Being born and brought up in Kanyakumari district, the word 'Marchini Kizhangu' itself creates goosebumps and it gives me many nostalgic memories. When I was a kid, we always had fresh tapioca from our farm. Mum used to make different dishes and this Kappa Masala is one of my favourites. It goes very well with Fish Kuzhambu and there were days when I had this Kappa Masala with fish as my lunch. Jany too is very much fond of Tapioca and in Sydney we got it in an Indian shop, quite a few times. However, it didn't have the taste like the one we get in native. So, during my recent India trip, we had it for lunch most of the days along with rice and fish. I too clicked it once to share it in the blog and without much delay let us move on to the recipe:
Ingredients:Tapioca/Kappa - 3 Cups(Peeled and cubed pieces)
Salt - as required
To Grind:
Coconut - 1/2 Cup(grated)
Jeera - 1.5 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 10 to 15 cloves
Tamarind - a very small piece
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
To Temper:
Coconut oil - 1 tblsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Dry red Chillies -2
Method:
1. Peel the outer skin and wash the tapioca to remove any dirt or sand. Roughly cube the tapioca into medium sized pieces. In an open pot, cook the tapioca with enough water and a little salt.
2. Cook the tapioca until it is soft and it takes approximately 10 to 15 mins. Drain the water and keep it aside. Meanwhile, grind the items under 'To Grind' coarsely.
3. In a wide pan, temper the items under 'To Temper' and then add the ground coconut masala. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes until the raw smell leaves. Add the required salt. Then add the cooked tapioca and mix it all together gently.
4. Switch off the flame after 3 to 4 minutes. Now the Kappa masala is ready.
Serve the yummy kappa masala with Fish Kuzhambu and steamed rice.
- Don't skip the garlic and it gives great flavour to the masala. It also helps in digestion.
- Make sure not to grind the coconut paste smoothly. It should be coarsely ground.
- Grinding curry leaves is purely optional. Also, you can skip the dry red chilli while tempering.
- Very good and tender tapioca cooks faster. However, some take a lot of time and cooking time is purely based on the tapioca used. You can also pressure cook the tapioca.
Happy's Cook - Divya
wow , I never tried making curry of tapioca. this looks really delicious, should give it a try , thanks for sharing
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