The Fascinating 'Dish' Banquets of Fort Kochi

The Fascinating 'Dish' Banquets of Fort Kochi

Tsarina Abrao Vacha traces a lost tradition of Dish-banquets in Cochin, and the legendary cooks who prepared these singular feasts. She hunts down three Koakkis to recreate the spectacular menu of a Dish.

The tree-lined roads in and around Fort Kochi are still dotted with buildings from the 16th century, where the Portuguese, Dutch and later, the British lived. Homes of that era had an entire kusinjya (or kitchen) complex, separate from the main building, where the local head cook, the Koakki held fort over a retinue of servants and helpers. Each Koakki had his repertoire of dishes — culinary masterpieces of his own, crafted by melding traditional recipes, local ingredients and cooking techniques with new ingredients and recipes brought by the saayvus (or foreigner). The seafaring Portuguese brought several ingredients with them, including the potato, chilli, tomato, cashew, guava, pineapple, and vinegar; they also brought chinaware and cutlery from their colonies that spread all the way from Brazil to Malacca, and introduced wine and spirits, beef, duck, pork, breads and baked goods to the local kitchens of Cochin.

The mass conversion of the local people by the Portuguese in the 16th century was followed by a policy that encouraged Portuguese men to marry local women, and created a large Latin Catholic community that worshipped, looked, spoke and dressed differently, and also birthed a new cuisine and a new way of eating. It became fashionable for families to invite a celebrated Koakki to prepare this cuisine nouvelle, with his signature dishes when hosting grand banquets — also referred to as ‘Dish’ — for baptisms, betrothals and weddings. The Dish-banquet menu was elaborately prepared, plated and served in five courses. The Koakki’s liveried team efficiently set up long, damask-draped tables with gleaming china and basic cutlery (for it was still custom to use one’s fingers while eating; only the ‘Western’ guests used cutlery).

My quest to find a real Koakki led me deep into the heart of Cochin. ”When you come over, do not ask for directions to the Koakki’s house. These youngsters here won’t know — nowadays nobody hosts a Dish anymore!” said Koakki Thomas Chirakkal, 78, son of the famous Koakki Joseph, one of the first of the Koakkis I met. A friend of a friend introduced me to the second, Mary Joseph, 83, his grandmother. Although she gave up her Koakki duties five decades ago (to pursue her role as housewife), she excitedly fed me anecdotes from banquets she helped another Koakki prepare.

Photograph of a Dish Banquet from a wedding in 1939

Photograph of a Dish Banquet from a wedding in 1939

Paulose, 87, was the cook at my grandfather’s house, where the most celebrated Koakkies were commissioned to create the city’s most iconic banquets. Paulose’s repertoire is peppered with recipes he picked up from those culinary giants.

Through stories, black and white photographs and lucid memories of banquet feasts from the three Koakkis, I pieced together in vivid detail what a Dish-banquet looked like. Interestingly, written recipes are virtually non-existent — a testimony that every Koakki had his own secret journal. I also came to understand that a seasoned Koakki began his involvement in the banquet much in advance, and even helped the host choosy livestock and poultry to be “fattened up for the big feast”.

Koakkis have been out of work for a couple of decades now, because the original Dish-banquets have become nearly obsolete — and not without reason. A Dish-banquet requires at least two full days of meticulous preparation to do justice to the Koakki’s many signature dishes over the five-course menu. It also requires an army of experienced staff to skilfully plate and serve the banquet with efficiency, course after course. These aspects render it expensive and unviable for large parties. Over time, the buffet system took over as a more practical option for banquets, offering a wide choice of dishes and cuisines, with a quick turn-around, making it possible to serve any number of guests efficiently.

Typically, preparations for a Dish-banquet begins two days in advance; first, the master stock is prepared: beef bones and off-cuts are simmered with a bouquet of spices (every Koakki’s secret) over a wood fire for close to 24 hours. Tripe is cooked with a broiled coconut masala into a kodalu curry, and served the night before the event, to the extended family that usually arrives early. Large cuts of meat are minced, seasoned, and shaped into ‘cutlees’; the rump is sliced into thin slivers for the ‘vindalee’, cooked early in a fiery, vinegar-based gravy, so that its sharp flavours would marry overnight; and cubes of prime, tender cuts are simmered slowly for stew. Ducks (preferred over chicken) are marinated and slow-roasted with signature marinades; same with chunks of pork. The Koakki also prepared his own version of ‘musaadth’, a mustard-based condiment that typically accompanies pork. It was fashionable to make dessert with sponge-cake specially made to order in large trays from Rozario’s bakery on Broadway, who also supplied the soup sticks and butter rolls for the Dish.

