Kerala is blessed with a wide range of indigenous snack varieties which were so tasty to have with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Back in the day, people used to make these snacks at home, but nowadays we depend on bakeries to purchase these items. Bakeries have become more prominent in recent times and even in rural areas, people tend to get snack varieties from bakeries for their homes. When we make visits to our relatives we share these delicious Kerala snacks as gifts. But have you ever wondered from where these food items have been made? Do you know how it’s been made? Zeya traditional foods in Kolenchery is one such facility which makes these traditional snacks. It’s a homely place which makes snacks and food where a dining facility is not available and people can get takeaways. They are well known for making crunchy Kerala snacks like Kuzhalappam, Achappam, Mixture, Neyyappam, Banana chips and many more. They also make us delicious Pidi and lip-smacking chicken curries as per our order.
When we got to the place, Kuzhalappam was being fried in oil over a firewood stove. Siblings Sibi and Sisi were in charge of making these delicious snacks. Their mother is also helping them in every step of the way. As Sibi was busy frying the Kuzhalappam in the pan, Sisi and her mother were rolling the dough pieces to a perfect shape to be fried in oil. There were few people available for giving them a hand in making this a real success. Flower-shaped Achappam is also fried towards one corner of the kitchen. Metalic mould with a long handle is used in getting the perfect shape for the snack. This crispy indigenous snack is not coated with sugar and has been a favourite snack for all age groups.
One of the major attractions of this facility is that they make traditional Pidi recipes along with Chicken curry according to the orders given by the customers. Pidi is nothing but an indigenous dish made of rice and it can be served for breakfast or dinner.
I have witnessed the preparation of Pidi using 12kg of rice powder. Rice is made to form small-sized dough balls which were coated with Avalose powder. These were then boiled with Garlic, Cumin seeds and salt to attain a thick consistency to form the Pidi dish. As the recipe is being cooked, Sisi took care of mixing the ingredients constantly using a long-handled spatula. Her sister kept on adding the whole of the dough balls. Unlike the usual way, this preparation doesn’t involve the use of coconut milk. It enables the Pidi recipe to stay fresh for almost two days which otherwise with the use of coconut milk won’t be possible.
Apparently, 1kg of rice powder can be used to make the Pidi recipe for eight people. So the people who are looking to make orders for the Pidi dish would have to mention how many kilograms of rice powder should be used. Or they would have to mention the number of people who intend to attend the respective function for which it’s been ordered.
Delicious Pidi was served with Varutharacha Chicken curry and Mappas recipes. I had a handful of Pidi for starters and it alone had a really nice flavour. Chicken Mappas with the use of thick coconut milk was truly amazing to have with Pidi. In fact, I felt this combination more attractive than Chicken Varutharacha curry which had a dark brown texture with the use of masala.
I have also had a few snack varieties to know the taste. The crunchy nature of Kuzhalappam has made it really nice. Back in the day, these snacks were made so thick that sometimes it felt difficult to chew them. But, the snacks made through Zeya Traditional Foods were having the ideal thickness to maintain a nice crunchy nature. People who are looking to make an order with Zeya Traditional Foods at Kolenchery for different Snacks and Pidi recipes would surely be pleased with the quality of the food item being made.
