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COORG’S MOST POPULAR DISH: A BLAST FROM THE PAST

By P.T. Bopanna

In the days before refrigeration and easy road transportation, it was the Moplah (Kerala Muslim) traders who supplied fresh fish to homes in Coorg.

They brought with them a taste of the coast, in the form of sea fish like sardines, mackerel and dried fish and shrimp. Locals eagerly looked forward to the arrival of the “Meen Mapille” with his box of fish, and the preparation of a delicious, spicy fish curry paired with akki otti that was sure to follow!

A few decades ago, only on the weekly shandy day people bought meat and vegetables. The auto-rickshaws had not made their entry to Coorg. The buses were not frequent. Hence the only outing was on the weekly shandy day.

There were no pork stalls in towns. Though pork is the favourite dish of the locals, it was served only on special occasions. Of course, dried pork was always kept in stock.

Since Kodavas (Coorgs) were pure non-vegetarians, no meal was complete without a non-veg dish. Hence the locals used to look forward to the arrival of the meen mapille, who never let them down.

Game hunting was legal in Coorg and people used to stock up dried wild boar meat and venison.

But the most frequent dish on the Coorg table was invariably the ‘Meen (fish) Kari’ which was affordable for all the classes of people and the supply was uninterrupted during the fishing season.

Hemalatha Nachappa (in picture) shares her Meen Kari recipe: