It was love at first bite for both Jill Donenfeld and Sumeet Nair when they visited The Bangala hotel in 2010 and 2004 respectively. For Meenakshi Meyyappan, or Aachi, as she is fondly called, they presented an opportunity to compile the unique cuisine of the boutique heritage hotel in the heart of Chettinad, which she has nurtured for decades. Thus was born The Bangala Table: Flavors and Recipes from Chettinad, a cookbook with 150 recipes gathered from The Bangala’s kitchen staff.
“I had never tasted anything like it (Chettinad cuisine) before as it was my first time in India, but I was blown away by the flavours. Since then, I have been back to India thrice and it has always been to the same place; I haven't ventured anywhere North, even to Delhi,” says Jill, a writer, entrepreneur and chef based in New York. Jill recounts spending several hours in The Bangala’s kitchens with cooks Karuppiah and Pandi: “It was quite a task to get them to slow down and use measuring cups and spoons so that I could write it down. They are so used to the feel of the hand, but that doesn't come without long years of practice.”
Sumeet too was in the kitchens with Jill, dictating the measurements and nuances of each recipe as the cooks explained it to them. He was the one to suggest the idea of a cookbook based on the hotel’s menu to Meenakshi, who quickly recruited Jill to the project. Sumeet, a passionate home cook, says, “My wife Gitanjali was the one who insisted that I write a book on this amazing cuisine. It was an unusual flavour profile that I was not used to. Back in Delhi, people have not even heard of this cuisine beyond Chettinad chicken. That’s as bad as going to London from India and eating curry there.”
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He spent close to three years bringing the book to its present shape: “I wanted a dark cover, and since
Meenakshi is more than happy with the outcome. “It's not typical Chettinad cuisine as it has been modified, the spice levels tempered for the international palate. There's also a mix of ‘Butler cuisine’ with Anglo-Indian influences and some recipes from Ceylon.” The book was launched in Chennai on Tuesday by Sucharitha Reddy and S. Muthiah. It is available on Amazon.com and in bookstores. The Park, Chennai, in collaboration with the authors, is organising a Chettinad food festival till September 19 at Six ‘O’ One. Three special thalis have been curated by the Chettiar cooks from The Bangala.