Kappa happens to be the best street food that sells in Kerala. Couple it up with a spicy beef curry or fish curry, and it will run into the tummy faster than the fastest metro in the world! If it is not rice, then it is kappa for an average Malayali. You will see them eat it as a meal any time of the day...
We hardly used to have kappa mainly due to my umma's diabetes problem. You know that the starch levels are dangerous for diabetes patients. But once she got hooked onto my Kappa Biriyani, she would ensure to push me to make it at least once in a month that slowly we all at home started getting bored of it... hehe... I mean if you have it once in a while, it tastes so good, right? Nowadays, a month seems like a week, so you feel, "Didn't we have this the other day?"
Once, when D went to the market and got some fresh "neimathi" (those large sardines that are filled with gheeish goodness - yeah, there is no word called "gheeish"!!!), I literally begged umma to relent into making kappa puzhukku - boiled and mashed tapioca with some spicy mathi mulakittathu, which is basically sardine in a nice red hot sauce. The kappa puzhukku gets featured today, and InShaAllah, the mathi mulakittathu will come in tomorrow...
Kappa Puzhukku - Tapioca Mash
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 kg tapoica, peeled, cleaned and chopped into medium sized pcs
1/2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
For tempering:
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
6 shallots, thinly sliced
3-4 dried red chillies
2 sprigs curry leaves
Method:
Put the tapioca with sufficient water, turmeric and salt into pressure cooker. Cook for three whistles. Switch off and allow the pressure to go by itself. Drain into a colander and set aside.
In a large saucepan, heat coconut oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add the remaining ingredients and saute till the shallots wilt. Add in the cooked tapioca and mix well.
Serve warm as it is with a cup of chai for evening snack or with a spicy non-veg curry to make it a complete meal.
Seriously - just looking at the picture is making me want to make it and relish it right away. Yummm... yes, my veins are 100% filled with Malayali blood, no doubt!!! :)