The local toddy shop - is a place where decent hard working people do not go to. Kallu, Toddy, Arrack - all of these words have quite negative connotations to the extent that people hide the fact they enjoy a drink or two. However, the fact is all the good hard working people I know have a drink or two and I have grown up drinking freshly tapped toddy direct from the toddy tapper.
The main point to note is that you would never see a lady in a toddy or arrack shop. The toddy shop - affectionately shortened to the "shop" or referred to as the "Shaap" in the local Malayali accent, is mostly visited by trades people after a day of hard labour and it is common practice to drown oneself in the cloudy cheap liquor that is made from coconut water and fermented naturally.
(recipe for kallu here: http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/06/kallu-toddy-alcoholic-coconut-water.html)
Imagine the setting - the hard wood table and benches, lit up by multiple coloured bulbs, bawdy songs in the background, spicy curries and hot parottas washed down with cool, chilled kallu. Its local heaven for the thousands who have no other form of entertainment.
These days most kallu shops also sell foreign liquor - and for the locals it is irresistible. Kerala being a coastal state, most of the fiery, spicy dishes that are sold in the kallu shops feature seafood.
Here at Kitchen Anugraha we love to give our guests a first hand experience of the sights and sounds along with the tastes of back home. This week we featured a kallu night - complete with spicy food, bawdy songs, coloured lights, lots of noise and laughter. As it got darker, the lights came on and dessert was served - a fitting end to a fun night. Thank you to my featured guests and fellow kallu shaap patrons! :-)
What was served for dessert ?
ReplyDeleteMung dal payasam with jaggery, Cholena! I tried to get hold of the Kerala bananas to make pazham pori but this time I wasn't lucky. So it had to be payasam.
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