I love taking part in cooking courses when travelling, enjoying the finished results and taking recipes home to try again. South Indian food is my favourite Indian regional cuisine, so naturally I wanted to add some Keralan recipes to my inventory. I attended Maria’s Cookery Class in Kochi, Kerala for a few hours, with my two friends Nick and Tali, and I would highly recommend it. Maria and her husband were so warm and inviting, greeting us at their front door and kindly welcoming us inside their residence in Burgher Street. The class started with an overview of the spices and ingredients that we would be using (freshly bought from the market earlier by Maria herself) and as we didn’t eat meat, she tailored the menu to a fish dish and two vegetable dishes. The following recipes are entirely her own (edited by me for clarity), which I thought deserved to be shared with the world.
All the Keralan recipes below make enough for 4 hungry people.
Dhal fry (peas dhal)
The staple dish in Indian cooking – dhal (lentils). Maria’s recipe was the perfect balance between solid and soupy (not too dry but still flavoursome).
For the dhal
250 grams yellow or red split lentils (soak overnight and rinsed the day of use)
Cook in 500g water, with 1 teaspoon of oil and 1/8th teaspoon of turmeric powder, over a medium heat.
For the seasoning
2 tablespoons coconut oil
0.5 teaspoon mustard seeds (preferably black)
0.25 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
0.25 teaspoon salt (or more if needed)
Chopped coriander leaves (garnish)
Heat the oil in the pan, with the mustard seeds. Wait for them to start popping and then remove from heat or turn heat down when popping starts to become less frequent (like popcorn). Add cumin seeds and then fry the shallots and garlic in the oil. Wait until they turn golden brown, turn the flame down low and add the turmeric, chilli and salt. Pour this over the cooked lentils and garnish with coriander leaves.
Chilli Cauliflower
This is a dry dish that can be served alongside naan, roti or paratha. Rice works too!
250g cauliflower, chopped
1 onion, sliced
0.25 tsp chopped ginger (or ginger paste)
0.25 tsp turmeric powder
0.5 tsp crushed chilli or 0.25 tsp chilli powder
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp garlic paste (you can make your own in the blender and freeze large batches – a handy tip Maria showed us)
0.25 tsp mustard seeds
1 tomato
Heat the oil in a pan with the mustard seeds. Wait for them to start popping then add onion and garlic when the popping becomes less frequent. Fry the onions and garlic for two minutes and then add ginger, turmeric, chilli powder, salt, tomatoes and cauliflower. Simmer and cook on a low flame until the cauliflower is soft. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Kerala Fish Curry
250g fish (we had kingfish but any white fish will do)
5 shallots, crushed
1 large onion, chopped
1cm ginger, crushed
2 green chillies, split in half
0.5 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 tsp vinegar
1 cup coconut milk
0.5 cup coconut cream
1 or 2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons of oil
Curry leaves (for the garnish)
Place oil in a pot (preferably a clay pot) with crushed shallots, ginger and chillies. Heat until glossy. Turn the flame down and add turmeric, chilli powder. Mix well. Add tomatoes, vinegar and salt, then pour the coconut milk into the pot and stir until it boils. Add fish when it begins to boil and then cook on a low flame for 5 minutes. Add coconut cream and salt, and heat for a little longer. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot and with basmati rice. Yum!
Book your class by phoning Maria at +91 97468 87454.
The address is: Burgher St, Fort Nagar, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala 682001, India (look for a sign above your head for Maria’s cookery class).