leaves and green chillies. Sauté briefly, then add the onions and fry till they soften and just start to brown.
Add the mangoes, turmeric, chilli powder and the ground roasted spices and stir to mix.
Add 2 cups of hot water (or enough to cover the mangoes) and bring to a boil.
Simmer for 5 minutes, then add salt and cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the mangoes are tender.
Add the jaggery and simmer for a few more minutes. Check the sweet/sour balance.
This is best eaten with steamed rice. Same recipe can be used with Pineapple.
Pork Chops Parangimalu
Recipe Courtesy: Shalini Nanda
Ingredients
4 pork chops
4 – 5 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ground fresh ginger
7 – 8 dried parangi malu (bird’s eye pepper)
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 cup seville orange juice and 2 tbsp palm jaggery (or) 2 tbsp marmalade and 2 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Rub the pork chops with turmeric and salt.
Blend the remaining ingredients together to a smooth paste and marinate the pork chops for at least two hours. (Less if they are thinner cuts).
Remove from the marinade and grill or pan fry on high heat until cooked through.
Sprinkle with crushed parangi malu and serve.
Chekkekuru Pajji (Jackfruit seed chutney)
Ingredients
1/4 kg boiled or roasted jackfruit seeds, peeled and lightly pounded
1 cup grated coconut
1 small onion
Green chillis to taste, preferably parangi malu (kanthari chilli or bird’s eye pepper)
Method
Grind the above ingredients together.
Add salt and a squeeze of chorangé (a local variety of citrus) or lemon juice to taste.
Stir to mix and serve with akki otti.
Remember to keep the jackfruit seed mixture coarsely ground for the best result.
To make Akki Otti
Akki roti, a dish made out of rice flour is very simple dish to cook. This dish can be a part of your lunch\dinner and is extremely filling.
Ingredients
3 cups soft, cooked rice (freshly cooked is best but leftover rice is fine too)
1 cup rice flour
Salt to taste
Rice flour for dusting
Method
Combine the ingredients and knead into smooth dough, adding no water if possible. Too much water or flour in the kneading process will make the ottis hard.
Roll or press out balls of dough into 7-8″ rounds.
Heat a heavy griddle and cook the the ottis on medium high for two minutes on one side before flipping. Cook for another two minutes, pressing the edges to seal any cracks that might appear. Flip once again, and using a spatula or clean cloth, press down gently and evenly over the surface to encourage puffing. This can also be done by holding the otti over a direct flame.
Eat right away, or stack in a cloth lined dish until all the ottis are ready.