Finest Recipes of “Kerala’s leading cookbook author”

 I was fortunate to be the recipient, today, of a new cookbook from Kerala.

Cover of late Mrs. K. M. Mathew’s 

“Finest Recipes” 

The late Mrs. K. M Mathew’s eldest daughter-in-law, Prema, has curated a book of the finest recipes produced by my aunt in her lifetime. 

I have been fortunate in my life to have tasted many of them produced by Mrs. Mathew and then, by what I think is the the only cook in India that I know, her protege Vasu, who received an EU 9000 certificate for  his cooking skills!

In a recent blog entry about a Gujarthi evening I had enumerated the publications of late Mrs. K. M Mathew.

I have been brought up on enjoying the variety of good food from all over the world. 

I love most types of food, various Indian cusines, Chinese, Thai, Fusion, Continental, cordon blue, and "even British” as Roast Beef with Yorkshire pudding and Welsh rarebit. 

I am, however, not a fan of fastfoods as the Macburger!

I was introduced to Finnish cuisine by Annikki starting with meatballs and meat loaf and many other exotic dishes, especially various preparations of fish. 

But Annikki became a master cook with her own versions of Indian cooking as Massla Dosai made in a Finnish style with Finnish ingredients.

Annikki ran the first cooking class of Indian recipes in Ylivieska polytechnic, and introduced the first Chinese cooking class in Oulu when she was the Chairperson of the English Club of Oulu!

I was introduced to cooking by Mrs. K. M. Mathew when I left India to study in London when she scribbled some great recipes for me and taught me the basics of cooking.

However, when Annikki married me in 1967, she quickly threw me out of the kitchen, despite my very good skills as producing Roast Lamb, as she found I was not to good at keeping the kitchen clean.

I have been through the new book and I give here the detailed Contents and the items contained in each of the Sub-Sections.

All the best recipes from my experience of Kerala cooking are in the book, especially my very favourite, Karimeen, the masala fried White Fish!

One anecdote tells the story of the hospitality of Mrs. K. M. Mathew.

We were on a trip through Kerala and Mrs. Mathew asked us to stopover at her home in Kottayam. When we arrived she had been called out for some work but she had organised lunch for us with her husband as our host.

The tablespread was fantastic as anything one could hope for was on the table. 

Our eldest son was having a problem and called one of the staff and whispered something in his ear.

This caused a great concern as the staff member went to speak with our host.

My uncle appeared greatly disturbed as he apologised to Jaakko that they had prepared chicken, beef, lamb, and an array of vegetarian dishes but was sorry that he had not included "pork".

We all split our sides laughing as, we as a family do not eat pork as it is forbidden by Annikki's religious belief. 

So we asked Jaakko what he meant to which he replied that all he wanted was a "FORK"!

We used to tease Mrs. Mathew's husband that the enormous circulation of the Malayala Manorama newspaper was because every Keralite housewife bought  the newspaper so as to produce the food which her husband would appreciate! 

A Keralite woman (and Annikki) knows that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach !

I am yet to meet a lady from Kerala who does not know the contribution of Mrs. Mathew to her day to day life, not only with the daily recipes she produced for the newspaper but also for the best selling ladies magazine in India, VANITHA, which is now also published in Hindi.

Annikki and Thangam (Cochin 2014)

Here is a picture of my dear cousin, Thangam, at her boutique “The Weavers” in Cochin and Annikki when we visited her in 2014, our very last visit to India.

The front cover of the new book describes Mrs. K. M. Mathew's standing in the eyes of the New York Times. 

The back cover has a short note expressed from the very heart by the daughter of Mrs. K. M. Mathew, Thangam.

Thank you Prema and Thangam for sending us 

this wonderful gift.

Reflecting on your dietary preferences!

 I found this certificate from 1977.

Annikki won the First Prize in a Bangalore Exhibition cum Cookery Contest on "Wheat, Milk and Milk Products”.

Her entry was a vegetarian cake based on using yoghurt instead of egg. 

It was truly and delicious.

Although we are ”non-vegetarians” this is a very broad term. 

Annikki, on Christian religious grounds, does not eat, pork, prawns, as they are considered, by her religioius sect, as taboo. 

Pigs, crabs, lobsters and prawns are considered as scavengers and, therefore, unhealthy for human consumption. (Other Christians claim that God stated that there is a contrary view in the Bible.)

