Hunger makes you stronger: Samuthirakani

The director-actor says shifting to traditional dishes can lead to a healthy life.

November 21, 2017 03:32 pm | Updated 04:19 pm IST

His popularity among the youth could be attributed to his earnestness. Samuthirakani is known for winning the National award for best supporting actor for his performance as Inspector Muthuvel in Visaranai . Mentored by the late K Balachander, he worked as an assistant director in his films and TV serials.

Born and raised in Sethur, in Virudhunagar district, Samuthirakani left his native village in 1987 to pursue his Kollywood dreams.

“I returned home and completed Class XII, and again went to Chennai. I completed my degree in Mathematics at Rajapalayam Rajus College and then went to Chennai in 1993. I also completed my law degree,” says Samuthirakani.

He, like many others, was struggling to make an entry as an actor or director. There were days when he went without a meal, he says, and yet, he looks back at that time fondly.

COIMBATORE, TAMILNADU, 10/10/201: Traditional sweets like Adhirasam, are popular during Deepavali festival, in Coimbatore.
Poto: K. Ananthan

COIMBATORE, TAMILNADU, 10/10/201: Traditional sweets like Adhirasam, are popular during Deepavali festival, in Coimbatore. Poto: K. Ananthan

 

“Pandiraj is an amazing cook, and his uppukari was quite popular. Those days, when he began to cook, there would be just three of us, but when the dish was ready, 25 people would be waiting to taste it with piping hot rice,” he reminisces. Samuthirakani says he would add rice to the vessel in which the kolambu was made, and give it a good mix.

He says one must try this to understand how heavenly it tastes.

“Your hunger is what makes you stronger,” he says. Therefore, he is of the opinion that simple cooking, with less oil and condiments, is best for healthy living: rice, dal , rasam and any one vegetable is more than sufficient. “Of late, I have completely shifted to a millet-based diet, as it is the traditional food of Tamil Nadu. We had 100-150 cows at our house, and when I took pazhaya soru in a thookku chatti for lunch to school, it would have 1/4 rice and 1/2 portion of buttermilk.”

He adds that he now prefers raw and half-cooked food.

Uyir ulla unavu is food that is eaten raw or half-cooked. Each vegetable has a unique taste. Eating a small piece each of ginger, garlic and onion on an empty stomach can ward off health issues.”

“Why don’t we snack on boiled tapioca and sweet potato grown in our land? Do you think we have sufficient cows to supply milk for the entire population of Tamil Nadu? Shun packet milk. Substitute it with thengai paal and paruthi paal . Even sprouted wheat milk is good,” he suggests.

“Let’s learn to appreciate the strength and nutritious value of red rice, kattuyanam rice, mappilai samba rice and bamboo rice. Get over the preference for white rice.”

“The most memorable memories of my childhood involve Deepavali and Pongal festivities and the palagaarams associated with it.”

“Households used to prepare adhirasam and suzhiyam . And for savouries, it was two or three types of murukku. These were stored in brass pots and first sent to relatives living in other villages. I remember we used to store and eat adhirasam for one month and murukku for close to six months. That was the quality of the ingredients and oil,” says Samuthirakani.

“During the shooting of Naadodigal , I spotted my childhood favourite karupatti mittai in a small town called Thiruvengadam, near Kovilpatti. I stopped the car and ran towards the shop and bought one kilogramme, and shared it with director M Sasikumar.”

Samuthirakani says he prefers fish to any kind of meat and adds the taste of ayiraimeen kolambu made with ayirai meen from Vaigai will any day surpass any other dish. He says when he cooks fish he simply marinates it with salt, pepper and turmeric for an hour, and then steams it in an idli pot.

A fortnightly column where film personalities talk about their tryst with food

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.