Mrs Palanganda Kamy Thimmaiah’s culinary skills are legendary in her family circles. Having lived in the Andaman islands for a long time and later in Madras, she has been able to assimilate the best culinary traditions of those areas.

“Kamy Aunty’s mutton chops curry” is much talked about in the family circles of her nine sisters and one brother.

In typical Coorg mutton chops curry, coconut is used in the preparation. “Because of my long stay in Madras, I avoided using coconut. I sort of improvised by combining the styles of both Coorg and Madras,” says Kamy Thimmaiah.

 Ingredients:

Mutton – 1 kg ,
Chilli powder -1tsp ,
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp ,
Salt to taste .
One sliced onion ,
One sliced tomato ,
3 to 4 flakes of garlic crushed ,
small piece of ginger crushed

Method:

First wash and clean the mutton with little salt and turmeric powder well. Then marinate the mutton with the above ingredients for about half an hour. Pressure cook the mutton along with all other ingredients adding 1½ cup water.

Ingredients to grind:

1 ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp jeera, ½ tsp coriander seeds should be roasted on the thava separately.
1 “ Cinnamon, 2 to 3 cloves, ) into dark brown in colour
3 to 4 flakes of garlic ,
a small piece of ginger ,
grind all these into fine paste.
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves ,

Ingredients for seasoning:

2-3 tsp oil ,
1 piece cinnamon ,
2 cloves ,
2 onions sliced ,
1 medium size tomatoes chopped ,
½ tsp ginger paste ,
½ tsp Garlic paste ,
2 green chills / ½ tsp chill powder (optional) .
½ tsp chopped coriander leaves ,

Method:

Pour oil into a deep pan/ heavy bottom vessel and heat it .
Add 1 cinnamon, 2 cloves, 2 to 3 pods of garlic and cook till it starts to change colour .
Add 2 sliced onions (cut into fairly big pieces), sauté till golden
brown .
Add the chopped tomatoes and fry well ,
Add the ground masala into this and fry till the oil floats on top of the masala .
Lastly, add the pressure cooked Mutton into this and continue to cook
on medium flame, stirring from time to time. Then add vinegar/ Kachumpuli/tamarind juice. Let it cook till you get a fine aroma .
If you want dry fry, do not add water .
If you want to have more gravy, add 1½ cup of water .
Finally, add coriander leaves. Now, switch off the stove and close the lid.
Goes well with plain or ghee rice.

Chekkera Jayanthi Thimmaiah

Benne Kadambuttu (steamed butter dumpling)

Unlike the regular Kadambuttu (steamed rice dumpling) made out of rice rava or rice bits, Benne Kadambuttu is made of whole rice.

Ingredients:

250 gms rice
500 ml water
salt to taste
1 teaspoon ghee

Method:

Soak rice for about 5-6 hrs. Then grind it into a smooth paste adding water little at a time from the measured quantity of water. After it is ground, add rest of the water, add salt and a tsp of ghee and keep it on the stove and let it boil. Keep on stirring till it gets thicker. When it becomes thick, keep it on a low flame for about 15 minutes and stir once in a while till the water evaporates. While mixture is still hot, roll it into round balls with little butter smeared into both palms. After it is done, in a steamer (Shakala), spread a wet muslin cloth and arrange the balls on the cloth. Close the lid of the steamer tightly and steam for one hour.

Benne Kadambuttu goes well with pork, chicken or mutton curry.
It can be eaten with chutney also.

Mapangada Shilpa Belliappa

Madd Kulu (rice)

It is that time of the year in Kodagu (Coorg) when the local people relish Madd puttu, a sweet dish, made out of medicinal leaves called Madd Toppu (Justicia Wynaadensis Heyne of the Acanthaeceae family).
On the 18th day of the Kodava month of “Kakkada”, the leaves are supposed to contain 18 varieties of herbal medicine. One could prepare cakes out of the juice from the leaves or sweet porridge.

Ingredients:

Maddh leaves- 1 big bunch ,
Rice- 1 cup ,
Jaggery- 1/4 kg,
Coconut grated- 3/4th cup,
Cardamom- 3-4 powdered,
Milk-1/2 to 1cup (optional),

Method:

Boil leaves in water. (Approximately one to two litres) Strain out the water which should be a deep purple. Boil rice with enough water so that it is slightly overcooked. Use some of the remaining water to make jaggery syrup. Strain and keep aside. Once the rice is cooked, add jaggery syrup, coconut and cardamom and boil a little longer. Do not make it too thick as it thickens a little more once it is completely cool.
Add in a little milk before serving, if desired. Can be eaten hot or cold. Enjoy!

P.S. For the uninitiated- the urine turns a bright orange colour after eating Madd kulu. So no need to panic!

