It’s easy to see why Unnakkai – Cotton Balls are such an instant hit with all who try them. Banana fritters stuffed with coconut? Yes, please. There are some recipes that are hard to replicate at home. This one for Unnakkai – Cotton Balls might be one of them. First, these spindle-shaped treats are made …
We’d like to thank our dear friend Amuu Menon for contributing Amuu’s Mango Ice Cream to our collection of favourite South Indian recipes. Amuu is a budding chef and her patience and interest during our visit to The Turmerica was commendable. On our last day, she surprised us with this delicious mango ice cream. Her …
Payasam is a type of rice or vermicelli pudding common throughout South East Asia. Ranjini Menon’s Payasam with Ripe Bananas at The Turmerica in Wayanad is a Royal Malabar cuisine dessert. What makes it different? Ranjini says since bananas are plentiful in Wayanad, they make a great base for the pudding instead of the usual …
Caramelized bananas may use a French cooking technique, but the bananas themselves are a pure South Indian treat. There are about 20 varieties of bananas indigenous to Kerala. As far as we could tell, in our very serious banana connoisseur fact-finding mission, each is tastier than the one before. Our host at The Turmerica, Ranjini …
We developed this recipe for Date Laddu with Cardamom and Sesame to replicate the delicately balanced dried fruit laddu we purchased in Auroville and proceeded to snack on for days after. Auroville has its own food processing plant called the Kottakarai Organic Food Processing Unit (KOFPU) that has been fully operational since 1997. The KOFPU …
Huge gratitude and credit to our friends Sumeet Nair and Anita Goubert for sharing this flavourful recipe with us. You can find a plethora of inspiring recipes from Sumeet with his latest project Yummefy. It’s so fun to have such a creative and food-loving friend. Sumeet’s work is artful and professional and most importantly – …
Our wonderful driver Murali was a great ice cream model for us! He always seemed to know when we needed a break on the road and where to find the best dosas, chai and kulfi – India’s richer, creamier version of ice cream. Kulfi traditionally takes two days to make, with one whole day spent …
There’s so much to like about this dish. Jackfruit is a beloved food of South India and, when in season, locals dice the fresh ripe fruit, combine it with a bit of ghee and jaggery, and boil off the liquid to create a dry jam or veratti that they preserve for future use. A tablespoon …
Isha’s Coconut Mango Crisp is a little slice of heaven for me. I was 25 years old the first time I tasted a mango. A Pakistani friend I worked with invited me home to experience his wife’s cooking. I watched transfixed as she pulled dough balls from a warming cupboard and proceeded to roll out …
Most of our recipes come with a story. Here’s the one behind these tasty Cashew Coconut Ginger Bars. We did not know it until our visit to Tamil Nadu but India grows a lot of the world’s cashews. And, now that we’ve been to South India a few times, we can tell you that along …