Monu Danesh Surendran
“My subjects are hereby informed that cuttings of a tuber known as tapioca have been imported and planted here. As it is very tasty to eat, I understand that many people are interested in them. Anyone stealing the cutting shall be punished with imprisonment and other penalties”.
Within a week, just as the king had envisaged, all the Tapioca cuttings had dissappeared.
About a 150 years ago, a great famine hit Kerala.
Known then as Travancore and ruled by Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma, the famine was attributed to the fallout of the ‘Black Catterpillar Attack’ combined with low rainfall.
The younger brother Vishakam Thirunal Rama Varma ascended the throne in 1880. Being a passionate and keen botanist, he was elemental in bringing over Tapioca or Kappa to the Kerala shores as a substitute for rice grains which was the staple food of the people all the way from Brasil.
Initially, the people of Travancore did not easily take to Tapioca.
So the king took it as his mission and grew the imported Tapioca plants in about 5 acres of land belonging to the royalty.
Knowing very well the attitude of the locals, he is supposed to have put up a board decalaring:
“My subjects are hereby informed that cuttings of a tuber known as tapioca have been imported and planted here. As it is very tasty to eat, I understand that many people are interested in them. Anyone stealing the cutting shall be punished with imprisonment and other penalties”
Within a week, just as the king had envisaged, all the Tapioca cuttings had dissappeared.
His next coup de grace was his much publicised method or ‘Recipe’ of how to cook Tapioca. Explaining in great detail how well the Tapioca tubers need to be washed and cleaned well before cooking. Also, the importance of discarding the water after cooking and repeating the process to avoid the soft, cooked Tapioca having a bitter taste. In no time folks were growing tapioca tubers in their backyards and consuming them instead of rice during the famine years.
Today, Kappa and fish curry is an iconic dish in Kerala Cuisine and enjoyed by everyone across the nation even in the finest of hotels and restaurants.