More clearly the biblical prohibition can be stated as follows;

“ Prohibited foods that may not be consumed in any form include all animals—and the products of animals—that do not chew the cud and do not have cloven hoofs (e.g., pigs and horses); fish without fins and scales; the blood of any animal; shellfish (e.g., clams, oysters, shrimp, crabs) and all other living creatures that ...”

Annikki’s Christian religious order, The Seventh Day Adventists,  are considered among the healthiest people of the world. 

Here are extracts from her book published in 1994  “…for the hour of his judgement is come…” (The Holy Bible Revelations, 14:7).

I eat everything which  I personally do not think disgusting! For instance, rats, snakes, and eels are not very appetising. 

I prefer South Indian Vegetarian cuisine, some of which is common to Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra and Telengana.

 

Masala dosai served with sambar and coconut chutney

 

Vada surved with coconut chutney

 Idlis (rice cakes) served with sambar

Non-vegetarian, eggitarian, vegetarian, and vegan. These are four distinct dietary choices that people make based on their personal, religious, cultural, ethical, and health considerations. 

While each category has its own unique characteristics, they all play a significant role in shaping individual lifestyles and the broader food industry.

Non-vegetarian, as the term suggests, refers to individuals who consume meat and animal products as part of their regular diet. This category includes people who enjoy a variety of meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. 

Non-vegetarian diets are commonly seen in many cultures around the world, where meat-based dishes form an essential part of their traditional cuisine. 

 

Advocates of non-vegetarian diets often argue that meat provides essential nutrients, such as proteins and essential amino acids, that contribute to muscle growth and overall health. 

 

However, it is important to ensure that the meat consumed is sourced from sustainable and ethical farming practices to minimize environmental impact.

But the word non-vegetarian is stretched by some. Especially in West Bengal in India where they eat fish and call it the “vegetable of the sea”.

My favourite fish dish is the special fried Pearl Spot fish (Malayalam: Karimeen). 

Every time I land in Cochin/Ernakulam, I will go to the Grand Hotel restaurant and order this fish and have my full of it.

When we were little children and came to Cochin by train, we would go to a sea front hotel cum restaurant and order this fish and only then carry on our journey to Kottayam by car.

Here is the recipe  for Masala Pomfret (which is used mored commonly that Pearl Spot fish) from the famous culinary expert of Kerala, the late Mrs. K. M. Mathew.

This is a revised recipe as in the old days her recipe used 9 red chillis, and was one of the two spiciest Kerala dishes, the other being the red chilli curry, usually eaten with steamed tapioca.

 

 

 

It is often thought that India is a vegetarian country. 

 

This map recently published shows this to be false and only 29% of the country are vegetarians.  (Only 3% of the people of Kerala are vegetarians unlike 75% of Gujarathis.)

 

Most eat lamb (mutton), chicken and fish. The majority of Indians do not eat beef as the cow is a religious symbol to some as it provides milk. 

 

It is difficult to understand as the best milk in India comes from the buffalo and not the cow, so why is the buffalo not considered a religious symbol. 

 

But faith is what it is and it should be a personal choice to be respected.

It is also ironical that one of the largest exports from India is beef, and some of the largest exporters are the very people who hold the cow as their religious symbol. 

But such ambiguities exist everywhere in India, which is a patriarchal society which only gives respect to women on paper.

The men in India are the best examples of cowards.  

 

A recent study showed that when it comes to giving human transplants to even close relatives, men will run the 100 metres backwads superfast, under some pretext, and push their womenfolk forward as the donors. 

 

The eggitarian diet is a relatively recent term that emerged to describe a category of individuals who consume eggs but avoid other forms of animal meat. Eggitarians obtain their primary protein and nutrient source from eggs, all while abstaining from meat, poultry, and seafood. 

 

This dietary choice allows individuals to enjoy a range of dishes that incorporate eggs while maintaining a balance between animal protein intake and ethical considerations. 

 

Some eggitarians may choose this diet due to personal taste preferences, religious beliefs, or environmental concerns associated with large-scale livestock farming.

 

Vegetarianism involves the exclusion of meat, poultry, and seafood from one's diet. However, vegetarians still consume products derived from animals, such as dairy and eggs. 

