Tag Archives: coorgi cuisine

Unravel the Culinary Secret of Kodava Cuisine at Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru

Bengaluru is about to witness a distinctive and unforgettable gastronomic experience as Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru announces an exploration of the remarkable cuisine of Coorg on the 15th and 16th of November, at CUR8, the hotel’s signature restaurant. This two-day pop-up at Four Seasons is the third in a series of unique partnership with Chef Pin; showcasing the incredible culinary talents of home chefs. In this latest pop up, home chef Radhica Muthappa brings to the forefront the lesser known, yet incredibly rich and vibrant Kodava Cuisine.

Coorg, nestled in the lush greenery of south west of Karnataka, is not only known for its breathtaking landscapes but also for its distinct and flavourful cuisine. Coorgi cuisine, often referred to as Kodava cuisine, reflects the culture and traditions of the people of Kodagu, known for their warm hospitality and love for robust and earthy flavours.

At the heart of this culinary celebration is Radhica Muthappa, a passionate home chef who has mastered the art of this cuisine and is set to bring her love for the Kodava culture to the table, creating dishes that pay homage to the region’s rich culinary heritage. Her journey as a chef has been a remarkable one with a background in working at The Park Hotel in Chennai and now running a couple of cloud kitchens from her home in Bangalore. She has honed her skills over the years, and her expertise in Coorgi cuisine ensures an authentic and unforgettable dining experience.

The culinary delights of this micro-cuisine that have long remained undiscovered by many, are a beautiful blend of indigenous spices, aromatic herbs, and local produce from Coorg, creating dishes that are hearty, delectable, and deeply rooted in tradition. Savor Radhica Muthappa’s flavourful masterpieces including dishes like ‘Coorg Meatball (Kaima Undey) Curry’ and her signature dish, ‘Pandi Curry with Kadambattu’ and embark on a journey with Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru into the heart of this regional culinary treasure, celebrating the indigenous ingredients, authentic recipes, and a commitment to quality and innovation.

In an age where the world has become a global village, there is something incredibly special about exploring micro cuisines like Coorgi Cuisine. Guests can interact with the home chef and learn about the cuisine and the culture of the state in the sophisticated atmosphere of CUR8, where stylish decor and attentive service create the perfect setting for a memorable dining experience.

This pop up at Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru is a gateway to understanding the Kodava way of life, making this event an exploration of both food and culture.

Date: November 15th and 16th, 2023

Venue: CUR8, Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru

source: http://www.hospibuz.com / Hospibuz.com / Home> Buzzing News> Hotel News / September 11th, 2023

Koli Kari Recipe: This Coorgi Chicken Curry Is Nothing Like You Ever Had Before

Coorg-style chicken curry is probably one of the best examples to understand the palate of the locals.

Koli Kari Recipe: This Coorgi Chicken Curry Is Nothing Like You Ever Had Before
Coorg-style chicken curry is quite popular. Here’s what makes it so unique. / Photo: Stock

Highlights

  • Coorgi chicken is one of the most delightful recipes
  • Here’s what makes the dish so unique locally
  • It has a generous use of spices that are grown in Coorg

We just love how varied Indian cuisine is! Every time we delve in deep, we come across some unique sub regional cuisine that mesmerizes us with their flavours, aroma and use of ingredients. This time, we came across a delicious chicken curry from the South Indian region – Coorg. Popularly referred to as ‘The Coffee Country’, Coorg or the Kodagu district of Karnataka boasts of its distinctive cooking style. The food pattern here is defined by its extensive flora and fauna and changes as per the season and its produce. And the Coorg-style chicken curry is probably one of the best examples to understand the palate of the locals. Let’s find out what makes the dish so unique and how to make it at home.

What Is So Special About Coorg-Style Chicken Curry:

This delicious dish is referred to as koli kari in regional language, where koli stands for chicken and kari is curry in English . A part of the Kodava cuisine (the food culture of Coorg district), koli kari is characterised by the generous use of spices, which are traditionally produced and picked in the coffee estates of the region. Another ingredient that makes koli kari so unique is kachampuli – the local version of the balsamic vinegar, extracted from a fruit called kudampuli. It has its own taste and aroma that adds on to the flavours of the chicken curry. Sounds indulgent, indeed!

