The Lessons Catechism

The girls have been attending preparatory classes for their First Holy Communion, one of the landmark achievement in a Catholic's life. The classes started on a sunday soon after the early morning mass.

This being the case, I had decided that bread would be breakfast. So it was tawa toasted bread and ghee that was offered. being too early in the morning, not everyone was ready for breakfast; so everybody kind of nibbled on bread and after too much of forcing and pushing, everybody was out of the house by 7.00 am for the mass which starts at 6.30. finally we reached the church by 7.15 and therewere looks from people in the church (I wonder what right people who have reached 5 minutes earlier to stare at the followers); anyway after the mass the girls reached the class. The class was over by 9.00am. we reached home by 9.15 and then then force fed the girls with something so that they last till the time lunch was ready. Did not bother with the husband. Bread was there on the table.... he could eat if he wanted

At about 11.00 am, husband was checking frantically if lunch was ready. the change in his schedule was disturbing him it seems and he wanted to have lunch. I was on the verge of giving a sharp retort when Rose says "You know achacha, Jesus fasted for 40 days, and you cant even stay hungry for a minute". Both of us were taken aback, we burst out laughing and decided that catechism may be was not right.

The next day, while getting the herd ready for school, I was offered another boond of knowledge. Rose comes into the kitchen and tells me," Amma, May was discarded by her parents when she was born" and i ask, WHich Mary,assuming that she was referring to someone in her class". She gives me a queer look and says condescendingly, "Mother Mary Amma"

The next lesson came the very next day. After the class, Rose was telling me a story that was told by the catechism teacher, about a boy, whose mother encouraged him to steal and finally when he became a big thief and was put in jail for his crimes, he told his mother who came to see him that it was she who made him a criminal and that he did not want to see her. Ann the eternal cynic who was sitting close by replied thus," eh go yeah, the teacher made it up, as if anything like this can happen?"

The Broom and Broomgroom

Catechism classes and exams are still a very great source of entertainment at home even today…..

Last Sunday was the annual Catechism exams for the girls. This is soo stressful as it coincides with the annual exams at School. I somehow force the girls to study for the catechism exams; always threatening them with consequences if they do not pass the exam like staying back and repeating the class next year when everyone else moves on the next class ( but in reality thinking about the one on one meeting with the Head mistress if they were to flunk the exam)

After the exams, the girls were excited as they had answered well and were hopeful of scoring good marks. I was going through Rose’s question paper and she was giving me the answers to the questions (I do not bother to do this for their school exams ) and found an interesting question

“ What is the important factor in Marriage” ( and this to a IVth std kid )
I asked her if she had answered the question and she says confidently, “yes, the broom and broomgroom have to agree for the marriage”. I rechecked with her to see if I had heard right. She gives me a strange look and repeats the answer. I burst out laughing

Meen Pattichadhu

I made this meen curry yesterday which i thought was grand even by my standards!!!

I like to eat fish a lot if someone were to prepare it. but when it comes to preparing it by self it is ohhhhhhhhh sooooooooo boring especially if you are back from work and feel like eating fish curry.

It was one of those days when you are irritated about work and home that the husband buys some fish in the evening on his way home from work ( all because i had emailed him to buy fish; we are sooo sooo technically forward that we put the maximum use of modern technology ....

Thankfully the fish was well skinned and cleaned and cubed. So all that remained was to wash well and curry the fish.

I like the traditional Kerala recipe of the Madhya Thiruvithankoore Christians

The fish is washed with salt warer first and then with vineager ( this is courstey a friend of mine who discovered that washing with vineager removes the fishy smell to a large extent.) and then with water several times and kept aside

For a Kg of Fish you would require about
5-6 tablespoons of chilly powder. ( i use a mix of Kashmiri Chill powder and regular chilly powder) though traditionally they use only the regular chilly powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
one 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
4-5 cloves of Garlic
5-6 large pieces of Kodum Puli (Cocum/Mangostein) washed well and soaked in water


I grind the powders along with ginger and garlic in a mixie to a smooth paste. ( though this is not a necessity) You can soak the powders in water, slice the ginger and garlic to small pieces

If you have the traditional mud pot ( munn chatti) you can use that. (When I feel very traditional I use it…..I have a couple of those preserved at home for my “ Feeling traditional day….:-)

Heat a munn chatti if you have one (if not use an aluminum tawa ) Add about 4-5 table spoons of coconut oil. Add the teaspoon of mustard and ¼ teaspoon of fenugreek. When the seeds cracked add, thinly sliced small onions (5 no.s), 3-4 sliced green chilies and about 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves. Stir the mixture till the sliced onions turn brown, when this has happened add the paste (of chilly, coriander powder, garlic and ginger) and stir well till the oil separates and the mixture takes on a brownish red colour.