 

This dietary choice encompasses various subcategories, including lacto-vegetarian (consuming dairy but avoiding eggs), ovo-vegetarian (consuming eggs but avoiding dairy), and lacto-ovo vegetarian (consuming both dairy and eggs). 

 

Many vegetarians adopt this lifestyle for a combination of reasons, including animal rights, environmental concerns, and health benefits. Numerous studies have suggested that well-planned vegetarian diets can provide all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, and minerals required for a healthy lifestyle, while also reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases.

 

Many vegetarians will avoid eggs during their religious festivals, such as Pongal and Diwali. 

Recently we were invited to a truly wonderful Gujarathi feast by a couple in Oulu, making one wonder with such and array of great vegetarian dishes all over India, why it is necessary at all to be non-vegetarian.

A super Gujarathi vegetarian meal served to us in Oulu.

Veganism is perhaps the strictest form of plant-based diet and lifestyle, excluding all animal-derived products. Vegans not only avoid meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs but also eliminate dairy, honey, and any other products that have an animal origin or involvement. 

The primary reasons people choose veganism are ethical concerns for animal rights, environmental conservation, and personal health. By abstaining from animal-derived products, vegans aim to improve animal welfare, reduce carbon footprints, and promote a cruelty-free lifestyle. While ensuring proper nutrition on a vegan diet may require more careful planning and supplementation, many vegans assert that their decision brings various health benefits, including lower cholesterol levels, reduced risk of heart disease, and better weight management.

 

Non-vegetarian, eggitarian, vegetarian, and vegan diets represent an array of dietary choices with unique characteristics and motivations. 

Each category reflects personal preferences, cultural backgrounds, ethical beliefs, and health considerations. Understanding and respecting these different dietary choices is crucial as it promotes inclusivity and allows for a more diverse and sustainable food culture. 

One persoanl note is that many faiths also have different forms of fasting. 

Christians fast during theperiod of Lent, between Ash Wednesday and easter, as a memory to te fact that CHrist fasted in the wildrenerss for 40 days when he was repeatedly tempted by Satan.

Christians do not actually fast during that period but give up some of their favourite food and the money saved is given to charity.

The Muslims fast during the period of Ramzan, forom morning to evening, somer not even swalloewing therir own saliva.

Other religions do fasting in relation to the religious festivals associated with them, ands most are also associated with some health issues.

Coming back to Annikki's religious sect, they are not only vegetarian, but also do not consume coffee, tea, alcohol or any harmful drugs.

There is a more radical form of Christianity which believes that God will take care oif everything and do not even go to doctors!

Ultimately, the decision to adopt any particular diet and life style is a deeply personal choice that influences not only individual health but also broader environmental and ethical concerns.

A Delicious Gujarathi Evening

A tribute to Mrs. K M. Mathew (Annammakochamma) written by her husband, the late Padma Bhushan Mr. K. M. Mathew (former Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama and one of my mother’s younger brothers). 

Annikki and I had the good fortune to be hosted to a Gujarathi dinner evening in Oulu on Saturday.

Besides enjoying the camaraderie, we were amazed by the assortment of dishes served up by the hosts. There were over 15 different preparations including 5 different types of roti, including my absolute favourite, the Gujarathi sweet roti. 

Such amazing talent was on display. 

It took me back to the days when I would visit Anand and Baroda and stay with my Gujarathi friends.

I enjoyed every dish, all vegetarian and spiced to perfection by our hosts. A truly amazing experience in Oulu. 

How we wish there would be someone with the courage to start a vegetarian restaurant featuring not only Gujarathi dishes, but also the vast variety of true Indian vegetarian cuisine, such as from Andhra, Chetinad,  Kerala, Maratha,  Rajasthani, Telengana and Udipi, vegetarian food that I am very familiar with and which is a distance apart from the North Indian food served up by the majority of Indian and Nepalese restaurants in Finland today.

I am the nephew of the late Mrs. K. M. Mathew, who every Malayali lady knows because of her many decades of culinary expertise she used to share in the Malayala Manorama and the Vanitha ladies magazine, which is also now published in Hindi from Delhi. 

I was fortunate to be taught, in 1963, the elements of cooking by Mrs. K. M. Mathew before I set off to England for my studies. She taught me a few crucial dishes to survive and even hand-wrote some of the recipes (which I have preserved all these years).

