Madurai by virtue of being the gateway to southern districts is a melting pot of not just culture but also traditional recipes. Be it the Dindigul biryani or the Tirunelveli Halwa, the Temple City has its own unique version of both. The Madurai style or brand of halwas can be attributed to the couple of nei mittai kadais that are over a century-old and characterised by the claim of using pure ghee. The Madurai halwa is harder, sticky, chewy and a tad different from the Tirunelveli iruttukadai variant.
The jilabis at Seshaiyer shop
“The initial charm of these traditional shops rested on the fact that they sold sweets that people did not make at home. Like 50 years ago, women at home made athirasams and murukku for Diwali. Laddus and Mysorepaks were bought at stalls only,” says Balaganesh Dhandapani, who runs Original Nei Mittai Kadai. “The format of a nei mittai kadai was based on only four traditional items. Like, the porous and hard mysorepak was the craze before the soft silky smooth mysurpa took over the market. Motichur and besan laddu were unheard of in these parts.”
MADURAI, 14/04/2012: Palkova being prepared at an unit in Srivilliputtur, Madurai. Photo: R. Ashok 14-04-2012
Even Diwali was not as big a commercialised festival a few decades ago, says Dhandapani. “Until the 70's and 80's, sweet binging peaked during the Chithirai festival. Our branch on East Veli Street used to be open round-the-clock for five days, catering to the large crowd that thronged the city for the festival. Halwas used to sell like hot-cakes. Slowly the tradition shifted towards Diwali and with the influx of North Indian milk-made sweets, ' palakarams ' like paal halwas and jilebis took a back seat.” He adds, “Only in 1980, we brought in our first Bihari chef Samand Chand and introduced badhushah and milk peda. From then on, items like Kaju Katli, Kalakand and Basundhi have become synonymous with Diwali.”
The Dindigul Jilebi Seshaiyer sweet stall
However, traditonal sweets is making a come back, asserts Senthil Nathan, who runs Gomathi Vilas, a 50-year-old Lala shop in Tiruparankundram. “In the past couple of years, we have got orders from even corporates asking specifically for traditional sweets. They are particular about typical items like the mysorepak, kara sev and seeval . These sweets are sought after for the roasted flavour and texture.”
S. Rajagopal of the 65-year-old Jilebi Seshaiyer sweets stall in Dindigul is busy catering to Diwali orders mounting to a whopping 50,000 pieces this year. Many people who pass through the town, make it a point to pack these ultra-soft and fluffy Jilebis oozing with sugar syrup. “There was a time when we sold a piece for 10 Paise and now we sell it for Rs.10. Coming in two sizes, the jilebis are made from high quality urad dal and can stay fresh for a week,” says Rajagopal who sells 50 kilos daily.
The famous Venkateswara Vilas of Srivilliputhur is all geared up to sell 100 kilos of Palkova this Diwali. “Everyday, we boil 400 litres of milk into 40 kgs of palkova. During Diwali, t's more like a flash sale where sales hit a peak just two days before the festival,” says Vijay Merchant, running the 40 year old shop.
Shanmuga Nadar Kadai at Sattur has been selling seerani mittai and sevu since 1914 and one of its young partners Shanmuga Nathan belongs to the 4th generation of the family. “We see a brisk sale round-the-year but Diwali is one occassion we look forward to. Unlike other shops, we end up selling more of the sevu than sweets. The karuppati mittai made of palm jaggery and seerani mittai are the other special items. In the recent years, we could see more demand for the jaggery-made sweets opposed to the ones made with refined sugar.”
In order to attract customers, sweet shop owners are also trying to provide a traditional packaging. The Orginal Nei mittai kadai has come up with a hamper made of palm leaves. “Before the advent of polythene bags, we used to wrap halwa in the mandharai leaves and pack it in an olai petti also known as Kottan . We have reintroduced the palm basket this year,” says Dhandapani. Likewise, online sweet shops like nativespecial.com and tamilsnacks.in have also introduced a traditional section of products with unique packaging.
