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PURPLE MAGIC: THE SECRET ELIXIR OF COORG

By P.T. Bopanna

It is that time of the year in Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka state when the local people relish Madd puttu, a sweet dish, made out of medicinal leaves called Madd Toppu (Justicia Wynaadensis Heyne of the Acanthaeceae family). On the 18th day of the Kodava month of “Kakkada”, the leaves are supposed to contain 18 varieties of herbal medicine.

The wet, dark months of the monsoon bring about a mysterious transformation in an otherwise quite unremarkable plant known locally as “maddu thoppu”.

This plant grows wild around Coorg, favouring moist, shady areas. During the month of the most intense monsoon rain, mid-July to mid-August, a period known as “kakkada”, an extract is made from boiling the stems and leaves in plenty of fresh water. The extract has a peculiarly medicinal fragrance and the colour can range from shades of magenta, through to deep purple and, when at its strongest, indigo.

The extract is used to prepare various dishes like maddu kuul, which is simply rice cooked in the extract, maddu payasa, a sweet rice pudding, or maddu puttu, an unsweetened rice cake that can be eaten with ghee and honey, or a jaggery syrup. It may be an acquired taste, but maddu thoppu certainly has a loyal fan following!

Canada-based food blogger Shalini Nanda says if you have no access to the plant, you can prepare Maddu Puttu with beetroot juice. She notes: “This is something I came up with in a fit of monsoon nostalgia, with maddu thoppu a very long way away. It’s pretty tasty and, besides, beets are good for you!”

Grind 2/3 cup peeled, chopped beets per cup of juice you plan to use and top up the measure with water. Strain and reserve the pulp for beetroot halva.

Smitha Pravin (in picture), a cake artist, shares recipe for Madd Thoppu cake:

Ingredients:

 . APF/ Maida –                         150 grams

. Unsalted Butter (melted) –   60 grms

. Vegetable oil –                       2 tsp

. Powdered Sugar –                  100 grams

. Salt                       –                   ¼ tsp

. Baking Powder –                    1 tsp

. Baking soda –                         ½ tsp

. Vanilla extract –                      1 tsp (optional)

. Purple food color –               2 drops (optional)

. Yoghurt / thick curd –           150 grams

. Madd Thoppu rasa (juice) –  100 ml reduced to 50 ml

 Method:

 . Grease a 7 inches square tin or a loaf tin.

. Sieve the dry ingredients together twice.

. Mix Maida, baking powder baking soda, salt together and set aside.

. In a bowl take the butter, oil and sugar and whisk to a smooth paste.

. Add the set curd/ yoghurt and whisk to combine.

. Add the madd rasa and combine gently. Now add the dry ingredients in three additions and gently combine. Do not over mix.

. Add the vanilla extract if using after the first addition of the dry ingredients.

. Bake in a preheated oven@180-degree Celsius for about 25 to 27 minutes or until the skewer inserted                 in the Centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

 Notes:

 . Keep all the ingredients at room temperature.

. Preheat the owen before mixing in the cake batter.

. Grease the cake tin with butter / oil or use a parchment paper to line the bottom of the tin and gently brush some butter or oil on top.

. Vanilla is optional. I did not use as I wanted to retain the natural flavour of the madd rasa. Food colour is also optional. I used it to give a marble effect.

. Butter can be substituted entirely with vegetable oil. Butter is more flavorful though.

. I used mini loaf tins 4.5/2 inches – 3 tins.

. Can add slivers of almond on top of the cake batter and then bake it. It will enhance the taste and also the beauty of the cake