Octogenarian Sabita Radhakrishna’s fifth cookbook, ‘Pachakam’, covers the cuisine of Kerala, tracing the history of its various communities and their unique cuisine.
Sabita Radhakrishna’s fifth cookbook, ‘Pachakam’, covers the cuisine of Kerala, tracing the history of its various communities and their unique cuisine.
Sabita Radhakrishnan, 80, wears many hats. She is a textile researcher, TV anchor, designer, playwright and cookbook author. In 2013, he founded An NGO, Udhavi (meaning aid in Tamil), to provide support and care for the elderly living alone. Through Uddhav, Sabita recruits volunteers to help seniors spend quality time with the elderly, take them out for walks or events, chat with them, read books, play indoor board games, write emails or run errands for them. does.
her first cookbook, aharmi ((published by Zika BPI India, 2000) On Traditional Cuisines of Tamil Nadu, won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award – Established by Edouard Cointreau in 1995, it honors the best food and wine books, printed or digital. She went on to write Gone three more. She is now ready with her latest, Pachakam: The heritage dish of Kerala.
“I approached Roli with the idea for a cookbook on the cuisine of Tamil Nadu, covering the many communities that live here, and Annapurni Conceptualized and published in 2015.
excited by the success of Annapurni, Roli Books hired Sabita to come up with a cookbook on Kerala cuisine in the same year; It took him about two years of research to complete the project, which was then further delayed due to the pandemic. “I took this project as a challenge, as I had minimal experience in the cuisine of the region. Once I researched different communities in Kerala like Nairs, Thais, Syrian Christians, Moplahs, Cochin Jews, Poduvals and Namboodiris , so I started to understand the spices and cooking techniques and the major ingredients used by each of them. That he traveled to different parts of Kerala and even Dubai for his research. When he was in Dubai When I went to spend time with my son, she met two cookery experts there. “I learned about Syrian Christian and Moplah cuisine from two notable Kerala cookery experts in Dubai, with whom I enjoyed cooking and watching their demos. Spent a lot of time,” she says.
Sabita Radhakrishna | photo credit: velankanni raj
“What fascinated me was how locally grown ingredients are used in the cuisine to create sattvik dishes with less spice. Even the red rice they consume is packed with health benefits”, she says, adding, “The hallmark of Kerala cuisine is its simplicity and rich taste.” Sabita has collected over 300 recipes and among them, prepared the recipes for his book.” There are a lot of cookbooks on the market, but I made sure perfect It was my interpretation of Kerala cuisine, which was associated with some historicity and the communities living there, and thus the culinary culture of Kerala was separated by the communities that influenced the diverse food culture of the region. ,
Sabita. Other Cook Books by
Aaharam: Traditional Cuisine of Tamil Nadu(Published by Zika BPI India, 2000) Most of the recipes were created by Sabita’s mother, who is a Mudaliar cuisine, and the book won the Gourmand Award for Best Cookbook of the Year.
Annapurni: Heritage Cuisine from Tamil Nadu (Roli Books, 2015) Covers the delicacies of various Tamil communities along with their history
Quick Cook: The 60 Minute Menu (Westland Books, 2006) A blend of traditional and modern developed over the years by Sabita, where the emphasis was on preparing a three-course meal in 60 minutes.
Kids Kittens: Fun Recipes for Little Chefs (Westland Books, 2009) also won the Gourmand Award in the Children’s category
The book, illustrated by Nupur Panemaglore, has a thematic representation of the state of Kerala, with sketches of the landscape, its flora and fauna, such as backwaters, fish, jackfruit trees, boats, monsoons and banana leaves, and is dedicated to a friend of Sabita. Akkamma Varghese, who guided him through the project.
chakka prime
“One of the cookery experts I consulted also taught me how to make toddy at home for use in Vattayappam,” she says, as well as several clever ways to enhance the flavor. Learn. “For example, they dry roast grated coconut and then grind it for some dishes. In addition, ginger and garlic are not grinded into a paste, and this gives a distinctive flavor to the dishes. Similarly, coconut oil is sometimes added raw in some recipes for flavor. ,
Calicut Chemein Fry and Steamed Red Rice
“When Roli Books commissioned me to write a cookbook for all four southern states, I first decided to take on the cuisines of Kerala. I took it as a challenge as it was an exotic dish that required intense research and coordination,” says Sabita. “I have taken up this project with a mission to reach out to the younger generation of Malayalees spread across the globe. I also want families to save and cook their own family recipes.” Keeping this in mind, Sabita had simplified and modified some recipes to save time on preparation. “For example, when Kachiyamoru When it comes to the dish, usually Malayalees divide the garnish into two parts and add one portion to the dish and the other half as a topping after the dish is ready, but I only add the garnish one at a time. I also made a slight change in the method of making Kadala curry. “Even Thalassery Biryani, I have simplified the process a bit, yet it is a complicated dish to prepare. Wherever possible, I have aimed to simplify the process to save time as the current generation Always in a hurry,” she laughs.
perfect It costs ₹ 1,495, and is available at all bookstores. To buy online log on to www.cmykbookstore.com or www.rolibooks.com