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 …
Ordinarily, we give you measurements for our recipes in teaspoons, tablespoons and cups but with baking and bread making it is important to be precise. Here we urge you to use the exact ratio and measurements in metric that Sheril uses for success. We really want you to be able to create these lacy flaky …
Chopping, chopping, chopping! We can still hear the joyful cackle that follows this refrain as we’ve stood with Sheril at the Thekkady Barbeque Cooking School preparing this dish. The finished taste is all the incentive you need to do the slicing and dicing for this recipe. This puts green beans on a coconut-y pedestal.
Coated with zippy spices and fried in coconut oil, these are not your everyday fries. A terrific accompaniment to Sheril’s Barbeque Chicken Masala.
We feel very fortunate to be able to share another South Indian chef’s signature recipe with you. Others might claim it, but this recipe for Sheril’s Barbeque Chicken is truly finger-licking good. AND, this recipe includes the secret spices (like when we shared Anna Zacharria’s for her Duck Curry). Frankly though, I’m still not sure …
South India is lush. Things want to grow and grow and grow. Nowhere is this more true than in the area around Periyar National Park. On the drive up to these highlands from coastal Kerala, you’ll see white Angel’s Trumpets heralding your journey. Blue morning glory creeps along the roadside. Clusters of red, orange and …
Sheril J.S. is 40 years old and one of the most fun cooks I know. He was born in a place simply referred to as “six mile” in the Periyar District of Kerala. He learned to cook from his mother and grandmother and he’s still cooking with his mother at his business, the Thekkady Barbeque …
Read more about Sheril J.S. and the Thekkady Barbeque Cooking School
This is a dry stir-fried dish. It’s quite like a coleslaw as it has the cabbage and carrots. The difference is that this coleslaw is very coconut-y and it’s eaten warm. I learned to make it in 2012, on my first trip to India, in the kitchen with Mrs. Abraham and I’ve been enjoying it …
Our friend Mr. Abraham has a two acre spice garden surrounding his home and two more gardens nearby. They are completely organic and open for tours. Lunch can be booked. In our previous post, we described our day in the spice garden in his backyard. Now, with Pauli-Ann’s beautiful photos, we want to lead you …
Read more about A South Indian Spice Primer from Mr. Abraham’s Spice Garden in Kumily