Crushing on a Papadum Pudding from Kannur
Nitin Sumitran traces the culinary ancestry of a little known Malabar Pudding.
Kannur is a small cantonment city located in north Kerala. It is a city known for its flourishing handloom industry, a folk art called theyyam, and for inventing a very simple dish called the papadum pazham or Malabar Pudding.
This dish was invented by my great grandfather, Kotieth Choyi. He owned one of the first European hotels in the Malabar area, Choyi’s Seaside Hotel, on the cliff face bordering the sea. The British men stationed in Kannur would patronise the hotel, using it as a meeting place, and for parties and banquets. Legend has it that during one such banquet, they ran out of dessert, so Choyi Butler (as he was called) rustled up a quick pudding using Kerala papadum (made with black gram flour, asafoetida, salt, and baking soda and deep fried in coconut oil) and pazham (the small, sweet Poovam banana). He christened it Malabar Pudding, and over time, it acquired different names including papadam pazham or Choyi’s Pudding, and became an integral part of meals in North Kerala & Kannur.
Papadam Pazham includes Kerala gramflour papad and Poovam bananas. Photos credit: Sanjay Ramachandran @Foodscape
I have personally eaten this pudding at innumerable Onam sadhyas in Calicut and Cannanore, where it was served at the beginning of the meal. At weddings, servers will first lay out a small Mysore pazham or a poovam pazham on a banana leaf — to be mashed into a smooth pulp. The next server will come by with a spoon of ghee and sugar, to be sprinkled on the banana; followed by the third server who will lay out a crisp papadam. We would crush and sprinkle it over the mashed banana, and eat with our hands.
On my last visit to Kannur, a few years ago, I walked past Choyi’s hotel, now long gone. I paused at the gate to remember the wonderful holidays we spent here. I can’t help but hope that someday this property is restored to its former glory, so I can take my son there, and we can eat a portion of Choyi’s papadam pazham together, as he learns his culinary ancestry. Till then, I will be making this iconic dish at home in Mumbai and give thanks to the great Choyi Butler and the incredible dish he invented.
RECIPE FOR PAPADUM PAZHAM
Ingredients
1 slightly overripe banana
2 fried papadams
Ghee
Sugar, as per taste
Method
Peel the banana and mash it well with a fork.
Drizzle the ghee over the mashed banana.
Crush the papadams over it. Serve.
Nitin Sumitran is an ex-hospitality and corporate aviation professional based out of Mumbai. He operates a small home-kitchen in Powai, Mumbai, together with his wife Deepa, specialising in simple, home-style Kerala cuisine. You can reach them on Instagram as @appamstories or directly on +919004032817.
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