Some organic thoughts ... food for thoughts also

July 22, 2015

At Pathiramala Junction, there are two food vendors. One is a street vendor (Thittukada), the other narrowly qualify as a hotel, Hotel Smitha, they have put a big board outside..The board is bigger than the hotel itself.

The street vendor starts business at around 3pm. Mainly serves thattu dosa, a small thick but soft dosa of around 6 inches or lesser in diameter, Kerala Parotta.Chutney and sambar to accompany the dishes. ..and there is beef fry also for somebody having irresistible carnivorous culinary instinct .

I had three dosa and asked for half a plate beef fry which Purushothaman Annan( elder brother) who ownes the joint declined.

Since the menu card do not have coffee or tea.. Obviously there was no menu card at all, I decided to explore the next big thing nearby, Smitha Hotel .

In fact there was no tea or coffee either. I was sitting on one of the four small benches, supporting my hands on wooden desks wondering about the tealess strategy of two local business entities. But was enticed by the variety of curries and other food stuff on offer.

The menu is not printed on paper but memorized by the waiters and the dishes were vividly displayed on a structure which I construed   as a table only after thorough and detailed investigation. Boiled tapioca flavoured with green chillies and freshly ground coconut,  seasoned with mustard and turmeric was the lead menu. This mouth-watering stuff can be accompanied by fish curry of your choice. Kera (Yellow Fin Tuna) , Poomeen, Katla ( Brackish water fish from grouper family)  and fish head. Karimeen (Pearl Spot), Kanambu (Mullet) ,Pranjil, Kozhuva(Anchovies, Sardine and mackerel were also on offer as fries. There were prawns and clam also  fried to perfection to woo the customers. According to Charles, a tourist cab driver who comes frequently to Pathiramanal with tourists from Alleppey, the city more popularly known by the name Venice of the East, said mid-day meals are even more special with varied fish recipes. Most of the fish are caught from the endless backwaters of Ashtanmudi kayal (lake), extending from Thanneermukkom bund to Kollam.

Pathiramanal is a terrific place to  visit. You can get good non AC accommodation for Rs.1250 and AC accommodation for Rs.2500. However there are expensive star hotels with tariff ranging between Rs.5000-Rs.10000.

A yacht owner took me to a home stay nearby, strategically placed on the banks of the lake. Soon the heavens were covered with black clouds.

When the rain Gods obliged it was a spectacular sight...a memorable one.

BTW, I was there to write a brief on Deyal's afforestation model for dessert lands. Deyal is the programme Co-ordinator for Mahatma Gandhi University for the  organic farming course which is unique in content and delivery.              

August 27, 2015

This is the Hotel I once talked about in Pathiramanal. Last time I visited Deyal to collect content to start a Facebook page, I drank coffee from Hotel Smitha...coffee and tea is available only till 7 p m.

The same lean old man of 65 plus who was languishing on the wooden bench greeted me with customary smile as if I am a frequenter. 

At the first look you won't be able to decipher whether he is a waiter or the owner but he started to answer my queries in a polite but authoritative tone.

He was very animated when I asked about the menu that day  the hotel has on offer.

It is Scampi season ..he said. So we have Scampi of all size in today's menu... starting from Rs.200...to Rs.1000 ( Scampi is freshwater lobster found abundantly in the river streams and backwaters of  Kerala)

For Rs.1000 you will get jumbo male Scampi of 500 grams up cooked to your taste

To soothe my quizzical eyes.. he added that the same thing in the nearby 5 star hotels will damage your wallet by Rs.7000 to Rs.10000.

" Guests from the hotels come regularly till they leave...because our food  taste better ..we take only the fresh one every day . There is no freezer here.. U see he added

The menu for that day included Jumbo Karimeen (Pearl Spot),Thirutha(Big Mullet)and  Chempally (Red Snapper...) ..., not to talk about the dishes of crab,squid, and prawns of various size and shape .

I said goodbye to meet Deyal hoping that I would come soon to spend a lengthy hour or so to devour the delicacies.             

 Because it was getting dark & I had to get approval from  the Doyen of organic farming in Kerala for the Facebook page I had created.          https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deyals-page-for-forestry-and-sustainable-development/879696068750806

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