This recipe is a dish that we tried at CGH Spice Village’s 50 Mile Diet Restaurant. Chef Jerry Matthew kindly shared the recipe. The 50 Mile Diet restaurant’s goal is to serve food grown within that radius from the restaurant. Fortunately, being on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, the hotel is located close to an area …
While Westerners tend to think of the word homely as something unattractive in appearance, the British influence in India meant the word was also used to represent something intimate, pleasant and warm from one’s home. Turkeys are large birds native to the Americas but they were brought to India by British landlords and raised for …
Spice Village in Thekkady, Kerala, lies on the fringe of Periyar National Park. I’ve stayed here four times now and each time I do, my attachment grows stronger. The CGH Earth Experience company owns and operates this resort. CGH stands for clean, green and healthy. They walk the talk and living these values has earned …
During our 2016 journey through South India, we had the chance to sit and talk with chef Jerry Matthew about what “local food” means in his corner of South India – Periyar in Kerala. Chef Matthew has been with the CGH Earth Experience group of hotels for 20 years now and is the executive chef …
Read more about Chef Jerry Matthew of CGH Spice Village in Thekkady
Avial is a vegetable stew with many variations. This one is full of local pumpkins, yams, and beans available during Onam, Kerala’s harvest festival.
This chicken curry is Kerala’s version of comfort food. With a rich gravy, it was served to us with chunks of boiled cassava. We soon learned that mashing the cassava into the tantalizing sauce helped capture all the flavours created from the meat being slowly simmered in the spices. This is the kind of local …
Read more about Mariam Venattu’s Keralan Chicken Curry with Cassava
Sometimes when Pauli-Ann and I travel in India we get a serious case of cooking utensil envy. The clay vessel Mariam cooked this fish curry in is a prime example of a utensil that’s hard to duplicate in North America. We think a heavy Dutch Oven will be the best option for most of us …
In the heart of the Idukki District of Kerala lies Periyar National Park. It attracts many travellers each year and between the beauty of the park and the area’s spice trade, there are a number of fun things to do in the region’s small towns of Kumily, Thekkady and Periyar. Here are our Top 5 …
Read more about Our Top 5 Things To Do in the Idukki District of Kerala
We spent a completely delightful afternoon cooking with Mariam Venattu and her sister Kunjumol (Anna) and their families. It was the first day of Onam in 2016. Onam is South India’s annual 10-day harvest festival. Mariam’s sons Jinu (23), Tijin (22) and Nithin (18) and Anna’s daughter Sajin (17) joined us. Her husband Thamban Varkey …
We love this pineapple curry with a big plate of Sheril’s Barbeque Chicken and some fluffly white rice. A version of this recipe has even made it to the New York Times. Sheril often riffs on the ingredients and after visiting him on several occasions, we are sharing our favourite version. It has a green …