'Curries Are The Soul Of Karavali Cuisine'

The ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Mumbai recently conducted the 'Karavali' festival. M Balasundram, sous chef, in a tete-a-tete with Savio Rodrigues speaks about the distinctiveness of Karavali cuisine

EH&C: What does the term 'Karavali' represent?

M BALASUNDRAM: The term 'Karavali' is representative of the homes of the Malyaees of Kerala, Bunts of Mangalore, Coorgis of Karnataka and the Portuguese of Goa. It is a cuisine largely confined to family kitchens.

What makes this seafood festival different from the many others being conducted all over the city?

It is no surprise that most hotels conduct seafood festivals around the monsoon or post-monsoon season because it is the best time to conduct a seafood festival purely on account of the reason that fish-catch is good around these periods. At this festival we have showcased the exclusive coastal cuisines of Kerala, Goa, Mangalore and Karnataka which is very region specific.

What forms the basis on this region's style of cooking?

Curries are the soul of Karavali cuisine, which are prepared while using abundant spices, red chillies, coconut, pepper and tamarind besides the various flavouring and tempering which is added to the dish, as a set combination to form a curry.

What specialties of the coastal cuisine did you showcase at the recently concluded festival?

The range of preparations showcased during the festival were the renowned specialities from different regions such as neer dosa - thin handkerchief pancakes made out of rice flour, sannas - steamed fluffy rice and cocunut toddy cakes, clam xec-xec - clams tossed with piquant marinate and coconut, karavali meen gassi (rawas fish curry), lobster puli munchi - fresh lobster meat cooked in spicy and tangy red curry, shrimp balchao - shrimps spiced with peppercorns and malt vinegar.

The market is saturated with seafood festivals. Do you think consumers would prefer a change?

Seafood festivals have an international appeal and will always thrive as most people irrespective of where they come from are fond of seafood, especially when it is prepared in cuisine style of coastal India. The success of seafood festivals over the years has led to continuous hosting of such festivals every year.