Have you tried the ‘palooda’ served for iftar?
Palooda and Paalum Pazhavum are just two of the many traditional drinks that are served for iftar
hakira Banu cannot imagine an iftar without homemade palooda. No cousin of falooda, palooda is a popular dish that is part of iftar in Northern Kerala, especially Kannur.
A homecook, Shakira says her mother, who has her roots in Marthandam in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, learned to make the palooda when they were living in Oman. “It is milk cooked with a spoonful of maida, a little sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Finally, it is tempered with shallots and cashewnut fried in ghee. My mother used to prefer peanuts to cashew. Now, with so many kinds of nuts that are easily available, you can use your imagination to garnish the palood.”
After a long day’s fast, a variety of filling drinks are served during iftar in the evening. With the mercury soaring steadily, fruit juice of different kinds are a staple. In addition, Kerala
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jeshi.jeshi@thehindu.co.in
has a plethora of traditional homemade drinks that are made for iftar.
Jugunu Thajudheen, a resident of Kochi who hails from Kannur, says the advantage of these drinks is that they are easy to digest and helps the empty stomach cope with the food that is eaten after a long break.
“Palooda is a commonly made drink in most homes in Kannur for iftar. It is soothing on the stomach and easy to digest. We use cloves and cardamom for the flavour. Finally, I add a dash of rosewater or rose essence. I make it when my grandchildren are home for iftar,” says the septugenarian.
Another traditional drink that Shakira, an experienced homecook, cherishes is palum pazhavum. She says it is a drink that she can have any time of the day. The smaller varieties of yellow banana is mashed and mixed with coconut milk. “And it is sweetened with shavings of palm jaggery. It is a staple in my home. Nowadays, jaggery, sugar and honey are also used. In my opinion, palm jaggery beats all other sweeteners,” maintains Shakira.
Among a wide variety of other traditional homemade drinks are aval (flattened rice) paal and gothambu kachiyathu (a wheat drink).
“Thari kachiyathu is semolina cooked in coconut milk with sugar and cardamom and cloves. It is garnished with cashewnuts, raisins and caramelised shallots. I use only kismis and shallots,” says Jugnu.
Jugnu says vermicelli is also used to make a drink like payasam but coconut milk is used instead of dairy. Other traditional drinks like aval paal and gothambu kachiyathu are also made, she adds.
“For aval paal, yellow banana like njali poovan is mashed and added to coconut milk. Finally, aval is added with sugar to taste and powdered cardamom. It’s very tasty. This is how my umma (mother) used to make it,” says Jugunu. Nowadays YouTubers bring in all kind of variations, Jugnu says. hinly sliced, spicy, and crispy — we are staring at a plateful of potato
kuchi chips that was polished off in no time. The crispy chips with a drizzle of spicy dal podi is delicious and addictive. Lunch at Zodiac restaurant at the newlyopened Fortune Park Tirupur, a member of ITC’s hotel group is a delightful balance of global and local cuisines. Over plates of mutton
chinthamani where diced, mutton fidget along with chopped red chillies, and
kalan milagu perattal (mushrooms tossed in crushed pepper corns) that sets your taste buds on fire, Chef Saravanan Thangarasu talks about curating a locavore menu alongside global cuisines to offer a taste of homegrown flavours.
“I have added a few dishes which we often make at our homes in Kumbakonam. Have you tried the black kavuni arisi sweet pongal? or
Tsweetspicytangy kathirikai gothsu, a perfect side dish for idli, dosa or pongal,” he asks before showing us a platter of freshlypluckedmudakathan, perandai and karpooravalli greens that go into the making of a tangy chutney while the fresh basil is used to make the flavourful chinna vengaya poondu kuzhambhu. “We grow our greens in the kitchen garden. Be it celery, lemongrass, leeks or basil, it’s straight from farm to table,” he explains.
Elaborating on the role of spices, he says they use handpound masalas in the kitchen. “While Chettinad and Kongu cuisines lean towards pepperbased spices,
Karaikudi cuisine uses a lot red chillies. We often make mixed vegetable sambar with locally sourced seasonal vegetables, and on some days we try the Karnataka style sweet sambar with a dash of jaggery for breakfast buffets.”
Chef Saravanan has also experimented with millets, so you will find millet pancakes, kara adai, saamai bisibele bath and many varieties of millet dosas on the menu. “Our multimillet ladoos is prepared by locally sourcing a variety of millets from in and around the Kongu region. We avoid preservatives and replace white sugar with palm
◣ jaggery.” Among starters, we also try prawns tossed in curry leaves paste and crisp baby corn fries that make for crunchy bites.
Something sweet
After a main course of flaky, crisp, and soft lachcha parathas, cheese garlic naans and kaju butter masala, the desserts platter awaits.
There is elaneer payasam,
choco coffee mousse and black kavuni arisi pongal to choose from. Though it looked like sakarai pongal or sweet pongal, it was deep in colour. Chef Saravanan explains, “We are familiar with black kavuni
rice as most homes in and around Tanjore make this dish often. The nutritious rice is packed with antioxidants. We soak the rice overnight and cook it the following morning. Then, we add palm jaggery.”
I scoop out a spoonful of purplish pongal and enjoy the nutty, chewy textures before signing off a satisfying meal.
A meal for two costs ₹2000 plus taxes. Located at Velampalayam Main Rd, Periyar Colony, Velampalayam, Thirumuruganpoondi,
Tirupur. Call 9150089338