"Life fragrant" by Mrs. K. M. Mathew.

An endorsement to Annikki and me written by her son, Chacko, in the book "Annamma" on his mother written by his father.

List of books on cooking written by Mrs. K. M. Mathew.

Modern Kerala Dishes

Flavours of the Spice Coast

The Family Cook Book,

Modern Kerala Dishes.

An endorsement by Mrs. K. M. Mathew to Annikki  in her book on Kerala Cookery.

Kerala Cookery 

A revised version of the Family Cook Book.

A revised versiion of Modern Kerala Dishes.

When we lived in Shawbury, England, Mrs. Mathew came to our remote village home to meet Annikki and our first born daughter, Susanna.

Annikki with Mr. & Mrs. K. M. Mathew who hosted us at their residence in Kottayam (1991).

After we returned to India in 1969, we visited Mrs. Mathew regularly when we went to Kottayam. When she came to Chennai, she would make it a point to visit Annikki. Although a generation apart, it was a mutual admiration society as they shared many common interests, art, cooking, education, music, fashion, upliftment of people, to name just a few.

Mrs. K.M .Mathew examines the White Chocolate wedding cake Annikki made for her niece's wedding (Chennai, 1999).

Mrs. Mathew had a regular column in  the Malayala Manorama, the largest circulating regional newspaper in India. Every Kerala lady waited eagerly every morning  her next tested recipe. (The way to a husband's heart is through his stomach!)

She would wake up at 4 am and work with her assistant to create the next recipe which would then be published in the newspaper. Her first assistant, Vasu, now retired, was awarded the EU Certification for his cooking!

We would tease her husband and children that their newspaper circulation was not based on their expertise in publishing but rather on what new recipe Mrs. Mathew turned up for the day.

We eat at Royal Garden Chinese Restaurant in Oulu run  by Michelle Hu from Kolkotta, two days a week, every week. The buffet table is unique and a feast. The salad spread is delicious, the sushi selection is truly scrumptious, the hors d'oeuvres spread of vegetarian dumplings and spring rolls, onion rings, papadams, Chinese crackers, Chinese cooked vegetables, fried fish or Chinese fish, the mushroom or fish soup, fried rice and noodles, and the main food selection, which on Thursday's is a beef curry and Friday's a chicken vindaloo, make the experience for us to go through the week satisfied, waiting for the next Thursday and Friday to arrive. And the price is very reasonable as is evidenced by the crowd of regulars every week. Michelle is an excellent cook and hostess and the entire kitchen staff and serving staff are very professional.

I have no doubt that Garam Masala, the only real Indian Restaurant in Oulu, serves excellent food, but it is too spiced for our elderly palettes. 

Both Annikki and I feel that to eat there is difficult for us as I have to take along my bulky walker. The restaurant is small and it would be inconvenient for other guests as the restaurant is popular and always full.

But I digress, as yesterday's Gujarathi dinner  experience was truly marvellous. A gourmet's delight.

How we wish some these experienced talented ladies would take the plunge to put up a different type of Indian restaurant than what we see all around in Finland. 

I have heard that there is one such restaurant in Helsinki set up by a former Oulu based Indian, but our travelling days are over, so that is only a dream. 

We know the talent exists across the board, as the Malayali gentlemen dish out a true Kerala traditional meal every Onam, which we are always happy to join and enjoy.

We have such untapped talent in the ladies and gents who have come from all parts of India to Oulu. Annikki and I would have, in our younger days, been at the centre of promoting this type of cultural exchange. 

Many years ago, Annikki did teach Indian cooking to the polytechnic in Ylivieska, and it was greatly appreciated by the students. She specialised in using easily available Finnish ingredients to create Indian dishes. 

When she produced "her" Masala Dosas, we had a queue of people lined up in our house waiting to enjoy the preparation. She even had a large  powerful coffee grinder to make the rice and urad dal powder! 

Michelle told me that recently a  restaurant was opened by a Michelin Star  Chef in the centre of Oulu which had queues of people waiting to get in. Her critical review was that it was not of any superior quality.

Running a restaurant is, however, not just serving good food but also good management and marketing.  The ambience must be perfect.

With an immediate market spectrum of over 200000 inhabitants, we are confident that a good Indian vegetarian restaurant in Oulu would draw in the crowds. 

