The Marinade Journal

Category: Memoir

  • A Ramadan Memoir

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    K FATHIMA JOWHARA Every season comes with a set of memories. In the month of Ramadan again, the mushrooming wayfarers illuminated with lights to sell iftar snacks, and the mixed aroma of spices pull me back to my childhood days. In the previous month before Ramadan, on the 15th of Sha’ban, the reminder of the…

  • The Scent of Sunday

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    MARIYA SABU PAYYAPPILLY My childhood Sundays were a celebration : quiet, familiar, and full of food that made the day feel special without trying.  The morning always began with appam and egg curry. I can still hear the soft hiss of the appachatti, see Amma in her floral printed nighty , hair tied up, half-asleep but…

  • The legend of Thengachoru

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    SAHALA THASNI For my grandmother, whom I call “ummamma,” thengachoru (coconut rice) is not just a dish; it’s an emotion. She can go on talking about its greatness forever. And a legendary story exists about how she made thengaachoru for the first time in her life. Anyone who has ever tasted my grandmother’s thengachoru would…

  • Sugared by Imma, Spiced by Immi.

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    SHIFA JINAN We didn’t grow up eating spicy food, especially in the morning. Most days, it was simple things like: Puttu and banana, Ottada with sugar and coconut milk, Pathiri with a pinch of sugar in melted ghee, Vellappam, that beloved, Malappuram-style kalakki chutta appam, paired with tea and sugar, or sometimes with ghee-roasted banana.…

  • A Well-Brewed Elixir

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    One cup at a time, I became a premium member of the coffee cult without even realizing it. Now, decades after that first encounter, coffee feels like a warm hug on a cold, rainy day.

  • Missing Tea on the Sea

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    MUHAMMED NOUSHAD Over the years, when you make multiple voyages, it’s highly likely that you develop a peculiar penchant for ships. They turn out to be something more than vehicles or modes of transportation. Every time I board a ship, despite the discomforts and uncertainties, I feel a strange sense of belonging. A sort of…