Food mania grips University College

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  On Tuesday morning, the walls of the city’s University College had a list stuck on its walls that said: ‘Botany Department - 25 coconuts, Tamil - 2 kg sugar, Philosophy - 25 coconuts...’ and so on. If you are wondering what philosophy and coconuts have to do with each other, the connecting link was a food festival organised by the college union and the Women Study Unit of the College. The different departments of the college chipped in with both as cash and raw materials. The entire college campus came alive with the mouth-watering aromas of local delicacies and treats of every shape, size and texture. The biggest takers were for typical ‘nadan’ combinations such as ‘kappa-meen’ and ‘kachil-meen’, while ‘chena’, ‘chembu’, ‘madhurakkizhangu’ and ‘chakka’ were a close second. And all the students of the College seemed to have brought their appetite along with them to college. So much so that even while all the homemade food was being spread out, guys were seen asking the teacher-in-charge Muneera if the inauguration could be done away with, so that they could start with the eating part. Jijina Jahan of BA second year (Arabic Department) had brought a huge container of chicken curry, which she said was special because the chicken was first fried before making the curry. But how did she hit upon the recipe? ‘’This is how we make chicken curry at home,’’ said a shy Jijina. The jackfruit preparations came in myriad forms, from ‘chakka avial’ and ‘chakka puzhukku’ to ‘chakka vattal’ and ‘chakka upperi.’ Rice and ‘sambar’, vegetable ‘pulao’ and lighter food such as ‘therali’, ‘achappam’, ‘avalosu podi’ and ‘kaliyodakka’ were all gobbled up in a jiffy. Jaya Jancy, Suryagayathri, Amina and Lakshmi Gopal of second year MA English came up with a yummy ‘palada payasam.’ ‘’Try it, it is much tastier than the usual ‘payasams.’ We have used Milkmaid and a lot of ghee,’’ said the team trying out their marketing skills. While girls seemed to dominate the festival, guys were not to be left behind. They came up with a juice counter and an unusual drink - the ‘Malabar Aval shake.’ A mix of milk, dried rice flakes and banana, one cup cost ` 10. As many as 200 students took part in making food, while thousands took part in eating them up.