I look around furtively to see if anyone else has heard my stomach growl. Salubrious Pollachi has just become more desirable, as we are to be fed a meal by Pramodhini Kalingarayar. Pramodhini — who was born, brought up and has married in Pollachi — gives tourists a taste of the region through her cuisine. She is one of the partners with Thadam, an initiative that is working hard to promote Pollachi as a dream destination.
She warmly welcomes us into her cool, green home — trees, flowering bushes, lawns... From the corner of my eye, I see gleaming steel vessels lined on a long sideboard. Lots and lots of food that is going to be our lunch!
It is all vegetarian today and Pramodhini says that makes her happy. “I am experimenting a lot with the naatu kaigari (country vegetables). I grow them, as I want to be self-sufficient and use organic fare in my catering .”
Says Pravin Shanmughanandam, co-founder of Thadam, “Food is a vital part of our tours. We are extra cautious what we feed our guests. We encourage them to try out local cuisine, but some of them may want food they are more familiar with. Pramodhini is an expert in international cuisine; so we can offer our international guests their comfort food too. ”
Feasting on the go
“Usually, trekkers, birders and sightseers are resigned to soggy, tasteless fare and it is always a treat to see the astonished gratification on their faces when they bite into the roll or dig into the biryani and gravy Pramodhini has packed for them.” The helpings are always hearty, as “food should never fall short,” is Pramodhini’s catering philosophy. If the trekkers have a designated spot where they break for a meal, Pramodhini ensures the lunch reaches them in tiffin carriers and is served on arecanut plates. “If they are eating on the go, I pack them in foil,” she says.
As we peer into the vessels back in her home, the rasam, beans poriyal, sambar look familiar. But the elaneer kuzhambu, made of tender slivers of coconut in a rich gravy is a first for me, as is the intriguingly named kuska or ‘empty biryani’. Empty because it is shorn of meat and vegetables. But the aroma is all there. “The spices and vegetables are familiar ones; it is the method and quantities that yield widely different tastes,” smiles Pramodhini, as she urges me to help myself to three different kinds of chutneys that are best combined with steamed rice. There is one made of coriander that has been sautéed with some mystery masala, because my coriander chutney tastes nothing like this. It is the same with the peanut thoghayal and the good old coconut chutney .
“She was not the kind who would go into the kitchen and cook. But it was amazing how she gave detailed instructions about measures to her cooks, and knew exactly what and when to add, down to the last cumin. ” Pramodhini is not a “three-meals-cooking kind of person”, as she has other responsibilities. “But I do make the odd special dish. And I like to experiment by combining traditional with the modern.” We taste the twist in her avocado chappatis and the black rice she serves us with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
What are some of the recipes that she carries around in her head? “Agathi poovu kuzhambu, kozhi thanni kuzhambu, karuvapillai kuzhambu, pura roast and, of course, any number of chutneys. Then there is the vettai curry.” This last item is a recipe handed down from the time hunting was popular. “Those days, they used this recipe to cook game. I use it to cook chicken or mutton now. There is no ginger-garlic to overpower the taste, and basic ingredients such as sombu, seeragam, and milagu are put into it.” She says her pigeon roast also follows a pretty basic recipe that never fails.
More to come
Pramodhini plans to also go back to traditional methods of cooking, using the grinding stone and wood-fired stoves.
“I have the wherewithal, the people, the space and the time,” she says, “There is no doubt that food tastes better when it is prepared in the way it was once.”
In the meanwhile, she is developing ready-to-use millet dosa powders.
“I am tracking down food growers who practise chemical-free farming. I already have a satisfying network. Millet dosas were de rigueur in traditional homes: soaked, freshly ground and consumed. Now people don’t have the time or the patience. But with the millet powders, all one needs to do is to mix it in water. ”
She says the powders are a big hit with college students. “It reminds them of home.” She frequently makes big batches to send with her young relatives when they return to hostel. “Everyone seems to be on the lookout for healthier alternatives to rice and flour. This works for them.”
We leave after extracting a promise from Pramodhini to let us know when her book is ready, and to send us her next batch of ‘puli molagai’. It is a family affair that uses locally grown chillies, tamarind and jaggery.
