Of Puttu and Old Fish curry - a tale of lost traditions

You know that fish curry tastes best after a couple of days - for that matter most curries taste better the next day.  But with fish curry, the older it gets the tastier it gets. I have spent last couple of weekends with the family painting our back fence and I am exhausted.  I made a pot of curry on Friday night and today I had it with puttu on my ever silver platter.  

Have you ever heard of the word "ever silver"? Back in the 20's or 30's most of the women who got married in my community started off life with a whole bunch of brass, copper and silver utensils.

As they were used, these utensils used to oxidise and get blackened with the wood fire stoves and coal fires that the women used as well. They subsequently spent a lot of time cleaning these utensils with tamarind and lime - which are naturally acidic and dissolved away the Verdigris and black stuff.  It was a lot of hard work and scrubbing, to keep them shiny and nice.

With the progress of the stainless steel industry and the arrival of new shiny utensils that did not need so much of scrubbing to keep clean and bright, my grandmother and many of my grand aunties and relatives traded in their copper, brass and silver utensils and even silver jari saris for stainless steel.  

I remember watching the hawkers come in with their scales and weights and exchanging utensils and all the haggling that happened in patti's home.

The stainless steel utensils got a new name - "Ever Silver" - they remained forever silver and bright!

Today's meal is old fish curry and fresh puttu served up in an ever silver plate with an ever silver bowl.

"Very pedestrian" - as Matt Preston would proclaim, adjusting his cravat and speaking in his English accent. "Very very tasty" - I would reply in my very Indian accent.....

Today's post is about old lost traditions and respect for my forefathers. Old fish curry is something that is available in most Nagercoil or Kerala households.  And puttu can be whipped up in under 10 minutes.  Together it is a marriage of flavours made in heaven.

Recipe for puttu:  http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/07/puttu-steamed-rice-cakes-with-coconut.html 

Recipe for fish curry: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2019/06/nagercoil-fish-curry.html#more

My brass puttu maker:

The puttu maker is made of three main parts, the pot for boiling water, the cylinder to hold the puttu and the all important brass mesh that sits at the bottom of the cylinder.  It helps the steam to rise up and at the same time prevent the rice flour and coconut from falling into the pot of boiling water,.

The lid - I had to take a top view as it looks like a surprised face with a big nose - can you see it? Ha  Ha!  This puttu maker was a gift from my mother and is a hand crafted one bought from the artisan.