Mathanga erissery

W hen someone creates a flutter in food circles, I generally get to hear of it. So when I was told that Arun Kumar T.R. was wowing foodies with his culinary skills in informal gatherings, I decided that I had to meet him. And it happened one sunny afternoon on a winter’s day, when he came up with the most amazing crab dishes at a friend’s house in Delhi.

The next time I met him, he’d rustled up a great Parsi meal. And at our last meeting, a few weeks ago, he presented a repast of dishes cooked with mangoes. I still recall — with considerable pleasure — the mutton that he cooked with raw mangoes that evening.

Arun Kumar T.R.

He is clearly one of the most innovative self-taught cooks I’ve come across. But his forte is what he describes as “home style” south Indian coastal cuisine, of which I had a sampling at Latitude, Ritu Dalmia’s restaurant in Khan Market in central Delhi. I came back home singing paeans to the prawn biryani I ate there — little knowing that Arun was behind it. It was later that I heard that he’d been supplying Ritu with Kerala delicacies at two of her restaurants. She calls him a “genius” and now that I have tasted his food on several occasions, I know what she means.

Arun, who is a filmmaker (in the Eighties, he directed a Hindi feature film starring the comely actress Zarina Wahab — I wish I knew him then), is among the lucky few to have turned a cherished dream into reality. He tells me that he’d always enjoyed cooking — and started by feeding his son some 18 years ago. Then, when he was out shooting documentaries for television channels, he found himself cooking for the unit. “I am a filmmaker by desire and a chef by passion,” he says. But now, he adds, he is turning cooking into a full-time occupation.

Kuttanad fish curry

What I find really interesting is the way he has culled out all kinds of wonderful Kerala dishes which showcase the various influences that have gone into Kerala’s cooking pot. He tells me that his Cochin lamb chop has Jewish-Burmese origins. “I picked up the recipe from the Jewish quarter of Cochin,” he says.

On the other hand, his Achamma’s Curry — grandmother’s meat curry — is a north Malabar speciality that he has named after Malayali grandmothers as a salute to their cooking skills. It’s a simple dish, with roasted and powdered whole red chilli and coriander seeds. Finely chopped shallots go into the gravy which is first thickened with thin coconut milk and then, when almost done, with thick coconut milk.

Achamma’s curry

The Kuttanad fish curry — a tangy dish that goes well with the equally tangy lime rice — is a recipe from Alleppey. For this, he cooks tomato, ginger and garlic paste with curry leaves and a paste of red chilli powder, coriander and fenugreek. Tamarind gives the gravy its tart taste. The popular mutta or egg curry is an old favourite of his. What distinguishes it from its other regional cousins (such as the dimer dalna in east, or the anda curry in the north) is the use of coconut milk in the gravy.

“What I like in particular about Arun is that he has gone back to his roots. He believes in traditional cooking,” says Ritu. I suppose she likes Arun’s food for another reason — both are pretty passionate about the pumpkin, which most people turn up their nose at. And since I am quite a pumpkin fan myself (having grown up on the sitaphal ki sabzi, which was eaten on special occasions in western Uttar Pradesh), I know how delicious the squash can be. Arun’s pumpkin — mathanga erissery — is a traditional dish cooked with browned coconut and spices.

Despite his great culinary talents, Arun, who is in his early fifties, likes to maintain a low profile. He doesn’t have a website to advertise his awesome coastal menu, but relies on letting the message spread through word of mouth. And even though he commercially caters to gatherings of groups that vary from six to 150, he is happy communicating with would-be clients on email (trakads@gmail.com). Rather reluctantly, I thought, he came under the arc lights when he won the crown in a food reality show on a national television channel a few months ago.

Arun says he is at his relaxed best when he is cooking. “Cooking is like a stress buster for me,” he says. Not surprisingly, the outcome is something that you remember long after the last bite.

Cochin lamb chops (serves 3-4)

Ingredients

• 6 to 8 double mutton chops • 1 tbs freshly ground black pepper • 2-3 tbs soya sauce • 1-2 tbs Worcester sauce • 1tbs tomato sauce • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste • a pinch of ground green cardamom • salt to taste • oil for pan frying

Method

Marinade the meat with all the above ingredients overnight. Cook the chops (add some water if required) till almost done. Remove the chops from any liquid left and pan fry them. Use leftover liquid to baste. Serve the chops with soft bread, mashed potatoes or French fries.

Mutta curry (serves 2)

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, boiled and shelled • 2 chopped onions • 8-10 thin slivers of ginger • 3-4 crushed garlic cloves • 1tsp freshly ground black pepper • 1tsp coriander powder • 1tsp garam masala ½ or 1 tsp red chilli powder • a pinch of turmeric • 2 chopped tomatoes • 1 green capsicum sliced into thin strips • 200ml coconut milk • salt to taste • some curry leaves

Method

Make incisions in the eggs and keep aside. Lightly sauté the onions, ginger and garlic. Add the spice powders and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and capsicum. Stir fry till capsicum is soft. Gently roll the eggs in the mixture. Add the coconut milk and salt to taste. Simmer for a while along with some curry leaves. Carefully remove the eggs and slice them lengthwise and gently drop them back in the curry. Let it simmer for a while before serving. Best with idiappam (string hoppers) or plain rice.