One of the first Coorgi recipe websites, www.coorgrecipes.com, has now been revamped for a more interactive user experience. A noted journalist and a true blue Kodava, T P Bopanna launched the website in 2007 in order to chronicle Coorg’s rich cuisine and share it with the world. “The first website I launched was coorgtourism.com in 2005. This was the second one. Basically, documentation of the Kodava community wasn’t taking place in the way it should have been. I’m not a foodie at all, and I don’t write about food, but food is a very important part of a Kodava’s life. A lot of people don’t know how to make traditional Coorgi dishes. There are some books but they are not accessible as most of them are out of print. The website is a way to reach out to people across the world, so that they can make use of these recipes to stay in touch with their culture,” explains Bopanna.
Bopanna also notes that homestays are becoming quite popular in Coorg now. “People visit Coorg from all over India and experiment with food available there. When they go back, they want to try replicating these dishes. So the website is not just for the Coorgi community, but for everyone,” he informs.
When asked if he has a favorite Coorgi dish, Bopanna is quick to answer, “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything that can match up to my mother’s preparations. My sisters are also great cooks, but my mother, who is now 90, really had great culinary skills. I’m sure every person feels the same way about their mother, but since I am a journalist, I think I can say this with some objectivity.”
The new website features well-known Canada-based Coorg food blogger Shalini Nanda Nagappa, who has shared around 40 unique recipes on the blog. From ‘chilli pork capitol’ to ‘honey rolls’ to ‘cardamom liqueur’ to ‘thanmuttu cookies’, the collection is a treasure trove of exotic Kodava dishes that can be made right at home. “Being an army family, it goes without saying that we moved a lot. We were exposed to different cultures and food was a big part of it. But whichever corner of the country we found ourselves in, once a year, like homing pigeons, we would come back to the green hills of Coorg. We were fed and watered from morning to night with unflagging devotion and patience by my grandmother and her trusty handmaidens and sometimes the odd handyman too. That time was the foundation for my lifelong love of food and cooking. By sharing these recipes on Coorgrecipes.com, I hope to pay tribute to all those wonderful home cooks like my grandmother,” says Shalini.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Shyama Krishna Kumar – Bangalore / March 27th, 2014
