Dr. Sripriya Mahesh shares two sources of her native Tamil Brahmin community's recipes: 'Sushi's Authentic Recipes' by Susheela Venkatesh and Srutivani Magazine.
Sushi's Authentic Recipes - Susheela Venkatesh
Selected Recipe: Moru Koozhu
Koozhu is fermented rice batter that is cooked with curd, chilli, and manathaka vethal (dried black nightshade). Dr. Sripriya recalls her grandmother preparing this dish.
Photo credit: Dr. Sripriya Mahesh
Before following the recipe below, Dr. Sripriya soaks 1/2 cup of normal raw rice and 1/2 cup of parboiled idli rice in water for six hours. Then, she grinds it finely, adds salt, and lets it ferment for a day or so. After fermenting, she adds 3 cups of water for 1 cup of thick batter, and continues as the recipe indicates. She uses a mixture of sesame and coconut oil to prepare this.
Selected Recipe: Therattipal
Therattipal is a traditional sweet made from milk and sugar. It is usually made for festivals such as Krishna Jayanti and Diwali.
Photo credit: Nimi Pujary
Srutivani Magazine
Special thanks to Dr. Sripriya Mahesh for sharing her community's food traditions with us. Dr. Sripriya Mahesh obtained her doctorate in Nutritional Sciences from Rutgers University, USA. She is a practicing sports, wellness, and oncology nutritionist and can be found on Instagram @drsripriyamahesh.
Special thanks to Mrs. Susheela Venkatesh for granting us permission to upload snippets from her recipe book. The 'Sushi's Authentic Recipes' cookbook can be ordered from the following email: susheelavenkatesh@hotmail.com.
Special thanks to Mrs. Nimi Pujary for preparing the Therattipal recipe from 'Sushi's Authentic Recipes' by Susheela Venkatesh. She can be found on Instagram @the_grinding_stone.