If one day, he is asked to be the ‘dictator’ of Kerala, the first thing he will do is ban the writing, speaking and displaying of the word ‘kuzhimanthi’, and it will be an act of saving the Malayalam language from pollution, actor VK Sreeraman wrote on his Facebook page on the afternoon of Saturday, October 1. Kuzhimanthi is originally an Arabic dish, containing rice and meat, adapted to the tastes of Kerala and has been growing popular in the state in the past few years. Sreeraman’s call for this ‘ban’ was not taken well by everyone. Social media users took it upon themselves to take sides, for and against kuzhimanthi. Later in the day, Sreeraman made another short post, clearing the air, saying that he only meant the name had to go, and he had nothing against the dish itself.
“A post that begins with the line, ‘if one day, I am asked to be dictator’, was not taken lightly by some people. I have eaten kuzhimanthi, and made a documentary about the way it is cooked. But even then, I had not agreed with the name of the dish. We all have the freedom to express our likes and dislikes. But I understand that my dislike has angered and saddened some people. I am sad that I became the reason for it, and express my regrets,” Sreeraman posted later in the day, after a controversy arose.
Among those who supported Sreeraman’s first post was Sunil P Ilayidom, noted Malayalam scholar. He too later withdrew his comment and put out an explanatory post on Facebook. “I personally don’t like the name kuzhimanthi. I have always felt that such a great dish could use a better name. Similarly, I don’t like the name moloshyam (a Palakkad stew made of lentils and vegetables). There are other terms like these that I think could use clearer words in Malayalam, but it does not justify a call for word ban,” Sunil wrote, and expressed his regrets for backing Sreeraman without considering that.
Homegrown, a youth centric cultural platform, describes kuzhimanthi biriyani as a mandi or manthi, which is a Yemeni dish, originating from the Arabic word 'nada' (meaning dewy). Kuzhimanthi is believed to be a portmanteau of mandi and the Malayalam word kuzhi, which refers to the deep pit in which the dish is cooked.