How To Make Koli Kari | Coorg-Style Chicken Curry Recipe:

Here, we bring the authentic recipe of koli kari for you to try at home. This particular recipe is shared by Chef Anahita Dhondy on her Instagram handle, where she mentions, “Koli kari recipe is essentially a chicken curry made Kodava style with the usage of coconut paste and spices. It is a flavour packed chicken curry from South India. They make their food flavoursome and spicy, which makes it likeable by all.” She also states that if you do not find kachampuli, then don’t worry, simply eliminate it from the recipe.

To start with, clean and marinate the chicken curry with simple salt, red chill and turmeric and let it rest for at least two hours. Then add some clove, cinnamon in the wok and toss. Then add garlic, onion and other masalas and cook for some time. To it add marinated chicken and mix with the spices. Keep the flame low to avoid it from sticking to the base or getting burnt.

After a while, add coconut paste and a few other spices and cook. Here, you can adjust the quantity of coconut paste as per your preference. Finally, if you have kachampuli, add it to the dish along with green chillies and coriander leaves and turn off the heat. And you have koli kari ready to be relished.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvbvL1-pxPJ/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d785faa8-2da2-4c4b-bf56-d8fc3436dfdd

What To Pair With Koli Kari | What Goes Best With Koli Kari:

Koli kari is usually paired with akki roti, ghee rice or as per Chef Anahita Dhondy, you can have it with paputt too. For the unversed, paputt is a traditional Kodava rice cake, made by steaming rice with few basic spices. In the post on Instagram, she also gave us the recipe for paputt.

To make paputt, you need to first wash the broken rice and place it in a heat-proof plate. To it, add ingredients like grated coconut, salt, sugar and few other spices. Then pour water, covering the rice and the other ingredients. Now place the plate in a steamer and prepare it until it turns soft and well-cooked. Finally, cool it down, cut into triangles and serve hot with koli kari.

source: http://www.food.ndtv.com / NDTV Food / Home> Food & Drink / by Somdatta Saha / August 06th, 2023

Mountain Calling: Hyatt Centric rolls out special brunch menu dedicated to Coorg cuisines

We recommend Pandi Curry, Koli Curry and Baimbale Curry.

Hyatt Centric rolls out special brunch menu
Hyatt Centric rolls out special brunch menu

Chef Gaurav Ramakrishnan introduced a special Coorg cuisine brunch at The Bengaluru Brasseri recently. The special brunch includes dishes like Pandi Curry, KadambuttuKummu Curry, Akki Roti, and more. We started off our brunch with Murgh Lasooni Tikka and Indonesian Grilled Fish. The former is a delicacy marinated in yoghurt and a few seasonings while the latter was flavourful and a bit on the spicier side. 

We then decided to check out their special brunch dishes. We started off with boiled rice and Pandi Curry. Boiled rice with pandi curry is like a staple diet in the Coorg region. The pandi curry was made using chilli powder, green chillies, masalas, and Kachumpuli (a dark-coloured vinegar). The delicacy was flavourful and complemented the rice very well. 

Kadambuttu

We went for another round of boiled rice, but this time along with the Koli Curry. This Coorgi-style chicken curry was cooked with grated coconut, tamarind paste, green chillies, and red chilli powder. The dish was more on the spicier side but we loved having it with the steamed rice. 

Next, we tried the Akki Roti with Baimbale Curry. The curry was made with bamboo shoots along with cumin and mustard. The base of the curry was cooked using coconut paste. The dish was delicious and left us craving more.

Koli Curry

Our brunch came to a close with a couple of desserts – Thambuttu and Kaavale Puttu. The former was made with mashed banana pulp and roasted broken rice along with grated coconut while the latter had ripe jackfruit pulp, ghee and cardamom. This dessert was steamed and served in banana leaves. 

If you are looking for a place to try out special Coorg delicacies, the special brunch at The Bengaluru Brasseri is one you should definitely look at. 

