A mouthwatering sardine legacy

 Ethnic tastes of Kerala are best tried out in the rustic villages where the flavors and spices are not marred by chemically enhanced additions. The ever spicy Kerala fish recipes garner more followers by the day. Tucked away in a corner of Kochi is the island of Gothuruthu where sardines retain the ethnic flavors that makes the Kerala fish recipe popular

Approximately 24 km away from Kochi, Gothuruthu is an island in the Periyar River that boasts of a history dating 600 years back. Methodical studies state that this island was formed as a result of a flood in the early 14th century. Gothuruthu is set at a place where there was once an ancient port city called Muziris . It is believed that the name of the island came from the Portuguese name of the island San Diego.  

Every year lot of celebrations and cultural programmes takes place here and it is part of the life of inhabitants here. Owing to this, the island is known as the 'Island of Festivals'. Gothuruthu was ruled by the lone Christian royal family in India, called Villarvattam. The island has plenty of legacies related to culture, tradition, lifestyle and cuisine of the past through the people who live here today. Sardine is one of the most common fish found in the coast of Gothuruthu. Found in large numbers, it is a popular variety in the local cuisine. I was always under the impression that you couldn’t prepare more than ten dishes from sardines but my belief was shattered the day I met Rosamma Chedathy(local name for sister).  Rosamma Chedathy can quite easily prepare 20 dishes with sardines that include cutlet, pepper sardine, stew, and fry or even roasted. Due to time constraints we got the opportunity to try out just five dishes. 

A one hour bus journey from Kochi takes you to Gothurthu and from there; a ten minute walk takes you to Rosamma’s house. A humble and down to earth woman with a gift of creating heaven through your plates, she is the representative of a generation that is ready to share the secret recipes of the Gothurthu cuisines. 

Her passion for the craft is evident when she declares that cooking is an art. The confident tone with which she seems to declare that she is one amongst the artists of cooking, her statement turned out to be more than confidence as I tried out the magic she created by preparing five sardine dishes with absolutely no qualms within a an hour and that too artistically. A sardine stew, crispy sardine cutlet, spicy boiled sardine, sardine fried in banana leaf, hot red sardine curry, she announced as she served the items one by one. Each of these goes well with traditional pancake. 

For her cooking is an ancestral treasure, something which has been passed on through her ancestors. When asked about the recipes, she doesn’t hesitate to share it with me. I convinced myself that I would return to explore more of her culinary wonders.

Clicks: JJ