“If you go to Chettinad, you will come back with a chef,” is a common joke. Not surprising at all, says Sunder, who hails from Kothamangalam in Karaikudi. “In my family, everyone — from the paati to my wife — cooks. The kitchen is a space for men and women.” It’s this organic culinary culture that made Sunder one of the most sought-after caterers in his town.
Today, he helms the Karaikudi Food Festival at The Residency, along with two other chefs, Saravanan and Shankar. The fare comes with lots of non-vegetarian varieties. Just the waft of mutton sukka and the meen varuval is heavenly. “I have not added any artificial flavour. The dishes are cooked in gingelly oil. The basic formula for our cuisine is tamarind, coriander seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, red and green chillies and small onions.”
Chettinad biryani, made of jeeraka samba rice, smells of spices and ghee and is best had with nenju elambu kuzhambu, a spicy and tangy mutton gravy. The podi kozhi, topped with fried onions and curry leaves, makes for a great side-dish. “No extra masala. Just salt and turmeric,” says Sunder. In fact, almost all his recipes scream of simplicity. For instance, mandi is tamarind-flavoured gravy made with the leftovers of the previous day’s vegetables and pulses. “It’s the best way to economise on food. It’s the poor man’s meal,” says Sunder. The platter balances the non-vegetarian items with vegetarian ones such as keerai poriyal, vegetable stew with appam, karamani sundal, and varuvappilai sadam.
You get a feel of the grandeur of the Chettinad cuisine when you take a peek into the dessert platter. The inippu suzhiyam are deep-fried balls of rice and dal batter, stuffed with mashed Bengal gram, jaggery and coconut. These are white and crispy outside, but melt without a fuss when you bite into them. But, they are not dripping in oil. “That’s because we use the oil manufactured traditionally in the good old chekku,” explains Sunder. Aadi Kummayam, a sweet made of black dal and rice, with a smooth and soft texture is another highlight.
Sunder has brought his entire home in Kothamangalum to Coimbatore. All the snacks — including the thenkuzhal, kaichuttal murukkus, seeppu seedais and parippu and ellu urundais — have been prepared by his family. The culture of cooking is ingrained in the Chettinad households, he says. Sunder learnt cooking at the age of 15. “I trained under American Ganesan, the top cook in our area. I have gone through many hardships. Now, my name brings me respect,” he smiles.
Karaikudi Food Festival
Location: The Residency, Avanashi Road
Date: On till June 26
Price: The buffet, priced at Rs. 1,099, is available for lunch. On Saturdays and Sundays, there will be lunch and dinner.
Contact: 98430-71777, 0422-2241414.
