After staying with Reeta Gupta’s family and her home in Varanasi I’ve learned to appreciate what it means to stay at what they call a “homestay”. In a previous writing I mentioned how much I felt welcomed into their home with their gracious hospitality. Well… I found something similar here in Kochi, India. Following my intuition in using AirB&B, messaging the hosts with what I’m looking for and relying on previous guests’ feedback on their listings, I feel like I’ve had pretty good success. After spending about 5 weeks in Varanasi and Rishikesh, I wanted to make my way south to the beaches and to experience southern Indian cooking.
There is so much to see and experience here in India and in everything I want to learn in life. My typical way of being when I have traveled is to see as much as I can in the limited about of time I have and that wound up not allowing myself to have enough stillness, to meditate, to write and integrate and to just be with what is… because I was always on the move. I can still feel that way of being in me. India is a HUGE country and there is no way in 60 days I’ll be able to see what my mind thinks I “should” be seeing. I’m contending with myself when I make myself rest and be still while my mind pulls me into life’s grand adventure. Love’s extension knows no limits, only my mind thinks so (Right, Sharon?).
I arrive here at Kochi at Midnight and make the hour drive to Fort Kochi and was greeted by Linda and brought to my really clean room which I have learned to appreciate here in India as things aren’t as clean as we are used to in the USA. I didn’t sleep all that well even though I had A/C. The climate is very different that from where I came from. It’s hot, sticky and humid here with powerful thunderstorms almost daily.
I wake up and get my first cooking lesson from Linda who is a passionate woman in what she is doing to create this homestay here in Fort Kochi. Let’s get something straight first… there aren’t kitchens here with all the sparkly stainless-steel ventilation systems and fancy equipment. People mostly cook on a 2-burner stove run on propane gas and refrigeration is a luxury and not a necessity. The food that is being cooked are for the guests who are staying here, the members of the family and for some of the workers that show up.
Linda is a powerhouse… you know when you stay here who runs the show. She doesn’t stop. From building her own home down the road which is in process, to shopping at the market, to cooking, cleaning the house, caring for her family, her spiritual practices and helping guests find their adventures here in Kerala. She’s well networked in the area with taxi drivers and the local sights to see so people can find their way around and to experience the amazing places here in Kerala. She’s been extending her heart and offerings to me so I can see and experience all the beauty of what Kerala has to offer… and I’ve needed to be intentional to make sure I take the time I need to restore, meditate and write. I’ve been treated so well here and I’m grateful to be welcomed into her home and family.
After being here about a week now… I’m trying to put together a cultural and culinary tour for students at the college. Kerala is one of the spice capitals of the world known for growing turmeric, cardamom, pepper, clove, cinnamon, tamarind, nutmeg, mace, cumin, ginger, curry leaves… Has many pineapple, palm tree, rubber tree and tea plantations. Produces coconut and palm oils. A product called “jaggery” made from sugar cane. A big fishing port and fish farming industry. Kerala makes amazing flower essential oils. Let’s not forget the amazing beauty just a short distance inland from the coast where you can find elephants, tigers, beautiful birds and waterfalls. It really would be a perfect place for a culinary adventure.
I’ve been cooking here every day. Sometimes three meals a day and there sometimes have been multiple items in a single meal. I’ve been documenting things pretty well and transcribing things from my hand-written notebook to electronic format. I want to share with you one (of MANY) of the recipes I’ve loved…
Beef Vindaloo… you will see in the picture that there was a little too much oil for my taste as it is separating on the plate… and that’s how they wanted it here.
Vindaloo… Can use beef, chicken, mutton, pork…
Grind together in blender until smooth
2-3T coconut oil
1T vinegar
1.5T ginger
1.5T garlic
2ea green chili
2T chili powder
1T bl pepper
1T mustard seed – crushed a little
1T garam masala
Brown meat in pan (or not)
add 2 chopped onion
curry leaves
Add ground mixture
Cook in pressure cooker until meat is tender
adjust vinegar – maybe 1T more (or not)
should taste a bit tart depending on your taste.
Don’t forget the salt
Fish (Barracuda) Vindaloo
Fish Masala Spice
Coat ½ kg fish with…
1T chili powder
½ T coriander powder (for hard fish use a little coriander) optional
1t turmeric
1t black pepper
25-30g Shallot,
25-30g ginger, garlic, green chili, curry leaves –
For a total of… 60g total including shallot
Grind together in blender
1-2T coconut oil
1T vinegar
1T ginger
1T garlic
2ea green chili
1 – 1 ½ chili powder
1t bl pepper
1-2t mustard seed – crushed a little
little water to loosen in blender
- Fry fish in pan with hot oil until brown
- In separate pan, reduce ground spice mixture until thick
- Add fried fish and cook breiefly
- Add curry leaves
- Salt to taste
Coconut Fish Curry
Grind in blender…
50g coconut
scant 1t turmeric
2t chili powder
little water to grind smooth
2-3 pieces Kokum – (dried brindleberry) – hydrated in water – USE THE WATER TOO
1-2 green chili
curry leaf
4-5 small shallot pieces
sm piece ginger
Put all into pot and simmer and reduce until proper consistency…
Add cleaned fish and poach until done
Salt to taste
Leave a Reply