On our last night in Madurai we were treated to an absolute feast prepared by two local ladies, one of being the mother of an Intrepid Tour Leader. The table was ladened with an array of spicy treats lovingly prepared for us. We had Chettinad Chicken, an amazing okra curry, a vegetable and coconut curry as well as rice, roti’s and popodoms. I managed to master the art of eating with the right hand, well the food made it to my mouth with only minimal amounts falling on to the table. After we’d eaten, with Thilips help, I compared my Chettinad Chicken recipe, borrowed from one Rick Stein, to the one the ladies used. Lets just say they liked that I cooked the dish but thought my ingredient list was a little excessive and maybe needed culling to make it more authentic. On the way back from dinner we stopped at a local night market then at a brightly lit church, they must have known we were coming for as we climbed back into our van the lights all went out.
Friday’s journey took us deep into the countryside as we wound our way toward Thekkady. Along the way, we passed rubber plantations, pineapple farms, and countless scenic views that made it hard not to want to ask for photo stops every ten minutes. Helen was particularly excited about seeing elephants on roadside billboards – a good omen, we hoped! Lets see what our jungle walk brings us. We even stopped at a vineyard, their vines grow on a raised trellis, just high enough for Helen but I had to stoop the whole way. I was going to buy some of their wine, but it was all non-alcoholic, not really our scene.
The highlight of the day was our visit to a spice plantation. Our guide, part botanist and part historian introduced us to cardamom, pepper vines, cinnamon bark, and nutmeg fruits like we were meeting celebrities. We even tasted some freshly plucked peppercorns – spicy enough to clear your sinuses for a week. We discovered the difference between what is often passed off as cinnamon at home and the plantation grow variety, we have a bundle stashed in our cases the bring home, the aroma is amazing.
Lunch, made with spices from the plantation, was bursting with flavour and just kept coming. Every time you thought you’d had the last dish another tasty offering was presented to us. We sampled two different fish dishes, a chicken curry, spicy dahl, the lightest popadoms and a sensational buttermilk curry that will surely make its way to our receipe collection.
The evening saw us gather for a stroll around Thekaddy with our tour group. Thilip showed us the church where he got married as well as the local shops. If you’ve never had freshly roasted peanuts you’re missing out! Straight out of the wok and into a newspaper cone ready to eat, yum, We passed a young guy opening and peeling plantains ready for slicing and frying, damn tasty the finished chip is too. Even more amazing when you see he leaves the empty plantain still attached to the bunch.
We were up early today for a guided nature walk through Periyar National Park. After we were kitted out with our leech proof socks, as modelled by Helen, our forest guides led us through bamboo groves and jungle trails, pointing out signs of elephants, deer, and the elusive tiger. While we didn’t spot big cats, or deer or even elephants, we did see plenty of bonnet macaques and an amazing array of birdlife as well as an abundance of leeches. And as we discovered when we got back to our room Helen even brought a leech back with her, not the best pet we’ve ever had.