When the oil separates is when you add water into the mixture and stir till you get a uniform solution with out lumps Bring it to a boil add salt and (if you are using an aluminum tawa, transfer the solution into a stainless steel bowl). Add the Kodum puli along with the water it is soaked in and then add the fish pieces. Bring it to a boil and then cook on sim for about 30 minutes.

I like to eat it the very instant it is done…….. Old timers say the meen gets better with age.

This is a good combination with rice, chappathi’s kappa , appam’s even idly and Dosa …… but I guess you need to acquire the taste to eat it with Idly and Dosa….

Lessons from Catechism

This is for posterity. For the girls to look at and laugh when they grow up

Ann and Rose are getting ready for their First Holy Communion, a major milestone in a Catholic's life.

They have been attending sunday classes for the past 2-3 years and we have been given drops of knowledge.

After the first year when Ann failed to make it to in the Annual exams, and when both my husband and I were asked to meet the headmistress before she was promoted to the next class, we have been careful to see that they atleast attain the magic pass marks. Cant think of attending another of those sermonising sessions which comes from the headmistress in her brocken English. I wonder why they even make the effort when it is common knowledge that all of us are Malayalees. I guess speaking English is "Eshtyle"

Anyway it is a big strain when the catechism exams are announced both half yearly and annual that i go into a state of nervous breakdown cos it involves teaching them and believe me I have more tension that when their session ending exams at school approach

During one such exam, one of the Question was

Q:Who is our Savior?
Ans: Jesus is oour Saviour

and in the section Fill up the Blanks this question was repeated as

Jesus is our Savior

Unfortunately, for Rose the question appeared in the Fill in the Blank session and instead of filling the blank with Jesus, the poor soul filled it with Who
This was during her first standard, she has progressed much since.

Since the intensive preparatory classes for the Holy Communion has started she has become a source of gyan for anything related to Christianity

Once when the Husband was making a fuss about Lunch being delayed, she comes up with
"Achahcha, I am surprised, you cannot stay hungry for one hour. Dont you know Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights?". My eyes popped out. She had indeed seen the light.

Day before yesterday when i was preparing breakfast in a hurry in time to put food on the table before 7.30am. (I admire myself everyday for accomplishing this on time without any major casualities barring screaming at the girls and their father for their inaction during my time of crisis) Rose comes into the kitchen in a hurry and says" Amma, Mary was discarded by her parents when she was born" and I ask her, "Who the new girl in your class?" (as her classmates/she is prone to making things up about her classmates). She gives me a funny look and says," Amma, I meant Virgin Mary". and I " Ohhhhhh Mary!!!!"

The new age vocabulary

Its been a while since i wrote something. More because of the workload at office and home that i have been totally exhausted to pen even a few lines. Something that the girls where discussing the otherday caught my attention

Rose as usual was sitting with me chattering away about school. I was blissfully ignorant of her talk fully engrossed in the newspaper. I get time to look at the newspaper only in the evenings; (so much for womens liberation. I used to be a vehement women'libber in my bachelor days). She must have said something to catch Anne's interest, who was in her room ( probabaly modelling before the mirror; That is all she has time for these days) i heard Ann shout out "which girl" and was interested in the conversation. Rose," the girl who waved when we were in the van in the evening" and Ann, "Ohhhhh the Rabbit tooth eh?".

and iam "zapped" another of their vocabulary

Soda Buddi and " Please do the same thing for me Oh God!"

Today started off as a very peaceful day, starting from yesterday evening peace has prevailed on my household.

The girls, Ann and Rose were on their best behaviour. their mom too was too sweet to be true. I collected the girls from their playhome in the evening, Rose being the chatterbox started off narrating the days events as soon as she caught sight of me. We the threesome resemble refugees on this trip ( with bags of various sizes and shapes hanging from all possible places of our bodies)

Me too was in a playful mood as opposed to the usual grumpy self, so when the girls asked for ice cream, I bought them despite having a packet of ice cream in the fridge. and then they wanted to reach home fast to attack it. the road opposite to our house has been changed to a two way road from the one way; so it is kind of tricky crossing the road; when the road was fairly clear of traffic; I gave a war cry ESCAAAAAAAAAAPE and we crossed the road, much to the embarrassement of the daughters ( I like to embarrass them just to see the expression on their face....

