Food in the South of India
Here we are at the end of summer again … and what a summer it’s been, with many areas happily seeing much-needed rain and rivers flowing again after the long drought. It’s been a while since we’ve had to clean mould off household surfaces!
Our Spice Discovery Tour to India has become an annual event, and we had a great time with our 16 travellers. For the first time we visited the Rajasthani village of Pushkar, where we over-nighted in luxury tents and drove in camel carts out into the desert. We dined under bright stars and a full moon whilst being entertained by local gypsy dancers and musicians, as well as some fireworks, and kept ourselves warm with the mellow locally-produced Old Monk rum – all in all, a fabulous experience!
As regular visitors to India, we are constantly impressed by the work being done to maintain and restore the old historic buildings, especially in the north where the history and architecture is so rich. Visiting these relics of Mughal splendour is always a highlight, as was drifting for five hours through serene Alleppey backwaters.
The food in the south of India is dominated by coconut in all its forms – either oil, milk, cream, water or flesh. A typical example is this delicious vegetarian dish that our friend Maggie made for us in the kitchen of her home in the mountain town of Kumily. Every year she opens her home to our bunch of inquisitive Aussies and takes us through some of the lesser-known dishes that are used regularly in households throughout Kerala.