What we now call the ‘Ayurveda cuisine’ used to be regular dishes for Malayalis. Bamboo rice, tapioca, other tuber crops and ragi were part of the everyday Malayali cuisine. The easy availability of other cook-easy products has diminished the importance of these dietary habits. (In fact, much before chapati and other modern ‘health-conscious’ diets took over our dining tables, many homes used whole wheat, after either grinding or steaming it).
There was a time when families used only what was available in their backyard or farm. Such home-grown vegetables and fruits provided the healthy diet for the working community that Kerala once had. Those were rich in proteins and cooked in such a way as not to lose their nutrients. There was no over-powering flavour of masalas either.
Ragi soup or porridge was a regular fare. Today, though, only the extremely health-conscious eat it on a regular basis. Ragi is sometimes given to kids as well. It is not ideal to buy ragi powder from stores. I prefer buying whole ragi and then powdering it at home. Ragi spinach puttu is ideal for diabetic patients. Since we are using spinach, it is high in fibre too.
Bamboo rice was part of the everyday cuisine of tribal people in the hilly regions of Wayand. During Ramzan fasting, it was cooked in Muslim houses. It is now replaced by broken red rice.
Colocassia is still easily available, yet it is only used rarely. Its stem is hardly ever used. However, colocasia stem curry offers a rich yummy surprise.
As an Ayurvedic food expert, I had to research a lot before I figured out the best diet for one undergoing Ayurveda treatment. This is how I decided to bring back some of the old recipes into our kitchen and give it a healthy twist.
Ragi spinach Puttu
Ingredients:
1½ cup ragi (finger millet) flour
1 cup green spinach
¼ to ½ cup grated coconut
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp crushed cumin:
½ cup water
Method:
Take ragi flour in a bowl. Add chopped spinach, 1/4 tsp of salt and crushed cumin to the bowl. Combine everything.
Sprinkle ½ cup of water little by little and start mixing the ragi flour with your hand. Be careful while adding water. The flour should get wet yet retain a powdery consistency. If you add too much water, it will change into dough. When done, you should be able to roll the flour into a ball with a tight fist but it should powder back when crumbled.
Bring one cup water to a boil in a pressure cooker. Add two tsp of grated coconut to the bottom of the chiratta putt kutti (utensil made from coconut shell for holding the flour). Follow with spoonfuls of ragi flour till you almost fill the puttu kutti. Top with one tsp coconut.
Steam for around five minutes so that it is fluffy and cooked.
Bamboo Rice Kanji
Ingredients
½ cup bamboo rice
¼ cup green gram
2 tbsp black gram
3 tbsp red cowpeas
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 piece jaggery
2 shallots, crushed
Method:
Cook bamboo rice with other grains and cumin seeds till it attains soft texture.
Then add crushed shallots and jaggery; let it come to boil.
Simmer on low heat, add thick coconut milk, mix it and switch off flame.
Tasty and healthy bamboo rice kanji is ready.
Colocassia stem curry
Ingredients:
1 cup colocassia stem, scraped and chopped
½ cup jack fruit seeds
½ cup raw cashews
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
¼ tbsp turmeric powder
1½ cup coconut
2 shallots
½ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
3 dried red chillies
2 tbsp coconut oil
Salt to taste
Method:
In a large pot, add jack fruit seeds, cashewnuts, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt with enough boiled water to cover them completely.
Bring it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or till the seeds become tender. Add the stem and cook for another 10 minutes. Pour water if needed.
Meanwhile, grind the coconut with shallots to a fine paste adding just a small amount of water.
Add this grounded coconut paste to the curry and cook for another five minutes.
Heat a tadka pan, add coconut oil, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they pop, add curry leaves, dry red chilli and fry. Add them to the curry. Cover and let the curry sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Sumaija is an ITC guest chef and Ayurveda food expert
