Celebrate the legacy of Mrs KM Mathew with this new cookbook on her Malayali recipes

At a time when movies like Tarla are celebrating women who rule our hearths itrsquos the name of Kerala cookbook author Mrs KM Mathew that deserves a recall For young Malayalee brides her detailed cooking instructions made their time in the kitchens easy even effortless if one may say so ldquoEven today many of them tell me that Ammarsquos book Nadan Pachakarama was like the Bible to them when they had just started learning to cook Her gift for a wedding would be her set of cookbooksrdquo her daughter Thangam Mammen shares over a call from KochiCelebrating the life and legacy of the late author the family associated with the famed Malayala Manorama Co Ltd has puttogether a new cookbook collection Mrs KM Mathewrsquos Finest Recipes Penguin Random HouseMrs KM Mathew who in her lifetime published over 25 cookbooks and edited the womenrsquos magazine Vanitha for 25 years passed on 20 years ago ldquoBut there are thousands of handwritten recipes that have been left behind in my motherrsquos cupboard Her recipes had the minutest of details she was very thorough mentioning every step in the cooking process no matter how insignificant They were tried and tested several times before she finally wrote it down in her diaryrdquo says Mammen ldquoEven a simple recipe would run into two pagesrdquoMammen shares that her sisterinlaw Prema is the brain behind this new collection ldquoShe in her quiet way did thisrdquo says Mammen typing the recipes down editing and simplifying them for aspiring cooks The book is divided into separate sections with a vast menu of dishes making it into the snacks meat seafood and vegetarian specialties and jams pickles chutneys and chutney powdersHeavily influenced by her home state Kerala and the SyrianChristian food she took a delight in serving to friends and family Mathewrsquos cooking also drew a lot from her peripatetic upbringing Mathew was born and brought up in Kakinada Andhra Pradesh where her father was a doctor She moved to Madurai for college and later spent her married years in Chikmagalur and Byculla in Mumbai before settling in Kottayam ldquoMy mother loved the life in Mumbai she had made so many new friends and there was so much for her to see and grasp When my uncle asked my father to move to Kerala and help him with Malayala Manorama amma was shattered But she moved to Kottayam and turned her life completelyrdquo says Mammen who was born in 1955 sometime after her parents shifted base It was during the same year that her mother published her first cookbook in Malayalam titled Pachaka Kala The Art of CookingDuck fryHer journey with writing about cooking began much earlier It was Mammenrsquos grandfather KC Mammen Mappillai who first spotted her talent and asked her to write a column in his newspaper Her first cookery column on doughnuts appeared in Malayala Manorama newspaper on May 30 1953 along with her recipe for Goan Prawn Curry These appeared under the name Mrs Annamma Mathew and she became fairly wellknown after a column on mutton bafath shares Mamman But she became incredibly popular after she started using the name Mrs KM Mathew a name she took after her husbandldquoMy mother was a disciplined person with a proper routine She woke up at 3304 am every day The first thing shersquod do is write down a recipe that she wanted to try out that day After that she would walk to the church attend mass and then return and do yogardquo says Mammen ldquoAfter a bath she would enter the kitchen and try out the reciperdquo Mathew had two helps working with her every step was closely monitored by her ldquoShe could try out the same recipe for two to three daysrdquo she remembers before she would write down the recipe ldquoIt was a lot of hard workrdquoAt the dinner table recalls Mammen the family would try her experiments But nothing except food was allowed to be discussed while eating ldquoThat was a rule she would say lsquoConcentrate on the food and give me the right feedbackrsquo She felt one would lose interest in the foodrdquoIf and when her readers or friends came back to her saying a particular recipe had not turned out the way they had expected Mammen says her mother would offer sending her cooks to help them ldquoShe truly was a peoplersquos person When a driver or anyone came home she would ensure they sat on the dining table and ate her foodrdquoKM MathewOne thing that Mammen most admired her mother for was her honesty ldquoShe never copied a reciperdquo she says ldquoIf she went to a restaurant and she loved a dish she would never ask the chef how they have made it She would go through the menu and even ask permission to take the menu back home sometimes offering to pay for itrdquo Mammen says her mother just had the gift to deconstruct a recipe adding her own flavours to it ldquoShe had a Godgiven talent to create recipesrdquo What amused Mammen most was how her mother when writing down the recipes in a diary would mention ldquothis is my favourite recipe please try it outrdquo ldquoBut I was telling my brother how all her books were bestsellers and every recipe a favouriterdquoFish moleeINGREDIENTS500 gm fish pieces14 cup oil1 cup onion sliced1 tsp ginger crushed1 tsp garlic crushed6 green chillies partially slit12 tsp peppercorns crushed2 sprigs curry leaves1st extract of coconut milk from freshly grated coconut12 cup thick2nd extract of coconut milk2 cupsSalt to taste1 big tomato quarteredMETHODClean the fish well in salt water Heat some oil in a pan Sauteacute onion ginger garlic green chillies peppercorns and curry leaves Transfer the sauteacuteed ingredients to an earthen pot or a deep pan Add the 2nd extract of coconut milk and allow this to simmer Add the fish pieces and salt Cover the pan and cook on low flame until the gravy thickens Add tomato and the 1st extract of coconut milk Do not stir with a spoon or ladle instead take the pan off the heat hold carefully with both hands and gently rotate or shake carefully so that the contents are well mixed This process will prevent the fish from breaking Continue to cook over low flame till the fish is fully cookedIdichakka thoranINGREDIENTS3 cups tender jackfruit idichakka skinned and diced1 cup coconut grated2 garlic cloves12 tsp chilli powder14 tsp turmeric powder12 tsp cumin seeds1 tsp mustard seeds2 dry red chillies1 sprig curry leaves2 tbsp oilMETHODCook the diced jackfruit in a steamer Using a pestle and mortar crush and shred the jackfruit Keep this aside Coarsely grind coconut chilli and turmeric powders cumin seeds and garlic Add the ground ingredients to the cooked jackfruit Mix this well and set aside In a pan or wok heat oil Splutter mustard seeds and dry red chilli broken into two and curry leaves Sauteacute lightly Then add the cooked jackfruit and ground coconut mixture Sauteacute this well till all the moisture dries out completely Remove from the fire and serve hotNote Cutting open the jackfruit removing the pods and preparing them is a sticky slippery process Liberally applying coconut oil or any light cooking oil on your hands will help alleviate the stickiness Alternatively you could use foodgrade gloves