Janitha says her mother’s mutton dalcha recipe has special meaning for her because it reminds her of Deepavali mornings when her mother used to wake up early to make this. — Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
In her beautifully appointed kitchen, Janitha Sukumaran’s farmhouse style dining table is heaving with a litany of food, each one carefully made to her exacting standards.
Her husband Gogulan Dorairajoo is already tucking into the feast, his face a picture of satisfaction. Her teenage son Navasheen Gogulan meanwhile, can barely contain his joy at the emergence of his favourite garam masala mutton dish.
“To me, my mother’s mutton dish is just perfect!” he says.
In many ways, Janitha is simply following in the footsteps of the formidable women in her family – all of whom were gifted home cooks.
“I never really knew my grandmother because she passed away when I was a child but my mum was a really good cook and from what I understand, my grandmother was even better. So my mum clearly got it from her.
“And my grandmother was from Kerala in India so a lot of our cooking has got that background – there’s a lot of coconut in our food and spices like pepper. And my mother – till the day she passed – used to make her own garam masala. So I make my own garam masala too based on her recipe, which is now over 100 years old,” says Janitha.
Having grown up with his mother's cooking, Janitha's son Navasheen (right) says he always looks forward to her food on Deepavali as does Janitha's husband Gogulan (left).
Janitha says her mother was a very intuitive cook, which is how she too became adept at the guesstimation style of cooking. Even so, she made her mother write down all her recipes with measurements so they wouldn’t be lost and now keeps them safe and secure in a little notebook in her kitchen.
She also maintains an online blog filled with the family’s heirloom recipes, an endeavour she undertook so that her children and other relatives would always be able to access the family vault in the future.
Interestingly, Janitha says although she used to help her mother prepare her famed meals as a child, she didn’t really start actively cooking herself until she got married.
Since those fledgling early days of cooking, she has taken over the mantle of family cook, which is why her home has become a congregation point every Deepavali with about 20 family members invited for lunch on Deepavali day.
So what’s usually on her Deepavali menu? Janitha says there are a couple of things that are must-haves in the family.
One of the dishes is her mother’s garam masala mutton, a dish that features pliantly tender mutton coated in a rich masala, buoyed by Janitha’s homemade garam masala, which has imbued the dish with a potency and richness guaranteed to render a post-meal food coma.
“So essentially my mum’s garam masala is used for her mutton dish and that’s what makes it special. But mutton takes a long time to cook, so it’s quite a lengthy process, although sometimes I speed it up by using a pressure cooker.
“But if I have the time, then I cook it in a claypot at least one or two days in advance because it always tastes better when the flavours have had time to settle,” she says.
Then there is mutton dalcha, a simple recipe that always bring Janitha back to Deepavali mornings. “My mother would wake up early to make this on the morning of Deepavali and then she would oil our hair for us, so it has a special meaning for me,” she says.
The dish is made using mutton ribs and bones as well as vegetables like potatoes and carrots and is great for eating with rice or thosai. It’s a very comforting dish that has an old-fashioned allure to it.
Then there is her tomato puree chicken, a meal that Janitha holds very dear to her heart as it was the first recipe she rang her mother up for after she got married. It’s a dish that has a lovely tomato-ey underbelly and a wholesomeness to it that makes it instantly heart-warming.
This Deepavali, aside from the usual family lunch, Janitha and her husband will be organising a larger open house about a week after Deepavali. While she will be catering most of the dishes – her signature items will still make an appearance on the table, as she knows how much her family and friends love it.
Ultimately for Janitha, it is the act of making these time-honoured meals for her family that holds meaning.
Janitha is a talented home cook who learnt her mother’s heirloom recipes and now maintains an online site where she shares the recipes with her family members.
“I’ve been asked at times ‘Why don’t you cook commercially? And I think for me, the joy would be gone if I had to basically do it commercially. I love doing it because it’s for people I actually care about.
“I think for me, my language of love is food. I think I get that from my mum. She wasn’t a hugger, but if she wanted to show you that she cared about you, she would make you a meal.
“So it’s the same for me – as long as family is around to eat it, there will always be food on my table,” she says.
GARAM MASALA MUTTON
Marinade for mutton
1.5kg mutton (cut into 2.5cm cubes) - look for NZ boneless mutton
1 tbsp chili powder + 1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp black soy sauce + 2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp black pepper powder + 2 tbsp garam masala powder
For cooking
Spices – 2.5cm cinnamon, 3 cardamons, 2 star anise, 4 cloves
1 large onion, sliced
2.5cm ginger + 7 cloves garlic, pounded together
1 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp sugar (to taste)
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 stalks curry leaves
2 tbsp toasted coconut
2 tbsp fried onions
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
To marinate and cook mutton
Marinate mutton with marinade ingredients and leave to rest for at least 1 hour.
Pre-cook mutton by pressure-cooking for 30 minutes or until cooked well but meat is not disintegrating or falling apart.
To make dishIn a large wok, crackle spices in hot oil. Add sliced onions and pounded ginger-garlic.
Add in the pre-cooked mutton along with salt, sugar and vinegar. Cook till gravy thickens.
Add curry leaves, toasted coconut and fried onions. Stir well.
Turn off fire and add coriander leaves. Leave for 30 minutes before dishing out. For best results, serve the next day.
TOMATO PUREE CHICKEN
For blending together into a paste
1 large onion
2.5cm fresh turmeric (kunyit hidup)
3 stalks lemongrass
6 to 10 red cili padi
For cooking
1 chicken, skinned and cut into medium pieces
10 cloves garlic, julienned
5cm ginger, julienned
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
salt to taste
2 tsp sugar
2 large onions, cut into wedges
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 pandan leaves for added flavour (optional)
2 tbsp fried onions
To make
Marinate chicken with the ground paste and keep aside for 1 hour.
Heat oil and fry ginger and garlic.
Add chicken and stir to coat well, then add lemongrass, salt and sugar to taste.
Cook till meat is tender, then add the onion wedges and tomato paste and stir well.
Add the pandan leaves and a little water if too dry. Continue to cook covered for another five minutes or a bit longer.
Turn off heat and top with fried onions. Leave to let rest for 30 minutes before serving.
