House number 188 (now, 184) on R.K. Mutt Road in Mylapore is a haloed address that compels recognition when mapping the culinary history of Madras city. After all, it housed Meenakshi Ammal, the author of one the first Indian cookbook series, Samaithu Paar (Cook and See), published way back in 1951.
Brought out first in Tamil and later in English in 1968, the book bears a jacket, carrying a woodblock print of a young woman stirring a pot, which underlines the demographic the book essentially targeted — young Tamil brides eager to please their in-laws.
Seventy-year-old Lakshmi Venkatesan, a resident of Eldams road in Alwarpet, remembers her father gifting her the three-volume series as soon as her marriage was fixed, when she was all of eighteen. “If you wanted to learn how to cook everyday vegetarian south Indian dishes like sambar and rasam , there was no better guide to look up,” she says.
Through elaborate, and often tedious, instructions, Meenakshi mami ,as she was often called, became a presence in many kitchens.
Fifty-year-old Janaki Lakshman, who inherited her copy of the book from her mother, says, “It’s like a grandmother walking you through preparations. Even if you want to make dosai , she starts by telling you how to heat the pan to an optimum temperature.” It is the detail and consistency in measurements through the series that makes the cookbook a classic, observes Ms. Lakshman.
According to food historian Vikram Doctor, it was key socio-political developments which fed the cookbook’s popularity. He says, “It was around the 1930s when the civil services were being increasingly opened up to Indians. Many south Indian Brahmins were being posted outside of Madras.” The need to recreate food to comfort the homesick palate was what made the cookbook a tremendous success.
However, women’s relationship with the cookbook at the time was a seemingly complicated one. While some openly acknowledged their dependence on it, others did so in secret. Ms. Venkatesan says, “Referring to a book to cook was not considered a virtue.” The expectation of women of a marriageable age was possession of these skills, already well-honed.
Priya Ramkumar, Meenakshi Ammal’s granddaughter-in-law, believes that Samaithu Paar has found new audiences in contemporary times. “IIT students and south Indians who settle abroad now are increasingly placing orders for the book.”
Be it young brides or homesick students, Meenakshi Ammal has educated the uninitiated, over generations.
