There’s an old saying in North Kerala or Malabar which goes - “With bread, eggs and bananas, one can whip up a feast of tea-time snacks.” Malabar is the northern region of Kerala, homestate of the famous pazham pori or banana fritter. But the pazham pori could very well take a backseat in these northern districts, as people here have mastered the art of sweet and savoury snacks using eggs, bananas and bread.
In a sense, North Kerala — especially the Moplah cuisine and the Muslim families that brought it to life — is all about celebrating food. And the districts here have to their credit a formidable collection of tea-time snacks known as 'Chaaya kadi' (munchies with tea), which are immensely popular. TNM spoke to two home chefs hailing from the region, who picked their favourite snacks, while narrating origin stories to a few of them.
Egg yolks are mixed with sugar syrup and spun into fine threads to make the delicious Mutta Maala. This sweet is a staple at most weddings in Kozhikode and Malappuram, but legend has it that the recipe was a gift to Kerala from either the Portuguese or the Spanish.
Back in the 16th century, when Portuguese priests settled in Kannur, they used plenty of egg whites to starch their cassocks. “The rectory kitchens would have surplus egg yolks that were mixed with sugar syrup. It's whisked and passed through eggshells or containers with tiny holes in them. And swirled directly into boiling sugar syrup. It is immediately scooped up to avoid over cooking it and then left to cool. This dish was called Fios De Ovos, and it is the Portuguese version of Mutta Maala,” says Aysha Mahmood, from Kozhikode.
When the spun eggs entered the Malayali cuisine, it was served with Mutta Surka, a steamed egg white cake cooked with sugar and cardamom powder. To date, the Mutta Maala is served only with the surka which is also known as Pinjanathappam in some places.
Mutta surka on top of Mutta Maala. Picture by Sajna Safeed
The Spanish too have their version of spun eggs called ‘Huevo Hilado’, which is very similar to Mutta Salada, a dish cooked by the Mattancherry Jews in Cochin. An alternate account to the Portuguesese tale, this Spanish origin story claims that it was the Sephardi Jews from Spain who came to Cochin and made spun eggs famous.
“Those who believe this story oppose North Kerala’s claim to the Mutta Maala. But in Malabar, the Portuguese origin story is more accepted,” Aysha says.
A soft flatbread which can be cooked in 50 different ways, the ‘Pathiri’ is among the most famous dishes from North Kerala.
One reason for the large variety of Pathiris is perhaps a tradition observed in these districts, where the bridegroom in a Muslim family stays at his wife’s house for 40 days after the wedding. Traditionally, his mother-in-law is not to cook and serve a type of Pathiri more than once, as repetition is considered shameful.
Perhaps due to the efforts of these eager mothers-in-law, today there are scores of sweet and savoury pathiris available in bakeries. Pathiris folded with coconut and sugar, pathiris fried in ghee, pathiris stuffed with meat and fish..you name it.
Kunji Pathiri. Picture by Aysha Mahmood
The most popular among the sweet versions is the ‘Chatti Pathiri’, a layered pastry made with eggs, cardamom, coconut shavings, sugar, cashew nuts and ghee. The Chatti Pathiri is a popular iftar snack and the layers are held together with egg-white as adhesive.
Urban myths trace the Chatti Pathiri all the way to ancient Egypt where Feteer Meshaltet, a flaky, layered pastry was made and sweetened with honey, dry fruits and nuts. Its recipe is even reportedly inscribed in certain tombs in Egypt. The recipe was found inscribed on the tomb of the 18th Dynasty Wazir Rekhmire.
Chatti Pathiri: Picture by Nishwin Ahamed
When it comes to savoury Pathiris, the most popular snack is the Irachi or Meen Pathiri, which is made by stuffing the flatbread with beef or fish filling. This is then deep fried, dipped in an egg-milk mixture and deep fried again to serve as popular iftar food.
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Meen Pathiri. Picture by Aysha Mahmood
Pathiris come in different shapes and sizes, and all of them glorious. Some have quirky names too, Aysha adds. For instance, there is the ‘Tyre Pathiri’, which is a thick rice bun typically cooked in a mud pot. The bun got its name from the tyre grooves on its edges made while rolling the dough.
There is also the ‘Paal Pathiri’ made with milk, the ‘nice pathiri’ which is finely rolled dough cooked on a pan. The Kunji pathiri are miniature flatbreads mixed with mutton or chicken curry and served. Another quirky variety is the Kannu Vecha Pathiri (or Pathiri with eyes), which are cooked flatbread with browned spots on them, resembling eyes.
Kannu vecha Pathiri. Picture by Aysha Mahmood.
