Aloo Paratha with Coconut Chutney remains Revathy’s favourite

PREP TIME: 20 mins

COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES

SERVES: 4 pax

CALORIES PER SERVE: 420 cl

Dry roast red chillies and shallots in a non-stick pan. Add it to coconut, tamarind and curry leaves and grind coarsely with very little water. Add coconut oil before serving

PREP TIME: 5 mins

COOK TIME: 5 MINUTES

Cooking is an art and therapy so it needs complete concentration to make a dish tastes good

Our Rasi show with Kamal Haasan and Vani was under production and to be staged at the Music Academy. I did not want to disappoint her as her height did not suit the requirement for a model but instead used her skill at classical dancing and gave her a small piece in the centre with sarees floating around. She stood out because of her cuteness and good manners. Director Vasanth, then a media person, shot her pictures and published them in a daily magazine. Struck by her photogenic looks, director Bharatiraja approached her and her film career took off. Right from the first movie, she was a big hit as every household identified with her. Her father was in the army and her mother Lalitha, a strict disciplinarian encouraged both her daughters to do their work and took an interest in what could be created in the kitchen. Lalitha introduced Revathy to the traditional cooking of Kerala and even other states. They moved around a lot because her father was in the army. Revathy loved the army mess food and her Punjabi friends initiated in her a taste of authentic Punjabi dishes like rajma, kali dal, different stuffed parathas like gobi, aloo and mooli.

She loved the summer vacations spent in her periamma’s (mother’s older sister’s) place in Shoranur. There, Revathy got to eat vegetarian food. At her achamma’s place (father’s mother) in Kanjiramkulam, she got to taste the best of veg and non-veg Kerala food. Her first adventure with regular cooking was when she got married and they entertained friends at home. Her place in Adyar was known for hospitality and good food. Every time I stayed with her or eaten at her place, she has personally made something or ensured that great food was served. When her daughter Mahi was born, she took a special interest in not only the nutritive value but also the taste of the food her daughter had to eat. Since her parents live with her now and her mother runs an efficient kitchen, Mahi has got addicted to her ammama’s cooking.

During the lockdown, Revathy and her daughter experimented with cooking and baking. Seven-year-old Mahi makes salads using her imagination. Mahi, not only bakes cupcakes but ensures that all the staff is fed first. In the past few months, Revathy also learned new cuisines. Cooking created a special bond between the daughter and the mother and Revathy feels blessed to have had all the time spent so creatively with Mahi. Today, Revathy is confident that her daughter will never go hungry if grandmother, she or her cook are missing, as Mahi makes salads and sandwiches if she is hungry.

When Revathy’s father was posted in Dehradun, she got hooked into aloo parathas, especially, the combination which her mother served them with. She served parathas with Kerala chammanthi (chutney), and not the typical dahi and achar. This has remained Revathy’s top favourite. Breakfast is normally dosa, idli or puttu, lunch would consist of sambar or dal, veggies, salad and homemade yogurt. Dinner would be phulkas, dal and sabzi keeping in mind weight control and her parents’ diet. Revathy is specific about ingredients used — in a typical Punjabi aloo paratha, garam masala is used, but she likes roasted jeera, hing, chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Maybe a little amchur and lots of coriander. Today, I am sharing Revathy’s aloo paratha and chammanthi recipe.