Waterside glee
Waterside Right in the midst of serene backwaters and an intriguing crisscross of canals lies
I didn’t expect to be sweating over a mortar and pestle at 9 a.m. on my vacation. But there I was, crouched on a stool in the open-air kitchen of a villa sitting peacefully on the eastern shore of Lake Vembanad, learning how to make chicken curry from scratch.
Chef Sunil didn’t speak much English. I didn’t speak Malayalam or Hindi. We spoke one or two English and Malalayam words. Soon I realized that the language of cooking is universal, especially when the first thing Sunil handed me was a machete.
He pointed to a green coconut on the table. I hesitated. He smiled and mimed the motion: a swift chop to the top. I gave it a go. Missed. The second time, I cracked it, and coconut water spilled out. He smiled and handed me a straw. The water was sweet and refreshing. I was ready for the day.
The real work started after breakfast.
Step One: Grating the Coconut
Sunil sat me down in front of a Chirava—a traditional coconut grater that was fitted with a sharp claw. I straddled it awkwardly. He split the coconut in half and demonstrated the process, which followed three simple steps: press, twist, scrape.
I was slow and clumsy at first, but I began to settle down to a rhythm. Grating coconut by hand isn’t romantic—it’s labor. But we felt happy seeing the fresh, snowy pile.
Sunil winked in merriment and tossed the grated coconut into a bowl. Then he added warm water and squeezed it through a muslin cloth. The result was thick, white coconut milk. No cans. No shortcuts. Just nature’s abundance at its best.
Step Two: The Spice Base
Sunil had already set out a row of small bowls—each holding something mysterious, fragrant, or fiery. He dry-roasted cumin, coriander, fennel, and black peppercorns in a hot pan, stirring constantly until they popped and smoked. Then he poured them into a stone grinder and gestured for me to pound.
Pounding spices is primal. It smells like power—earthy, bitter, bright. I added garlic, ginger, and a thumb-sized chunk of cinnamon bark. A few curry leaves, too. I mashed until the paste was deep brown and sticky.
Sunil heated coconut oil in a clay pot and tossed in sliced onions. They sizzled immediately. Then the paste. Then, a teaspoon of turmeric that turned everything golden. A moment later, the smell was impossible to describe—something between holy and hungry.
Step Three: The Chicken
The chicken pieces were bone-in, skinless, and marinated in lime juice and salt. Sunil tipped them into the pot. They hit the heat with a hiss and quickly picked up the color of the spice mix. Next to go into the pot were the chopped tomatoes and a ladle of thick coconut milk.
Then came the wait.
Step Four: Simmer and Taste
We let the curry simmer, uncovered, for nearly an hour. Sunil occasionally added splashes of water or coconut milk, tasting each time with the back of a spoon. I mimicked him. The flavor kept changing—sharper, deeper, richer.
At the end, he sprinkled a pinch of sugar, more lime juice, and a few more curry leaves. The curry had thickened into a glossy, golden-red sauce, clinging to the chicken like it had always belonged there.
Step Five: Eat
We ate the curry with rice and a cucumber sambol under the shade of a mango tree. Rather, I devoured it. I had every reason to — the curry was hot, not just spicy, but warming, like it understood the body. It was creamy but not heavy, and the bones in the chicken gave it depth. Every bite had the quiet complexity of something honest, handmade.
Sunil never said much, but he grinned when I went back for a third helping. I said thank you. He just nodded and pointed at the Chirava again.
I think that meant that next time, he expected me to grate. I gave it a thought and decided I did not mind, especially for a curry that tasted so divine.
And here are my key takeaways from this one-of-a-kind experience:
I came to this villa for a few days of calm and quiet. The bonus was that I left with the taste of chicken curry locked in my muscle memory, this lesson every bit worth it.
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