The most difficult variety is arguably the Nura or Patha Pathiri, which translates to foam flatbread. “This one is extremely hard to make as only the foam from the whipped batter is used. This makes the whole Pathiri so fine that it dissolves in your mouth. If there’s a large crowd, you might want to make this pathiri in hundreds as one individual can easily eat 9-10 of these,” Aysha adds.
Nurapathiri. Picture by Aysha Mahmood
Athi Pathiri. Picture by Aysha Mahmood
Thurki Pathiri: Picture by Aysha Mahmood
There’s never too much banana and eggs in a North Kerala household, and this has probably resulted in scores of snacks made with just these two ingredients.
French Toast goes savoury in the North Kerala kitchen with egg yolk, chillies, coriander and onions scattered with bread. This dish called the Bread Mukkiporichath is then dipped in egg and served toasted.
Bread mukkiporichath: Picture by Aysha Mahmood
Another famous banana dish is the Pazham Nirachathu or stuffed banana which can have a sweet or savory filling. The traditional long banana or nenthra pazham is split in the middle and stuffed with either an egg or coconut filling. This is then dipped in a Maida batter and deep fried, just like the Pazham Pori.
Pazham Nirachathu- Picture by Aysha Mahmood
Vaari Itathu is another banana based snack, which literally translates to scattered stuff. It is made by mixing bananas, maida, sugar, salt and water. “You need to squeezes this with your hands and scatter it into boiling oil,” Aysha says.
Another old banana dish that is still popular is called the ‘Kaikritha’. This is a sweet, pregnancy snack made by scrambling bananas in ghee, eggs, sugar and cardamom. “It is made for pregnant women and there is a superstitious belief that if the scrambled eggs and bananas come out as one whole mass, then the baby is a girl. If it isn’t, then it is a boy,” Aysha adds.
Panineer petti. Picture by Aysha Mahmood
There are many other popular snacks like puzhukku- which is a dish mainly made of boiled or steamed root vegetables and coconut. Puzhukku can be of tapioca, yam, raw banana, jackfruit and taro. Then there is the maniputtu or steamed rice balls in coconut milk which is served as a snack and a breakfast item. The chakkayappam or jackfruit dumplings are also a favourite in the region.
Ernakulam based home chef Sajna Safeed recounts the best dishes made at her maternal house in Kannur during weddings and Ramzan.
“There is the Chukkappam and minced beef combination which is popular during weddings, they are made in several kilos and packed and sent as gifts to guests,” Sajna says.
Essentially, the chukkappams are miniature buttons made by frying rice flour to a crisp. Along with it, beef is cut into small pieces, marinated in a masala and cooked for hours together until it gets dry. Both the beef and buttons are mixed together and eaten as a lip smacking combo, Sajna says, and it is an instant hit in all wedding homes.
Chukkappam: Pic by Saute Sisters Insta page.
If you have tasted Pazham Pori, you might have also across the Unnakaya This slender Malabari snack is made by mashing bananas and squeezing them into tiny spindle like shapes. The mashed patty is then stuffed with sweetened eggs, coconut shavings, nuts, dates, cashews and cardamom. Typically served at weddings, the banana patty is fried in coconut oil and served fresh as Unnakaya.
There is also a Kannur variety of the unniyappam called Kannur appam or vella unniyappam, which is sometimes made brown on one side and white on the other.
“Another snack found in North Kerala bakeries is the Kaipola, in which bananas are cut into small squares mixed with an egg batter. The batter is made by whipping up eggs, sugar, and cardamom. This is added to the banana squares and sauteed in a pan with ghee. The pan is kept closed and liquid mixture cooks into a soft and aromatic mass,” Sajna adds.
A rare dish called Panchaara Paatta: Pic by Aysha
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Pettiappam: Picture by Nishwin Ahamed
If you happen to whip up a masterpiece in the kitchen by sheer accident, Muslim families in North Kerala have a name for it too. “It is Allahu Ahlam”, an Arabic phrase which literally translates to God Knows.
There’s a funny story on how this name stuck, says Aysha. Legend says that back in the day, a distraught mother-in-law panicked after her daughter’s groom stayed an extra day at her house, leading to her creating the Allahu Ahlam.
“We know that dishes are not to be repeated in these 40 days when the groom comes to stay. So when this groom stayed an extra day, the mother-in-law did not know what to cook. She accidentally came up with a dish which he liked best. When he asked her what it was called, she simply replied ‘God Knows’,” Aysha says.
While there is no one specific dish identified as Allahu Ahlam, any kitchen experiment which clicks can be called the God Knows dish, until the person who made it comes up with a proper name.
A few Insta accounts to follow!