To honour the 100th birth anniversary of renowned Kerala culinary expert KM Mathew, a new cookbook titled "Mrs K M Mathew's Finest Recipes" has been released by Penguin's Ebury Press, two decades after her passing in 2003.
In this collection, K M Mathew's daughter, Thangam Mammen, shares over 100 of her mother's timeless recipes. Mathew, a culinary connoisseur, believed in the mantra of "simple good food", and her main desire was to ensure that everyone could savour delectable cuisine. Over the years, she accumulated, discovered, and crafted more than a thousand recipes.
Thangam Mammen reflects on her mother's culinary journey, revealing that KM Mathew embarked on her first cookery column, featuring doughnuts, two years before Thangam was born. This culinary journey began on May 30, 1953, in the pages of the Malayala Manorama newspaper, where Mathew shared her recipe for Goan prawn curry. Initially writing under the name Mrs Annamma Mathew, her popularity surged after she adopted the name Mrs KM Mathew, a change she initiated herself.
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Among the recipes featured in the book is "Mutton Bafath", one of Mathew's early creations that first appeared in the cookery columns of Malayala Manorama. Additionally, the book includes the recipe for "New Year Chicken Roast," a dish crafted by Mathew's father, Dr George Philip, with the assistance of his cook, 'Gunner' Unni, who had served in the British Indian Army during World War II.
The cookbook is organised into ten chapters, encompassing a wide range of dishes, from snacks and breakfast to jams, pickles, chutneys, and chutney powders. Thangam Mammen shares that her mother had a profound understanding of diverse flavours of India. While Mathew's parents hailed from Kerala, she was born and raised in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, where her father practiced medicine. Her mother had a fondness for cooking Kerala's Syrian-Christian dishes, while the neighborhood was filled with the aromas of Tamil and Telugu cuisine.
KM Mathew's culinary journey continued as she moved to different places. Her marriage led her to Chikmagalur, where they lived on a coffee estate for a few years, exposing her to Kannadiga delicacies. Later, they relocated to Bombay, where she honed her skills in preparing local, North Indian, and continental dishes.
Throughout her life, Mathew authored 27 cookbooks, becoming a beloved figure who introduced an entire generation to Kerala's culinary culture. She traveled extensively across Kerala, gathering recipes from homes and restaurants, and diligently experimented with dishes until they reached perfection. Her books provided a step-by-step guide to cooking, often serving as treasured gifts for newlyweds.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
From curries to jams, snacks and pickles; this book reveals top recipes of KM Mathew - CNBCTV18
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