Know what's the connection with Malabar's 'muttamala' and Portugal

The people of North Malabar, who love to entertain their guests by serving delicious dishes, take great pride in their muttamala, a sweet delicacy made with the egg yolks. It is widely believed that the unique dish, which melts in your mouth, originated in the Malabar region and is exclusively available here. However, a little research about this unique dish would reveal that the muttamala has its origins in Portugal.

At the convents in Portugal, in the 14th and 15th centuries, egg whites were used to stiffen the vestments of the inmates. With the remaining egg yolks, they made a tasty snack called fios de ovos (egg threads) which is similar to our muttamala. It isn't surprising that the muttamala is extremely popular at the various coastal regions in North Malabar, including Koyilandi where Vasco da Gama had landed, and different parts of Kozhikode like Pantalayani Kollam where the Portuguese lived in huge numbers.

It is also an interesting fact that muttamala is a popular dish in many other countries besides North Malabar and Portugal. In Spain it is called huevo hilado (spun egg) and it is keiran soman (hen’s egg noodle) in Japan. When it reaches Cambodia, the dish becomes vawee. It is known as jala mas (golden net) in Malayasia and foi thong (golden strands) in Indonesia.

However, in North Malabar, muttamala is served along with delicious muttasurkha which is made with the remaining egg whites. Foodies can enjoy a variety of dishes, including muttamala, which are unique to the North Malabar at the ‘Pirishapathiri’ food festival. The food festival conducted as part of the eleventh edition of the ‘Snehasangamam’ will feature special dishes like pancharapatta, thurkkipathiri, ottappam, irachi pathil and many more.

‘Snehasangamam’ is an annual gathering of the differently able people, organized by the members of the campus initiative, in association with Koyilandi NEST (Niarc). The gathering and the food festival would be conducted on 2 - 4 February 2019 at the ground in front of the KDC bank near the NEST, Koyilandi. The event would lighten up the days of lots of differently able people, whose lives have been limited to the wheelchairs inside their homes, with music and other fun activities including a cricket match for the wheel chair bound people.