₹1,799++ for two. At Hyatt Centric, MG Road 

Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @al_ben_so

source: http://www.indulgexpress.com / Indulge Express / Home> Food> Bengaluru / by Alwin Benjamin Soji / February 24th, 2023

Tangy Twin Cuisine

Gourmets around the country are slowly waking up to the culinary charms of Karnataka’s two most prominent cuisines—Bunt and Coorgi.

The culinary map of Karnataka reads like a dream. With rich vegetarian fare in the north, fragrant seafood dishes along the coast and spicy meaty fare down south, the state offers a range of delicacies for all palates. However, not many people are aware of this rich culinary diversity. Of India’s four southern states, Karnataka’s gastronomic marvels are the least known. While Tamil Nadu is famous for its distinct Chettinad cuisine, Kerala for its rich Moplah fare and Andhra Pradesh for its royal Hyderabadi repast, the delectable dishes of Karnataka have been languishing on the sidelines for several years now. Apart from Udupi’s trademark masala dosa and the customary lemon rice, not many people are even aware of the state’s two distinctive cuisines, Bunt and Coorgi, indigenous to these warrior communities. All that is set for a change as more and more restaurants are inviting local chefs from the two communities to present these hidden gems to foodies. With hotels like The Park in New Delhi organising Bunt food festivals on a regular basis and eateries devoted to Coorgi cuisine opening up by the dozen in Bangalore, the twin cuisines are all set to become the next big thing on the Indian food map.

MIRROR IMAGES

The two regional fares are often considered twins as they mirror each other in the liberal use of coconut and rice; and yet their cooking methods couldn’t be more distinct. Being a coastal community, Bunts make wide use of all forms of seafood ranging from crab, mussels and even seaweed. Imaginative combinations of rice and fish dominate the cuisine of this Tulu speaking community, concentrated in the Udupi and Mangalore districts of southwest Karnataka. Just adjacent to these districts lies Coorg, the land of coffee and cardamom plantations. Unlike their fish eating neighbours, Coorgis are avid meat eaters, with lamb, pork and chicken forming a huge part of the meal.

Their warrior lineage has left a distinctive mark on their food. If one peeks into the pages of history, Bunts trace their descent from the Nagavanshi order of Kshatriyas. Their moment of glory as warriors arrived during the rule of the Vijaynagara Emperors of the Tuluvu dynasty. Even today, this fiery legacy lives on in their spirited nature, muscular stature and simple yet delectable cuisine. Each dish is robust in taste, rich in proteins and doesn’t involve too many ingredients or complicated cooking processes.

Just like Bunts, Coorgis too identify themselves with the Kshatriya clan. In fact, this hilly coffee haven has given the nation many a military leader, right from Field Marshal KM Cariappa to General KS Thimayya. Coorgis’ love for meat goes back to the times when they used to hunt wild boar and other game in the dense forests.

Both communities like their food tangy and hot, but their spice mix marks one cuisine distinct from the other. While Bunt cuisine makes use of coconut, red chillies, mustard and curry leaves in varying proportions, Coorgi fare relies heavily on aromatic green masala, which is made in huge quantities in every traditional household for repeat use. “Bunts make use of kokum to give a tangy flavour to their food, but Coorgis infuse piquancy in their dishes by using a black fruit vinegar,” says master chef CB Shankaran of Sheraton’s south Indian restaurant, Dakshin. It is this play of spices and ingredients that makes these two cuisines similar and yet individualistic in various ways.

FISHY FARE

Whether it is the cooking techniques or recipes, Bunts haven’t deviated from their age-old culinary traditions. Every well-honed chef avoids the use of spice powders available in the market; but for Bunt women, it is nothing short of sacrilege. Their cooking process starts very early on from the roasting and grinding of spices. No form of seafood is wasted. The bangude masala fry or banana wrapped grilled mackerel and the yeti ghee roast or prawns prepared with cashewnut and ghee are just some of the highlights of this seafood repast.

