Of Kerala's goodness

IN a wooden bowl a story unfolds A flourless lentil pie spiced with rose and garam masala sits alongside a banana flower boat that holds moong sprout salad that has been infused with curry leaf dressing It takes many bites of the different elements for the tale to unravel on the palateBack to the classroomThe meal moves to a millet khichdi with moringa leaves and a turmeric pannacotta that leaves a hint of pepper as an aftertaste The series is nourishing light on the stomach and a melody of flavours that also includes ayurvedic goodness of rose petals ashwagandha liquorice and spices offered by Arqa Spices from their Ayurveda section that launched at Foodhall in Santacruz last weekChicken stewWhen we ask to meet the chef that has prepared this wholesome meal the petite Marina Balakrishnan whose Instagram handle thethalasserygirl is full of droolworthy posts of tea cakes pies and Keralite delicacies walks up to our table A certified plantbased chef from The Natural Gourmet Institute New York the 55yearold became a culinary student at the age of 51 and even worked at Mercer kitchen with Chris Beischer and wellness chefs Stefanie Sacks and Marti Wolfson in New YorkIn May Balakrishnan interned at Garima Aroras Bangkok restaurant GAA I wrote to Garima saying I am passionate and dedicated and dont have much restaurant experience The idea of working with youngsters was overwhelming but the experience gave me the direction I needed Age doesnt matter when you are ready to work hard says Balakrishnan who has also studied Ayurveda in Mahe KeralaMarina Balakrishnan at her home in JuhuFood memoriesArmed with culinary education Balakrishnan realised her love for cooking stemmed from her childhood and began to focus on Malabar and Keralite cuisine through classes and popups She grew up in a joint family home in Thalassery in north Kerala where meals were shared at a 16seater dining table with her grandmother playing head chef In a time of modern progressive cooking my grandmothers cooking resonates the most with me We had a woodfire hearth and she slow cooked everything and hardly used a stoveThalassery is known for its tea cakes which she cooked in a pressure cooker Now I often replicate her masala cookies with peppercorn and curry leaves says Balakrishnan who sources all her ingredients from South India including peppercorns that come from her mothers plantation My mother and aunt have most of the recipes written in small notebooks in Malayali and I have been working on developing some of the recipes Our home was suffused with the fragrance of curry leaves and mustard seeds Balakrishnan later tells us over lunch at her Juhu homeOver a spread of chicken stew Kerala meen pollichatu fish steamed in banana leaf pachadi appams rice and sambar she introduces us to Malabar cuisine which apart from the flaky and layered Malabar parotta is known for its tea snacks and dishes from the Muslim community such as unnakayamdasha deepfried mashed banana fritter stuffed with coconut and jaggery and dryfruits The Godamba payasam in our household is rather unique where the wheat berry is slow cooked in an uruli brass pot and flavoured with jaggery and raisins says Balakrishnan who offers us a warm bowl for dessertI divide a recipe into components and chart a map of how I can represent an ingredients best flavour When I am cooking I give the process my undivided attention preferring not to talk much and focus on the techniques Cooking is meditative says Balakrishnan who has a string of popups lined up in Delhi and Hyderabad In Mumbai she will soon start her cooking classesFollow thatthalasserygirl on Instagram or write to her on marinasoulfoodgmailcomCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates