Mappila, also known as Moplah, food was influenced by the food habits of Arab traders who came to the Malabar region centuries ago in search of spices….. Later trading groups like the Portuguese, Dutch, British also brought in their influences……. Thus Mappila Cuisine, one can say, is a merger of local & borrowed food traditions…… It uses local ingredients with skills borrowed from other cultures. I will present here some of the typical recipes of this cuisine……
UNNAKKAYA
(BANANA ROLLS )
These are traditional, delicious & sweet snack prepared mainly during the Ramzan days…….
INGREDIENTS : 4 medium ripe bananas
Filling : 2 cups grated coconut, 1/2 cup sugar, few raisins, few cashew nuts, about 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, 1 tbsp ghee.
DIRECTION : Pressure cook halved bananas. After cooking, cool the banana….peel of the skin….mash it well….. Divide it into equal portions & set aside.
Fry resins & cashew nuts in melted ghee in a pan for a minute ……Add grated coconut & toss well…. Add in sugar & cardamom powder and mix well till sugar starts to melt…..
Remove & let it cool a bit.
Now take one portion of mashed bananas, flatten it, spoon in some coconut filling, cover it in & seal it giving it a cylindrical shape……. Deep fry these in oil till golden brown….
Drain onto tissue……Serve hot.
Jhilli's Culinaireculture 