Surely a much better draw than the 50 plus pizzerias scattered around Oulu, 

As I have had to take charge of our home kitchen, I worked out a ergonomic cooking schedule as we are just two people. Working from a wheelchair is difficult. 

Also, when we got married in 1967, my dear wife tolerated me in the kitchen for exactly one week, not because I was not a good cook, but because I was extremely messy!

If good food is available, like in Royal Garden, we would be dining out all weekdays. We have the benefit of 18 free taxi trips every month without any cost. 

Also, I am fortunate to have many Oulu taxi drivers from various communities, Ethiopians, Somalians, Sudanese, Zambian, and also many of my former Finnish  engineering students who have retired and who drive taxis. These would help us get to the restaurant economically.

Come on, dear Indians, please take on the challenge and get to produce an exclusive new "Indian" vegetarian restaurant for the people of Oulu. 

Annikki and I will be the first to help you break into this area.

Edible Art 1

 

When we published Annikki’s book "Edible Art" about her history of cake designing, the cakes were designed by her, most of the photos were taken by her, the text was written by me, but the maximum hard work of making these photos ready for publication was done by our dear friend SRK, Sriradhakrishnan Polsetti, who was working in Oulu on deputation from Nokia in Bengaluru. 

Annikki’s coffee table book covers her 40 years of making all sorts of cakes from cakes for children, gingerbread houses, birthday cakes for me and herself, wedding cakes for family members, unusual mosaic cakes, cakes with ponds and fishes in them, mountains and many art cakes.

All her cakes were original and showed her talent as an artist. 

Before getting married, she worked in a small Italian cake shop in Shrewsbury near Birmingham in England. Today Sidoli is a huge enterprise.

The first designer cake, a train cake, she made for us a family was for a joint birthday party in 1970 for our two children, Susanna and Jaakko, in our small house in Defence Officer’s  Colony in St. Thomas’s Mount on the outskirts of Madras.

Her first gingerbread house was created in 1974 at our Velacheri Road house in Madras. She worked on it for seven hours. We stayed out of her way. When she was ready, she ran upstairs to call us down to see her creation. When we reached the living room all we could see was our golden retriever, Ruby, licking her lips as she had devoured the entire house.

Then I understood the meaning of Finnish ‘sisu’ as Annikki rolled up her sleeves and made another more beautiful gingerbread house and had  powder sugar floating down to cover the house and make it exactly as  snow covered!

We moved  to Bangalore in 1976 and she won the prize in the cake competition where she displayed her first vegetarian cake made using yoghurt.

Gingerbread house making is an art. Every piece has to be made on cardboard, and the gingerbread baked using these cutout shapes. They then have to be painstakingly stuck together and then decorated.

Annikki always was way above the competition, first to introduce interior lighting and then even fitting doors and windows which could open and shut.

When she was looking after her mother, she first designed the garden so that her mother could sit at the dining table and enjoy her garden. Then she designed a gingerbread construction replicating the garden.

From then it was one new dimension after another and she was winning every gingerbread house competition in Oulu till they finally stopped the competition.

She diversified from traditional gingerbread houses to make Finnish constructions as Lappish kotas and the straw store houses.

Annikki never lost her sense of humour. When she reached the tender age of 60, she created a gingerbread house which she called "ruins". The lighting was entirely the streaming of natural sunlight.

When our grandson, Samu, returned from India before his first birthday, he had learnt one Malayalam word for crow - Kakay.  For his first birthday Annikki made him a cake of a crow sitting on her nest with a lot of eggs, all on a cake pine stump base. Samu looked at the cake pointed and said “Kakay”!

When four young ladies from Aricent, India, asked Annikki to make them a cake, she deswignede one of a typical farm scene!

Annikki’s adventure in cake designing is truly one which was exciting as she tailored each cake to suit the individual she was making it for, especially me, our children, other family members and close friends. It was never a business - just art for the sake of art!

The Finnish vocational school from Espoo did an entire video of Annikki and her cake designing to motivate the elderly in Finland to show them life does not end at 70! (In Finnish)

The book Edible Art” represents all the talents of an unique personality, an artist, a cake designer, a wife, a mother and grandmother, a sister, a great friend of many, a daughter, and a daughter-in-law!

Above all the unrivalled talent of a Findian!