‘Kiddu’ – The Fort Kochi Connection

I am a little dated when it comes to the latest slangs my nephews use back in Kerala. One that regularly comes up especially in comments on Facebook pictures is ‘kiddu’, I now understand it is short for ‘kiddilan’. The closest synonym in English will be ‘awesome’, though it barely covers the power of the word. I have been waiting for an opportune moment to use it and today I did.

So let me say it like it should, ‘Lunch at The Fort Kochi Connection was ‘kiddu’. A dash of subtle mallu humor, the aroma of spices and delicious Syrian Christian food…may be I should say ‘Suriyani Christiyani’ to make it even more authentic.

The Rib-Tickling Mocktail Menu

The humor starts with the Mocktail List – the names are typical of mallu humor – Kalipu Machane, Pacha Parishkari, Kumari UDC, Alambu Scene, Oru Jathi Gedi, are some of the names of the mocktails. The mallus will understand the humor, trying to translate it will kill the fun. Even the main menu has some funny names – Grandma’s Country Captain Chicken Curry, Railway Lamb Curry, Achayan Pothularth.

The menu starts with a peep into the history of Kochi and the influence of the Chinese, the English and the Dutch visits over the centuries and the menu is divided under these cuisines. But then why would I go to an authentic mallu restaurant and have Kung Pao Chicken or Shepherd’s Pie or Bitterballen? And so we ordered the Syrian Christian Erachi Cutlet and I bit into childhood memories of my mother making cutlets when I got home from school. The Suriyani Christiyani cutlet is generously spiced, we make minimum use of potato and the meat is well minced. We serve it with fresh onion rings mixed with green chillies and crushed curry leaves, not for us the newfangled ketchup and the sauces.

The next was kappa biriyani (tapioca biriyani) again the ingredients were fresh and perfectly cooked. The kappa had a slight nutty taste and the beef was soft and well cooked, the dish was nicely spiced. We also ordered the Malabari Biriyani which was equally good. I looked around and people on other tables seemed to be smiling and nodding so I am guessing the other dishes found favor as well. I had Nalini giving me good company as I dug into the food, next time I will ask for Tholasie. And before you draw conclusions, Nalini was one of the mocktails.

My advice to non mallus, there are dishes beyond aappam, stew and fish moilee in our repertoire, you know. Go on experiment and your palate will be richer for the experience.

The only drawback with place is parking and with footfalls only going to rise, this is going to be a serious concern in the not so distant future.

You went to a mallu restaurant and didn’t have sea food, you ask? Well, now I have reason to drop in again with foodie friends. I will sum up my experience at The Fort with an older mallu adjective that we used back in the day – Ugran.

Veddi at Windsor

S, B and I went recently to Windsor Pub our once hallowed haunt, till the city fathers played tic, tac, toe and made the roads ‘one way’. Have you wondered what would happen if the authorities realise their ultimate fantasy and turn all our roads to one ways? Scary thought, right?

Anyways, isn’t it odd that you get the best nadaan ‘erachi olathiyathu’ (beef fry) in a pub that has such a fancy propah name, Windsor Pub? I have always been intrigued by the item in the menu card called ‘bad word curry’, I will ask for explanations next time. S loves the ‘veddi erachi’, surely for the taste and also for the fact that he can use the word ‘veddi’, without the fear of achayans looking to see who his companion was. One cannot say ‘veddi erachi’ in Kerala loudly like you can at Windsor for obvious reasons. 

For those who want to have some good food to go with beer here are my recommendations. Try the crab meat balls, and of course ‘veddi erachi’. For the main course, we usually ask for the appams and ‘erachi olathiyathu’ we request the polite stewards to retain some gravy in the beef. It is a great combo, you can also try appams with the pandi curry. We have also tried the non-veg executive lunch, the sausage dishes and fish fingers. For the veggies, the cheese toast is recommended as starters.

Kalpaka, on Kammanahalli Main Road about 100 metres from Nilgiris, is another place that serves near authentic mallu fare at very decent prices. Check out the spicy red fish curry, a speciality of Central Travancore. The morre and Kerala sambhar is pretty good too. Try the meals with the fish curry and the seer fish fry, brilliant. They serve it with avial, cabbage/beans thoran and coconut chamandi, not as good as the one Amachi makes, still good enough. If you are lucky you may get mashed tapioca  as well. However, the erachi olithayathu has always been a disappointment, the meat always falls short. The place doesn’t boast of the best decor so be warned before you take guests for ‘authentic Kerala cuisine’.

Last Sunday I took SK and his colleague V to Karavalli at Taj Gateway. As soon as I met them V said that all through the flight SK was talking about having some good sea food like prawns and shrimps. We ordered meen polichathu (fish cooked in banana leaf) as starters. They loved it, I am not very fond of it for the fact that it is too westernised – appears red and scary but limp when it comes to taste. SK wanted kulcha to go with shrimp curry and the steward looked at me for deliverance. (SK is a confused NRI, born in Africa, studied in UK, worked in South Africa and India. So authentic Indian food for him is kulcha and butter chicken.) I suggested appams, the safest bet and they agreed it was a very good combo. My view of Karavalli is that it is a place with great settings and good variety, with some astronomical prices, but really not worth it.

Coconut Grove is good once a year, for the Onam lunch. Otherwise it is an apology for Kerala cuisine. I have also tried ‘Ravi’s Kitchen’ at Koramangala, pretty decent.

Two things that Bangalore needs is a beach and a good kallu shaap.  

   

‘Morre’ Than Avial and Thoran

The mallu style hotels outside Kerala are not really authentic. Everyone focuses on the avial, morre, sambhar, thoran, fish curry, beef fry, and so on. What about the other dishes that are unique to Kerala?  Some of them have been customised for the mallu palate. (I must place a caveat here that I am no connoisseur on food, I have not tasted Haggis or other exotic dishes. This is my take on naadan food. So please excuse:-))

The first thing that comes to mind on indigenously developed dishes is the Kerala Biriyani that you get in hotels there. I have heard Master Chefs on TV wax eloquent about the importance of presentation, and this biriyani is a classic in that sense. It has rice of three colours, red, yellow and white. It will have the boiled egg placed in the middle for that exquisite touch. Now this is appetising to the eye but it does not stop there, food also has to have the element of surprise. There will be two pieces of chicken or mutton hidden in gravy tucked inside the mound of the colored rice. One has to shovel through to know if you got a piece of the leg or the breast. This is a sure shot way of starting a conversation at the lunch table – ‘I got the leg’ or ‘these guys are cheats, they gave me just a piece of the neck with no meat’. I have had different kinds of biriyani but nothing looks so colourful.

Don’t forget the ‘barotta chaps’ combo, another rare delicacy. This one is another hugely popular item in Kerala. For the non mallus it is chops in a gravy that goes with parottas. Also the mutton ‘ishtew’ with aapams. Among the Chinese dishes we have our own dishes – gobi manchuri and fry (sic) rice, to name a few. How can we forget the food served in the toddy shops? Man, the mussels, the spicy and tangy fish curry that sets your mouth on fire and make you douse it with toddy or the spicy egg roast with barottas. If you are lucky you may get roast egret trapped from the nearest paddy field or frog legs again from the same place of origin.  

Gandhiji was right when he said, ‘The soul of India lives in its villages’. To make it relevant to Kerala, i will take the liberty to tweak it a little and say, ‘The soul of Kerala lies in its shaaps’. Whether it is violent discussions on world politics, or the drunken camaraderie or the tasty food, our heart is where the shaap is.