“Coconut is an extremely vital part of the cuisine, whether grated or as milk. One usually starts a meal with a drink called bonda, which is fresh coconut water churned with the tender pulp,” says Dr Sapna S, a Bangalore based medico who has been doing intensive research on countryside cuisine. Though an average meal in a Bunt household includes numerous courses, the meal remains delightfully light and simple.

Lunch would include pathrode (double cooked pinwheel of arbi leaves), a spicy fish fry, mansade keema fry (pan tossed mutton dumplings with coriander and mint masala), flaky kori roti made of rice and generally served with a fragrant chicken curry called kori gassi. Dinner, however, is a shorter meal, with lots of papads and appalams served with the food. “For dinner, we have something very interesting called the sawunder thethi or spoon fried omelette. The egg is cooked in a spoon and has a nice fluffy, smoky feel to it,” explains Sapna of the concept.

Modern kitchen gadgets and appliances don’t bedazzle Bunt women. Many still prefer to use wood fire and traditional cooking utensils. “The food is usually roasted or baked. Bunts believe in slow cooking and they simply abhor the use of a pressure cooker,” says Chef Bakshish Dean of The Park Hotel, New Delhi.

If you are visiting a traditional Bunt household, you might just get lucky and get to sample the fiery porcupine curry. Considered a special delicacy, the dish is prepared by removing the thorns from the porcupine and cutting it into medium sized pieces. “We then soak it in salt and turmeric and cook it. It is a very soft meat and is cooked with a lot of spices,” says Sapna.

STRICTLY NON-VEGETARIAN

Like Bunts, Coorgis too love their rice. They simply can’t do without their fragrant Sannakki rice, which grows in abundance in the valleys of Coorg. “We make something called akki ooti or rotis made of rice flour. These can be eaten with curries or chutneys made of coconut or sesame,” says Muthu Bopanna, who runs the popular homestay Gowri Niwas in Coorg, along with her husband. Known widely for her culinary skills, guests come from far and wide to sample her pandi curry.

Here too, Coorgis are in sync with Bunts in their love for puttu. There are more than ten varieties of puttu that are made using a variety of herbs and are eaten in combination with spicy meat dishes. There is the kadadambuttu made from rawa and rice and steamed like idlis, then there is the papputu made from milk and shredded coconut and the nulluputtu that is pressed into string hoppers using a mould.

However, nothing delights Coorgis more than having a pork dish in their meal. “The pandi curry or pork curry is one of the highlights of their meal. It makes for a good breakfast dish as well,” explains Satish Warrier, owner of Gunpowder, a restaurant located in Delhi’s upmarket Hauz Khas Village and known for its finger licking pork curry. And the locals don’t believe in eating their meat lean and mean. The sizzling sound of rich wholesome fat dripping from the meat onto the pan is music to their ears.

With Coorg being the land of coffee, cardamom, cinnamon, orange and pepper, it is no wonder then that fragrant spices are widely used in cooking. “Our food is not high on the chilli quotient but on the masala quotient,” says Muthu. While Coorgi food is a feast for meat lovers, there is something for the veggies as well. Mangoes, jackfruit, horse gram, yams and bananas are used to make delicious curries and chutneys.

“Most vegetarian dishes are very seasonal. Take the baimbale curry made from tender bamboo shoot which is made just after the rains. Then there is the koomu curry made from wild mushrooms that is made during the monsoons,” she adds.

Festivals hold a very special place in Coorgi households. No ceremony is considered complete until meat and liquor are served. “We are essentially ancestor worshippers, so for any festival we cook whatever the ancestor liked,” says Muthu. Known for their hospitality, Coorgis ensure that no one leaves the table dissatisfied.

CULINARY MARVELS

Whatever their similarities or distinctions, these rich cuisines stir the imagination with their exotic ingredients and unique lineage. Each meal has something exceptional to offer; each bite carries with it the sweetness of the hills, the tanginess of the coast and the rustic charm of the two communities. These twin cuisines need to be sampled to be believed.

source: http://www.openthemagazine.com / Open> Features > Food / By Avantika Bhuyan / Shome Basu / Jan 30th, 2010