A lip-smacking culinary trip to Kumbalangi

Extreme poverty and hunger prevailed in Kumbalangi in the past. People were forced to depend on bamboo rice to survive. Stephen, an elderly resident, recalls swimming across the backwaters to the land on the other side to borrow some rice. However, before he reached home exhausted, the rice was stolen. Stephen cried loudly over the loss and with tears in his eyes, still remembers that incident.

"That area in the middle of the lake is full of silt. On its other side are crabs. There are prawns too," he says, trying to forget the plights of the past.

"We had a sumptuous meal only during the feast and church festival," he adds. "Local dishes 'pachoru' and 'neeru' were indeed nectar for our kids," remembers Stephen.

He represents the old generation of Kumbalangi that dreamed of having a meal of rice and fish curry. Stephen is also a witness to the transformation that Kumbalangi has undergone after it was designated as a tourism village. Unless visitors meet people like Stephen, they will miss the link between the life of the local people and the traditional local cuisine like 'pachoru' and 'erachipidi.'

'Pachoru' and 'neeru'

Shaji Kuruppassery, secretary of Kumbalangi village tourism, informs that 'erachipidi' and 'pachoru' are available in a canteen near Kumbalangi bridge. "However, the canteen opens only in the evening. So for the benefit of tourists, housewives like Lincy will prepare the items during lunch time," he adds.

Shaji's house is opposite the San Jose church. Lincy is his wife. Shaji helps Lincy in the kitchen even as he shares local knowledge. "Kumbalangi Island is 5.5 km across and the residents number around 45,000. Fish and meat are the favourite dishes of the people here. When the Kumbalangi model tourism development society was formed, our cuisine’s fame spread across the world," he says.

"Tourists who reached the place to experience the attractions of the tourism village promoted the local dishes wherever they went," Shaji points out.

He too remembers the tough times he had to face during childhood. "There was poverty all around and the backwater was the only source of livelihood. But now everything is different. Tourism has changed the face of Kumbalangi, ushering in prosperity. When homestays were opened, old traditional dishes of the place acquired a new taste. There is great demand for items like duck roasted on banana leaf, prawns sautéed on leaf, 'chiratta puttu,' liver curry and 'pidi,'" he says.

Meanwhile, Lincy shows how to prepare liver curry. One kg of buffalo liver is finely chopped. Green chilli and ginger paste is applied to the meat, which is then cooked in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes and kept aside.

Dry coconut, garlic, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon bark, coriander powder and turmeric powder are ground together into a masala, which is then applied to the cooked meat. A small pan is taken; onion and dry chillies are sautéed in one spoon oil and added to the meat, stirring thoroughly.

The aroma of the heated dry coconut on meat is indescribable. This liver curry is served on top of 'chiratta puttu,' which is a great combination.

"It was my mother who taught me the preparations. Now I don't need anybody's help to prepare a feast for up to 30 guests," says Lincy. To demonstrate her mastery over cooking, Lincy prepares buffalo meat curry. She applies green chilli and ginger paste to the meat along with salt and cooks it in the pressure cooker. Meanwhile, she cuts onion, shallots, bird's eye chilli and red chilli and sautés these in oil. Turmeric powder, masala powder, clove, cardamom, pepper powder and fennel seeds are then mixed together. This masala is added to the cooked meat and stirred thoroughly for five minutes.

The meat curry is relished in combination with 'pidi,' which is made by steaming a mixture of powdered rice, scraped coconut and salt.

Another traditional item of Kumbalangi is 'pachoru.' It is made by boiling raw rice to which coconut milk is added. Pachoru is eaten along with ‘pani’ made of jaggery. Pachoru presents a beautiful sight and rivals even marble cake.

Duck roasted on leaf

Another tasty dish unique to Kumbalangi is duck or prawns roasted on banana leaves. It is available at Puzhayoram resort located on the banks of the lake at Poopanakunnu. Sergil and his wife Fancy will prepare the dish for guests.

The first step is to clean the prawns and apply masala paste. "Prawns are marinated with a paste of pepper, turmeric, coriander and cloves and cooked in oven for 3 minutes. Some part of the paste should be kept aside earlier. This paste along with a piece of cooked prawn should be ground and applied to the remaining prawns. The prawns have to be kept in a freezer for some time. Prawns are then brought to room temperature, wrapped in banana leaf and shallow fried in oil," explains Sergil.

This dish was improvised by Sergil from Kumbalangi's traditional prawns fry. Its taste depends on the masala combination, cooking and care in frying. Sergil had earlier worked in a ship but had left that job to turn his house into a resort. He invited guests offering them the special dishes of Kumbalangi. The biggest attraction has been the prawn preparation.

Another item in demand is roasted duck. Sergil explains how to make it. "One kg of duck meat is divided into two pieces and marinated with pepper, cloves, curry leaves and coriander powder mixed with olive oil and salt. The meat is then half cooked in a pressure cooker. After taking it out the meat is chopped into fine pieces and kept in freezer. Meanwhile, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder are grinded. Now the meat is taken out and cooked again with this paste and thick coconut milk. It is then covered with banana leaf and shallow fried," says Sergil.

The ideal combination with this dish is potato fry, he adds.

An old adage says that to understand a land, one should taste the local cuisine. This saying is entirely true regarding Kumbalangi.