Renowned Chef Joan Nathan Cooks In The Shadow Of The Periyar Tiger Reserve

/ Organikos

 

When we last saw New York Times contributor Joan Nathan she had written a lovely article about the fading tradition of a cuisine in India–exactly the type of story we love to share on this blog, but somehow we failed to.  This time, failure is not an option. We missed her at Cardamom County, but found her now in the New York Times.  She was in our neighborhood, walking our walk and talking our talk:

Kumily, India — One of the best parts of traveling, at least for me, is bringing back a food story, a new ingredient or a recipe. My family journeyed last year from the verdant tea plantations of Munnar down to the Cardamom Hills of Kerala, in southwestern India. Our driver, Janaki Raman, who had proved himself by dodging many a cow on the winding mountain roads, asked whether we might like to go to a local cooking class.

“The instructor is a rickshaw driver who teaches cooking at night,” Mr. Raman said. Game for almost anything, my son and I rode to a residential area abutting Periyar National Park to find a ramshackle house and, on the cement deck outside, a handful of tourists in their 20s peeling carrots and snipping beans.

Kerala cooking is filled with cardamom, pepper, cashew nuts and mangoes, which seem to grow in every backyard. Grated coconut chutney accompanies almost every meal, and every market sells different kinds of graters. The one my fellow classmates and I used was called a cherava, a sharp serrated oval blade firmly attached to the elongated end of a small stool. The method was to sit on the stool holding half a coconut and grate it over the blade in a circular motion.

Thank you Joan Nathan! Read the remainder of the story here.  Her recipe shred in that story is:

Pineapple Curry

By JOAN NATHAN

TOTAL TIME  20 minutes

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 coconut, grated, or 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 3 fresh curry leaves, available online or in specialty shops
  • 1 pineapple, about 1 pound, cut into one-inch chunks
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION

1. Pulse the coconut, turmeric, onion, garlic and cumin seeds in a food processor until finely chopped and combined. Set aside.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and the curry leaves, and let them cook until the mustard seeds pop, about 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add the coconut mixture and 2/3 cup water and cook for about 3 minutes. Then add the pineapple, sugar, salt and another 1/3 cup water, if needed. Continue cooking until the water has almost been absorbed and the pineapple is soft, about 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings to taste and serve with rice.
YIELD  4 to 6 servings

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