A few weeks ago, we were discussing our family's favorite food and unanimously we arrived at the proverbial "Keerai Molaagootal". This is a dal and spinach concoction, with coconut based masala, a staple of every Palakkad household. In our homes, it gets made atleast twice a week in Spinach season. In the days of the yore (meaning when I wasn't even born or in villages I have never set foot in), apparently, this used to be made with different types of spinach. I have seen only Palak and sometimes Chowli. Regardless, its our favorite comfort food.
Palakkad cuisine is full of such Molagootals. Some people call them Kootan too, but I think Kootan refers to the Sambaar type gravy too. Well, everyone has their own special way of making this thing. Jemmai's was mostly watery and full of the stems of Palak or Chowli. Manni's was the best, thick and yummie, seasoned just right. But of course, its difficult to measure up to Manni's cooking, she was the ultimate in Kerala style cooking. My own mother's always had more spinach than dal and still does. Somehow, mine also ends being the same. Back in the US, this was the best thing to make when you craved home food as spinach is so easily available everywhere. Other types of molagootals are ones made with gourds and root veggies like safed bhopla, yellow bhopla, fresh yellow bhopla (light yellow in color), vallirikkai, dudhi etc. Bhopla means Suran, its actually a Marathi-Hindi word, derived from Mumbai. otherwise, these veggies are elavan, matthan, pachcha matthan, chenai. Molagootal is in every Tam-Brahms blood, I had a friend who lived next to Hema Malini (actress) in Juhu and said only his mom and Hema Malini bought Elavan-Mathan-Chenai-Vayakkai (raw banana) for molagootal from the vegetable seller!! Apparently, Hema Malini still comes to Hyperciti Malad to buy all these veggies on Monday mornings.
One of the best Cabbage Molagootals is Baby Attai's. I still ask her to make that when I go to visit. Somehow, she turns the boring cabbage molagootal into something delicious and spicy, always!
There are other "koyambus" too, like vettal koyambu, thengai aracha koyambu etc. Manni's thengai aracha koyambu is legendary as always.
While my grandmothers were great Palakkad cooks, people like Andheri Chitti and Mahalakshmi Mami, bought the Maharashtrian and North Indian tastes to our food and Jyoti Mami, the exotica (for us mutter paneer was exotica, mind you). Still a big fan of Mahalakshmi mami's ragda pattice and Jyoti Mami's fruit trufle.
Today's children want all continental food. My own daughter will only eat the likes of broccoli, sweet corn, mushrooms, baby corns etc. Sandhya made appams with egg batter (Manni would be turning in her grave at the thought of the appam kaaral being contaminated with egg :D), it was yummie and the kid who normally runs away from appams ate this happily. But, thank goodness for small mercies, Saurav is still a big fan of typical Palakkad food and his favorite is still Keerai Molagootal......
Note: - I went to an Iyengar Tamil house and they called Rasam - Saathamadu...i was like wtf???????
Palakkad cuisine is full of such Molagootals. Some people call them Kootan too, but I think Kootan refers to the Sambaar type gravy too. Well, everyone has their own special way of making this thing. Jemmai's was mostly watery and full of the stems of Palak or Chowli. Manni's was the best, thick and yummie, seasoned just right. But of course, its difficult to measure up to Manni's cooking, she was the ultimate in Kerala style cooking. My own mother's always had more spinach than dal and still does. Somehow, mine also ends being the same. Back in the US, this was the best thing to make when you craved home food as spinach is so easily available everywhere. Other types of molagootals are ones made with gourds and root veggies like safed bhopla, yellow bhopla, fresh yellow bhopla (light yellow in color), vallirikkai, dudhi etc. Bhopla means Suran, its actually a Marathi-Hindi word, derived from Mumbai. otherwise, these veggies are elavan, matthan, pachcha matthan, chenai. Molagootal is in every Tam-Brahms blood, I had a friend who lived next to Hema Malini (actress) in Juhu and said only his mom and Hema Malini bought Elavan-Mathan-Chenai-Vayakkai (raw banana) for molagootal from the vegetable seller!! Apparently, Hema Malini still comes to Hyperciti Malad to buy all these veggies on Monday mornings.
One of the best Cabbage Molagootals is Baby Attai's. I still ask her to make that when I go to visit. Somehow, she turns the boring cabbage molagootal into something delicious and spicy, always!
There are other "koyambus" too, like vettal koyambu, thengai aracha koyambu etc. Manni's thengai aracha koyambu is legendary as always.
While my grandmothers were great Palakkad cooks, people like Andheri Chitti and Mahalakshmi Mami, bought the Maharashtrian and North Indian tastes to our food and Jyoti Mami, the exotica (for us mutter paneer was exotica, mind you). Still a big fan of Mahalakshmi mami's ragda pattice and Jyoti Mami's fruit trufle.
Today's children want all continental food. My own daughter will only eat the likes of broccoli, sweet corn, mushrooms, baby corns etc. Sandhya made appams with egg batter (Manni would be turning in her grave at the thought of the appam kaaral being contaminated with egg :D), it was yummie and the kid who normally runs away from appams ate this happily. But, thank goodness for small mercies, Saurav is still a big fan of typical Palakkad food and his favorite is still Keerai Molagootal......
Note: - I went to an Iyengar Tamil house and they called Rasam - Saathamadu...i was like wtf???????
Aaaahhh..Manni's TengaiAracha Kozhambu was something we looked forward to on Sundays at VG Esp...Appa would want Aviyal ( for which he would instigate Anandhan Chittappa Im sure) but it was fun...for 15 mins..all of us would just shut up..and eat... Esp when the Thai Chaadam part came along...
ReplyDeleteHer Thoghayal's with the Molaghuttals were incredible too!! :'(