Forested groves in central Kerala’s Edamalayar valley have showered the Muthuvar people with bamboo rice for the first time in six decades. In a labour of love, women of the community have gathered, cleaned, and dehusked the seeds to bring them to our plates.
Why are so many women in India still saddled with kitchen chores? Vinay Kumar, who teaches a critical reading and writing course in Bengaluru, writes about the experience of watching 'The Great Indian Kitchen' with his class.
At Little Flower Farms, a lush biodiverse site in Kerala, they serve guests fresh produce from their garden. They speak to The Locavore of windy Vagamon, the flavours in their kitchen, and the land they nurture.
While India has a rich and diverse culture around cooking dried fish, it hasn’t been celebrated owing to its fraught histories, matters of identity, and smells. Shruti Tharayil writes on challenging old hierarchies of smells, and her own journey of unlearning.
Although making hot-processed coconut oil is challenging, Purvina’s team is passionate about preserving Kerala’s traditional oil-making techniques. Catch a glimpse of their oil-making process, stunning uruli, and farm in Malappuram.
While cold-pressed coconut oil has received a fair amount of attention in recent years, Purvina is bringing light to the dimming awareness of ventha velichenna, or hot-processed coconut oil.