Kappa Puzhukku or Kizhangu Bariyathu features boiled and mashed tapioca aka cassava mixed with spicy, flavour-packed coconut chutney, and finished off with a tempering of coconut oil. Served for breakfast, lunch or dinner with fish, chicken or beef curry.
Since the time I moved to UAE, I have been attempting the food that we grew up eating because it is so easy to procure the ingredients here unlike in Yanbu. But as a Malabari, we don't call this Kappa Puzhukku or vevichathu. Instead, we call this dish Kizhangu Bariyathu, or puzhungiyathu if it isn't mashed.
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🥘Ingredient Notes
Here is the list of key ingredients to make kappa puzhukku:
- tapioca
- coconut
- garlic
- green chillies
- cumin seeds
- curry leaves
- turmeric powder
See the recipe card below for quantities.
📋What is kappa in Kerala?
Cassava or Tapioca is the staple food of Kerala! You can take a Keralite out of Kerala but not tapioca out of a Keralite. I know it should be Kerala out of Keralite, but I wanted to emphasize tapioca! 😜
We spent our childhood amidst tapioca plants. My dad managed to create a mini cassava farm in our home garden in Coimbatore. We had an abundance of this starchy vegetable until, for some reason, we stopped replanting them. I don’t recall why we stopped, but I guess the growing coconut trees needed more attention. All this is to say that kappa is a nostalgic comfort food for us, even though I don’t make it often.😐
Our neighbours in Coimbatore were from southern Kerala, so as kids, we always loved their food, and they loved my mom’s cooking. There was a constant exchange of food, recipes, and discussions about our dialects. The word “kappa” is mainly used in southern Kerala, and I learned it from our neighbours.
Traditionally, kizhangu bariyathu is served with sardine red curry on our side, but since F doesn’t eat seafood, I serve it with beef curry. You can use my beef fry recipe, just make it with a little gravy.
🔪How to peel tapioca?
How I peel tapioca may be questionable for a purist like my dad, who sent me videos to explain how it is done. But I personally never got it easy unless I dump the whole thing in water and then you can score and peel easily. So, if you also struggled like me, then try soaking in water just for a few minutes. And yes, you have to remove the pink skin too!
🔪How to make it?
Apart from peeling and chopping, there isn't any challenge in this recipe. Boil, make the coconut paste and mix and lastly add the tempering!
Add the tapioca pieces to a deep saucepot and fill it with water and salt to taste.
Bring this to a boil and continue to cook until the tapioca pieces are tender but still hold the shape. Switch off and drain all the water and put back the boiled pieces into the pot.
Prepare the coconut mixture as per the recipe and add to the boiled tapioca along with the turmeric powder. Mash it thoroughly using the back of the spoon or a potato masher.
Heat this on low flame while mashing and stirring the mixture. Adjust the salt for taste and cook until the mixture thickens. Switch off and keep covered while you prepare the tempering.
Pour the tempering over the prepared kappa puzhukku. Mix thoroughly and serve warm as is or with any spicy fish curry or beef curry.
❄️Storage
Kappa puzhukku can be stored in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. When ready to eat, reheat the kappa puzhukku in a microwave or on the stovetop. Add a little water to help it reheat without burning the food.
🍲Related recipes
A few more south-Indian food recipes that you can try.
📖 Recipe Card
Kappa Puzhukku
Ingredients
To boil tapioca chunks
- 1 kg tapioca, weighed as whole pieces
- water as required, (to submerge the pieces)
- Salt to taste
For the spicy coconut paste
- 1 cup grated coconut, you may add ½ cup more
- 3 mini shallots, sliced thinly
- 3 garlic cloves, diced finely
- 2 green chillies, chopped finely
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds , or fennel seeds
- curry leaves
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
For tempering
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 to 3 dried red chillies
- curry leaves
Instructions
Boil
- Peel the tapioca skin and discard any blackened portion.
- Chop them into bite-size and wash thoroughly in a colander under running water to remove all dirt.
- Add the tapioca to a deep saucepot and fill it with water and salt to taste.
- Bring this to boil and continue to cook until the tapioca pieces are tender but still hold the shape. You may cover and cook too.
- Switch off and drain all the water and put back the boiled pieces into the pot.
Grind the coconut mixture
- Add the grated coconut, shallots, garlic, green chillies, cumin or fennel seeds, curry leaves and salt into a chutney maker and grind to a coarse paste.
- Add this ground mixture to the boiled tapioca along with the turmeric powder and mash it thoroughly using the back of the spoon or a potato masher.
Cook
- Heat this on a low flame while mashing and stirring the mixture. Adjust the salt for taste and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Switch off and keep covered while you prepare the tempering.
temper (tadka)
- Heat coconut oil in a small tadka pan.
- Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Reduce the flame and add the dried red chillies and curry leaves.
- Fry until crisped and pour the tempering over the prepared kappa puzhukku.
Serve
- Mix thoroughly and serve warm as is or with any spicy fish or beef curry.
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