Mukkatira Usha Medappa

Mukkatira Usha Medappa learnt the art of cooking from her mother Manavattira Sharada Mandana. Pumpkin curry goes well with otti (rice roti). Ideally, Usha says the combination is good for breakfast, though not mandatory!

Kumbala (Pumpkin) Curry

Ingredients:

1 Kg Kumbala (yellow pumpkin cut into 1” cubes)
Important to have tender pumpkin or if the skin is tough remove the skin.
4 Tbsp Ground coconut ,
2 Nos. Medium sized onions sliced ,
1 Tbsp Coriander Powder ,
½ Tsp Cumin Powder ,
1 Tsp Red Chili Powder ,
4 Tbsp Cooking Oil ,
4-5 Nos. Peeled Garlic-chopped ,
¼ Tsp Mustard Seeds ,
2 Nos. Red Dried Chilies ,
1 Sprig Curry leaf ,
1-2 Tsp Sugar/Jaggery (depending on sweetness of Pumpkin) ,
½ Tsp Lime juice ,
Salt to taste

Method:

Place oil in Kadai and heat.
Add the mustard seeds let it crackle and add the garlic, curry leaves and red chilies.
The sliced onions are added and fried till transparent.
To this add the ground coconut and the masala powder (coriander and cumin powders) and fry.
Add 2-3 cups water and let it simmer. Now add the pumpkin cubes and allow the pumpkin to cook in the gravy.
Add sugar, salt and chili powder to taste. Allow this to simmer for 2-5 minutes and add half teaspoon lime juice to the gravy.(Optional to add two slit green chilies)
Serve the curry with a dollop of ghee.
To enjoy this Kumbala Curry with Otti ensure the consistency of the gravy is thick.

Mullanda Shubha Vivek

Mullanda Shubha Vivek works for HP and she prefers to cook more of sweet dishes.

Firni

Ingredients:

Milk: 1/2 liter
Condensed milk: 1/2 bowl
Cooked Rice: 1 cup
Grated coconut:1cup
Dry fruits (dry grapes, cashews , badam): half bowl
Sugar: 5 tea spoon
Badam powder: 2 tea spoon
Ghee: 2 tea spoon

Method:

Grind cooked rice and grated coconut with few cashews and keep the mixture aside.
Take cooking bowl, and boil the milk and then add the rice paste and stir it continuously for a while (for about 10 minutes).
Add condensed milk and sugar for taste. Cook it till it turns thick.
Mix badam powder. Stir it for a while. Place it in a plate and keep it in refrigerator.
Serve it chilled with fried dry fruits.

NAREN THIMMAIAH

Chef Naren Thimmaiah has been the face of the iconic Karavalli restaurant of the Taj Gateway Hotel in Bangalore for over a decade. It was a matter of great pride for his mother when she saw her own favorite recipe of Koli Barthad (Coorg Fried Chicken) feature prominently in the menu of Karavalli.

He joined the Taj group of hotels after completing his graduation and subsequent course in hotel management.

Naren holds the distinction of participating in the World Gourmet Summit held at Singapore in the year 2005. The World Gourmet Summit is an internationally acclaimed gastronomic event where only ten chefs from all over the world are invited to present their expertise.

He is popular on TV shows, regular contributor to food and lifestyle magazines and serves on the examination panels of many hotel management institutes.

KOLI BARTHAD (Coorg Fried Chicken)

INGREDIENTS MEASURE

Coriander Seeds 20 gm
Black Pepper Corn 10 gm
Jeera 5 gm
Mustard Seeds 5 gm
Cinnamon 5 gm
Cloves 5 gm
Chicken pieces 500 gm
Onion 150 gm
Garlic 25 gm
Kachampuli (Coorg vinegar) 15 ml
Red chilli powder 1 tea spoon
Salt To taste
Oil 75 ml

METHOD:

1. Broil garam masala ingredients till brown and powder it.

2. Marinate the chicken pieces with salt and 5 gms of Coorg garam masala and set aside for 30 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped garlic and onion and sauté till brown and add Coorg garam masala and red chilli powder.

4. Add the marinated chicken pieces and cook.

5. When it is three fourth done add Kachampuli (Coorg vinegar) and cook till done and dry. Check for seasoning and remove.

6. This tastes better when stored overnight.

Mullanda Sharada Uthaiah

Mullanda Sharada Uthaiah is a home maker. Her hobbies are gardening and cooking.

GINGER CHUTNEY (Inji Pajji)

Ingredients:

1/2 inch piece ginger
6 green chillies
1/2 coconut grated
1/2 bunch coriander leaves
5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 medium size onion

Preparation:

Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste, adding a little water if required. Quantity of salt and green chillies may be varied as per taste.

For Seasoning:

Heat oil for tempering in a pan. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, two dry red chilies in oil till it is golden brown. Remove from heat and mix in ground masala. Serve with rice.