We reach home; everything gets dumped at the entrance and they just head for the sofa; I have been trying to discipline them all their lives that they have to put things in place ( bags on their study table; shoes on the shoe rack etc etc but they just dont do it; very much in contrast to the theory of a psycologist who once told me that it is a matter of setting the practise and a habit; so much for psycology; i guess the girls defy all the set rules and set a new set of rules

As I had done most of the cooking in the morning itself, there was nothing much to do; I served the girls their evening meal and sat with them at the dining table; the TV was switched on; the show selected being "sponge bob; square pants" To this day, i have not been able to understand their attraction for this cartoon,according to me the characters are Yucky ( their language; these days they are my language guru; what with yummmmmmm and Yuckkk

After I while i went to lie down for a while; Rose finished her meal and came to lie with me and we were chatting about her school when she told me about the new "rude and mean" girl who was there in their school van ( iam struck at the strong language; my how do these girls pick up such language; this girl poojitha is a fighter cock amma, she fights with everyone in the van and pushes the small pre primary boy too; so bad no amma??? Yes i agree and then she even fights with Chechi and she is only in 4th std amma you should not fight with big girls no amma?? I remind her that then she should not be fighting with her chechi and she ignores it; so I ask her what chechi does when poojitha fights with her; she says chechi keeps quite; does not mind her. Just then chechi walks in and i ask her if poojitha fought with her today; yes Amma and i told her " eh shut up you soda Buddi". I burst out laughing at the language, (Oh my! the girls are mean)and i asked her why soda Buddi and pat came the answer," Amma she wears glasses". I told her that it is mean to call such names and then Rose is there to support her chechi. Amma poojitha is also mean. She asked me if my sister was mental. I was sure i would fall off the bed and then Rose says" I told her no she is not, if she was mental, she would be in the mental hospital she is not, so she is not mental".

I thought enough was enough, I admonished them. told them to watch their language and just ignore if people were mean and not to respond. They did not think amma was modern enough and argued that if we sit quite they think we are fools, I said let them think. Anyway it was time for the wash and the studies so i pushed one into the bathroom and sat down with the other to look at the school work.I had enough for one day

Everything went off peacefully for the rest of the evening; I woke up late in the morning the next day as breakfast was bread and cheese. so had plenty of time to spend with the girls ( it was one of the quitest week mornings; otherwise the house is like a battle ground; with me yelling from the kitchen and the girls just sitting about on the sofa not doing anything and husband in blissful ignorance of what is happening around, engrossed in his newspaper)

The breakfast and dressing over, they were all set to go down to catch the school van; and as usual i asked them to pray before they leave

Ann prays as follows: God please make this a good day; let no teacher scold me
and Rose," Please do the same thing for me Oh God!"

The husband and I burst out laughing at this., the girls went out to catch the van and peace set in ......
and then the it was time to dress up for office; my day had begun....

Nadan Kappayum Ellum

I was introduced to this culinary delight after marriage; we were invited by a friend of the husband to lunch soon after marriage

We reached there and there was this rich aroma wafting in from the kitchen. Aunty was busy in the kitchen I was told. After introductions and small talk, I walked into the kitchen to talk with aunty and she casually asked if i have tasted kappa a ellu. I said no and then she said that is what is special today

Kappa and ellu is very traditional to Kuttanad and changanacherry. This is an item that is very common and very staple in the farmers house. It is suited to people who labour well in the fields. The fat, protein and carbohydrates in the dish is easily dissolved by the hard labour put in by the farmers.

Well now I hear it is being served in some star hotels in kerala as well which serves authentic Kerala food

Here is how you prepare it
You should have the guts to go and ask the butcher for the beaf bones; here is the technique; look straight in his eyes and ask for bones from the rib of the animal. He will ask if it is for the dog; you have to answer him looking straight into the eye that it is for humans :-)

OK, now that you are done with the bones, you move on shop for some good nadan kappa ( tapioca), green chillies, fresh ginger, curry leaves, coconut and garlic. Also pick up some spices ( perumjeerakam(sauf) Kurumulaku ( black pepper),cardamom, cinnamon)or if you are the modern types who do not believe in fresh ground spices, get a pack of meat masala.

This is one full meal for the sunday afternoon if you can entice the entire family into it, which means that you can do away with the regular rice and the various curries. I generally do; not entice but make an announcement in the morning that lunch would be kappa and ellu and husband is Ok with it. The children protest so they have curds and rice or an omlette and rice

Now that that we have the ingredients, the next step is cleaning the Ellu and Kappa.
Wash the ellu 5-6 times in water and keep it aside to drain. Remove the skin of the Kappa and slide it into small pieces

Cook the kappa slices with water and salt. Once the kappa is cooked well, drain out the water and mash the kappa and keep aside

In a pressure cooker, cook the bones with one cup of water,
one sliced onion,
3-4 green chillies crushed,
3-4 pods of crushed garlic,
one large piece of fresh ginger crushed and
3-4 twigs of curry leaves,
some chilli powder, turmeric powder and about
2tbsp of the meat masala (or freshly ground spices)

Pressure cook the above ( 6-7 whistles) or till done.

Once the pressure is off, open the lid of the pressure cooker, mix the kappa and ellu, add grated cocounut, the more you add coconut, the more tasty.

Close the lid and put it back on the stove and let it steam without the whistle . remove it from the flame and you are ready to start attacking........

For those of you hearing of this culinary delight for the first time, it might sound savage......... but believe me it is a delight and if you have some nadan kallu to wash it down with, Iam told there is nothing like it.........Never had the luxury though