For me, a traditional South Indian rasam is always flavoured with a pinch of that intensely aromatic spice, asafoetida (perungayam). I would never have believed that it did not originate in India. But that’s what I learned at the newly renovated Dvara resort on Siruvani road. It was an evening when food and music came together in an unusually delightful way. The guests were treated to a duet between Anil Srinivasan on the piano and Rakesh Ragunathanan on the vocals. Apart from melodious tunes, the duo also entertained us with ‘food tales’ . Rakesh not only hosts his own cookery show on TV but also travel and food blogs on his website puliyogaretravels.com. What I found interesting was that he spoke not only about the food that he came across on his trips but also about their origins.
Getting back to perungayam, I was amazed to hear that it is not really a part of the traditional Indian kitchen but actually travelled here from Persia. Yet, it finds scant mention in Persian cuisine today and is an ingredient that the rest of the world finds quite overpowering. I still go through the process of buying the purest blocks of asafoetida before sun drying it and powdering it.
The Dvara evening offered plenty of food for thought about how our cuisines have evolved. Rakesh says that if we want to explore the cuisine for what it originally was then we need to look no further than our temple prasadams. They are still cooked the way they have been for centuries and there is rarely a deviation from the traditional recipe. Another example he cited was the use of spice in flavouring. Black peppercorns were what grew in this area and were thus used in most recipes, be it the ullunthu vadai or the venn pongal. The habit of using dried red or fresh green chillies came much later as a result of the Portugese influence.
It was soon apparent from the way they spoke about akkaravadisal that both musicians shared a common passion for food. They regaled us with stories of how the cutlet, which actually was a specific dish served on British trains, soon came to share space on the banana leaf alongside our pongals and poriyals . Rice grains too were many and diverse in nature in compared to the polished white rice we now eat. The sambhar and idli that we all think to be specific to our region is actually not so.
Dvara has beautifully furnished cottage-like rooms fitted with ornate wooden doorways, beautiful tiles, water bodies as well as modern amenities. The Siruvani flows by silently with the mountains adding to the backdrop. It’s the perfect weekend getaway.
As we tucked into an array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, we were reminded to keep some space for the cold jigarthanda.
Dvara resorts opens on October 15 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They will serve a mix of traditional South Indian food and some continental fare. For details, contact Resort Manager Jesvanth Rodrigues at 9894611958
