Thursday 16 June 2011

Mathi Kappa Puzhukku / Mashed Tapioca and Sardines with Coconut and Spices

I don’t know how many of you have heard or eaten this simple dish from God’s own country Kerala.....This is a dish my mom used to make from a recipe she received from my grandma after her wedding..... It’s a dish you can have on its own without any side dishes.....I love it and whenever I buy sardines I make a small portion like this all for myself since my hubby doesn’t like it :)....A unique taste when the simple kappa (tapioca) is cooked with mathi (sardines), kudampuli and spiced coconut....


Mathi Kappa Puzhukku / Mashed Tapioca and Sardines with Coconut and SpicesIngredients:



Kappa / Tapioca- ½ kg
Mathi / Sardines – 8 to 10 nos
Freshly grated coconut- 1 to 1½ cups
Green chillies-5
Garlic-3 big pieces
Geerakom / Cumin seeds- 1tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Kudampuli / Fish Tamarind / Cocum / Gamboge – 2 pieces
Salt to taste
To season:
Coconut oil-1tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Chumannulli / Shallots - 2tbsp sliced
Dry Red chillies – 3 (cut in to 2)
Curry leaves- few

Method:
  • Clean mathi / sardines, rinse them first with salt and vinegar and then clean thoroughly, make two gashes on each side of the sardines. Cook sardines with little water, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and salt till dry. Take the flesh from the cooked fish and keep aside.
  • Soak kudampuli / cocum in ½ cup water and keep aside.
  • Grind coarsely grated coconut, cumin seeds, garlic, green chillies and turmeric powder and keep aside.
  • Discard the outer brown and inner pink layer skin of Tapioca and cut in to small chunks. Wash well and boil the tapioca in a big vessel with lot of water till tender. Add salt to taste and boil 3 more minutes and drain water from tapioca. Slightly mash tapioca with the back of a wooden spoon.
  • Add ground coconut paste to the cooked tapioca along with cooked mathi / sardine pieces, kudampuli / cocum with its water. Cover with a lid and cook till there is no raw flavor (about 10 mints) and remove from flame.
  • Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a frying pan and add mustard seeds. When it starts crackling add sliced chumannulli / shallots and fry till golden brown. Then add dry red chillies and curry leaves and fry and add this seasoning to the cooked tapioca and mix well.
  • Serve hot. (This dish is good on the day it is made so I advise you to make small portions).


Sending this over to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Magpie this month, featuring dishes inspired by Kerala :)...




Did You Enjoy this Recipe?

Enter your email ID below to get

more such recipes in your inbox

Print Friendly and PDF

9 comments:

  1. I have tried a Kannur version of this and I didn't like it :-/ They don't make Kappa n Beef so this is what they make and like.

    But when I went through your recipe, this seems to be right up my alley! I'm sure this one will win my love :D

    -A die-hard fan of Kappa Erachi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sardine is a lovely addition we usually use maldive fish
    tapioca looks wonderful

    ReplyDelete
  3. eeshwara. .mathi nnu okke kelkkumbol vaayil kappalu oodikkam.. I miss this dish a lot.. drooling over this..

    ReplyDelete
  4. A truly comfort food and an all time favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Flavourful n yummy looking

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a delicious and filling dish, yumm!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks really good, Swapna! Kappa meen combo existed as currymeen wt kappa..this is surely new to me..tks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow, I've never seen sardines in Indian cooking, but it looks great.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog:) Your feedback is important....so feel free to post your comments and questions. Hope to see you soon!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...