The Dish Banquet (and some Koakki speak!)

dish-banquet | Goya Journal
dish-banquet | Goya Journal

First course: Beef Vermicelli Soup — beef master-stock gently simmered with vermicelli to lend heft, tempered with browned shallots and curry leaves, and garnished with croutons.”The trick was to flavour the soup just right, to stimulate the appetite for what was coming,” explains Koakki Paulose.

Second course: A creamy beef stew, slow-cooked with carrots, potatoes, peas, coconut milk and whole spices, served with bread, preferably a special order Butter Roll. Alternately, second course could also be a Fish Moilee instead of stew, made with seer fish steaks, or fresh local karimeen.

Third course:  An array of signature meats and sides, artfully plated and comprising of:

Beef Cutlees — Seasoned minced beef and potato patty, crumb fried, served with sliced tomato, cucumber and sallaas — a pickled onion and green chilly salad, tossed in creamy coconut milk. “I used to carve tomatoes to look like roses, and cut cucumbers into leaves, to decorate the sallaas,” remembers Mary Joseph.

Duck — Only whole leg and breast pieces were used, marinated with pepper, cloves, cinnamon and coriander, then slow-roasted, and garnished with fried onions, cashew, raisins, served on a bed of potato finger-chips.

Pork — Slivers of meat, marinated with garlic, ginger, chilli, pepper, mustard and vinegar, then slow roasted and served in a very thick reduction with musaadth on the side. “I always made some extra musaadth, since it was in great demand, and stayed well!” laughs Koakki Thomas.

Steamed beetroot slices, sprinkled with salt and crushed pepper, which probably played the role of palate cleanser.

Steamed and lightly pan-fried whole ladies finger, sprinkled with salt and crushed pepper. ”We’d steam ladies finger over the pot in which meat was cooking, then gently fry it in fat rendered from the meat,” describes Koakki Paulose.

dish-banquet | Goya Journal

Fourth course: Traditional local fare of red matta rice, with various curries.

Beef Liver Curry — thin strips of liver cooked in a coriander-pepper coconut milk gravy. Sometimes, a robust Beef Vindalee too.

Meen Pattichathu — a fiery, tart red fish curry cooked (the previous night) with red chillies, shallots, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, and kokum.

Cabbage Olath — cabbage sautéed with coconut, shallots, green chilli, mustard and curry leaves.

Moaru Chaar — seasoned and tempered buttermilk. “I often also made Ellumutty Chaar here, a gravy dish made by slow cooking the bony bits of duck that were not used in the roast,” says Koakki Thomas.

White pickle — Bitter gourd, green chilli and garlic, pickled in vinegar. “As it is not a hot pickle, it never overpowers the taste of the other curries,” explains Mary.

dish-banquet | Goya Journal

Fifth course: Pudding — a trifle-style dessert of soaked sponge cake layered with custard, cashew nuts and fresh fruit. “I’d make it with five layers, and always in generous quantity, since almost every guest asked for seconds! Adding a little brandy to the cream makes it better; as does cashew nut powder! And using pineapple is always a winner!” said Koakkie Paulose, whose pudding was legendary.

dish-banquet | Goya Journal

On the subject of dessert, an older aunt reminisced about a tradition common at Anglo-Indian weddings: Just before dessert was served, the Koakki , dressed in a fresh change of clothes, and carrying a bowl of pudding, made his way to the bridal couple. Then, he deftly flambés the pudding with brandy, and proudly presents it to the groom. As guests watch on, the groom handsomely rewards his services — often with a gold coin! This is followed by a Latin hymn, Laudate dominum, praising the kindness and love of God, the venue reverberating with the sound of voices raised in song, after which the well-fed party bids the couple farewell to head back home.


Tsarina Abrao Vacha is a Kochi based architect of facades and feasts.

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