kongu nadu cuisine

1. Kongunad Cuisine Comes From 50 Cities Of Tamil Nadu’

   Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, head of the department, Department of Catering Science & Hotel Management, Cherraan's Arts Science College, Kangayam, tells Ashish K Tiwari about their research into Kongunad Cuisine

   EH&C: How did Kongunad cuisine come into existence? Did the cuisine go through various stages of development before getting its final shape?

   JACOB SAHAYA KUMAR ARUNI: Kongunad cuisine is basically a collection of exotic recipes being created by the people residing in the Kongu region. The cuisine is quite extensive for a simple reason that the Kongu region is very vast and includes places like Ooty, Coimbatore (the present headquarters of Kongu Kingdom), Pollachi, Tiruppur, Udumalpet, Avinashi, Palladam, Kangayam (the previous headquarters of Kongu Kingdom) to Karur, Erode, Aathur, Salem, Palani Mettur and Dharapuram.

   As far as its branding as 'Kongunad Cuisine' is concerned, it is our personal initiative. We have personally travelled in the Kongunad region and collected recipes from housewives, marriage contractors and senior citizens. After having tried the recipes and getting them approved from their respective inventors - for its tastes and textures vis-a-vis the original - we have now put the whole food culture as Kongunad cuisine.

   'The Chef Factory' team at the institute has done a lot of research and development (R&D) on this cuisine which has now taken the shape of an authentic branded cuisine. It now effectively suits commercial tastes and we have started promoting the cuisine by holding food festivals in star category hotels (three promotions have been made so far).

   What are the various aspects that make Kongunad cuisine special? Why?

   Some of the aspects that make Kongunad cuisine very special are as follows:

2. The recipes have their own nativity and style. Besides, Kongunad cuisine is a collection of recipes from more than 50 cities n Tamil Nadu, (unlike Chettinad cuisine, which is the food of only one city of Tamil Nadu, called Karaikudi)
3. Unlike other cuisines, Kongunad cuisine does not involve marination of any raw material. As a result the food has a different taste and unique texture
4. Addition of roasted groundnut paste in curries and Khormas creates a very different flavour
5. Turmeric is always added into curries as freshly grated and ground after roasting. This gives the product a deep yellow colour and an aromatic substance
6. Kongunad cuisine is not very spicy and oily, which is not the case with other cuisines
7. The cuisine is healthy and nutritious owing to use of considerable amount of pulses

Did the residents of Kongu region follow any standard recipe design for this cuisine?

Not really. There was no possibility of standard recipes for this cuisine. The recipes found their origin based on the speciality of that particular city of Kongunad. This is evident from the following instances:

• Use of copra (dry coconut) was very prominent in cities like Kangayam, Tiruppur, Dharapuram etc, due to the abundance of coconut trees and coconut oil refineries.
• The invention of pickles happened due to abundance of gingelly seeds in the areas such as Archalur, Erode, Nathakadaiyur etc
• The cuisine has a tinge of Muslim taste in Hindu food and vice versa in the areas of Dharapuram, Keeranoor, Kangayam, etc, because there was a major concentration of Hindus and Muslims in these areas who lived in very close amity. Thus, sharing of recipes and adapting to their tastes was but obvious
• Dry mutton cubes (sun dried and used as an accompaniment after frying) were invented due to the presence of numerous mutton and beef slaughter houses in cities like Dharapuram, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, etc
• 'Panchamritham', a sweet mixture of plantains, dates, jaggery and sugar candy offered in the Lord Muruga temple at Palani as 'Prashadham', was conceptualised in Kulithalai and Pollachi because plantains and dates are grown extensively there
• Residents in Karur, Kangayam, Erode and Palladam prepare a special dish called 'Kali' from cereals like jowar, ragi and bajra as these places have the largest yield of the said cereals
• Chicken finds its place in the daily menu as gravies and curries because chicken farming was the key occupation for most in and around Palladam
• Sweets like 'Pathaneer Halwa', 'Pathaneer Payasam', 'Elanir Halwa', 'Elanir Payasam' formed part of the regular food in areas like Athur and Salem as palm trees and coconut trees were available in abundance in these regions

The above-mentioned are just a few examples. 'The Chef Factory' research team is currently in the process of compiling the findings on the same topic and we will soon publish a book elucidating its nitty-gritties.

You earlier mentioned that unearthing this cuisine was an initiative by the research team of the institute. What was the motivating factor?

As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, Chettinad is the only cuisine that has achieved popularity amongst the masses. Keeping this in mind, and also the existence and incomparable tastes of Kongunad recipes, I initiated this idea of unearthing Kongu cuisine with my students. We made a trip to the particular cities and collected various recipes.

After achieving the objective of inventing something different for food lovers, the next step is to take it across the world by way of holding food festivals in various hotel and restaurant chains around the world. We would like to establish 'Kongunad cuisine' as one of the best cuisines of India.

Is sourcing the raw material and ingredients for Kongunad cuisine a problem in current times? How do you go about dealing with it?

It is not much of a problem to source the raw materials for Kongu cuisine. However, there are a few ingredients such as 'Kongu Masala' and 'Pallipalayam Masala' which are not available anywhere except in Kangayam and Erode regions and that too with a particular family only.

Are there any unique practices whilst preparing Kongunad Cuisine?

There are no unique practices as such for cooking these dishes. However, there are different procedures like assembling of gravies, using sun-dried meat for cooking, using unpeeled potatoes, no marination of flesh or vegetables for any preparation, using coconut shells to soften the meat, etc.

Your institution has taken a lot of initiatives to build awareness about this cuisine. How has been the response among hotels and end consumers?

We have already conducted three food festivals in GRT Grand-Chennai, The Residency Groups of Hotels and Club Mahindra Holidays and Resorts. This apart, we conducted a Kongunad Cuisine festival called 'NILA Chour' at Erode wherein over 2,500 guests were served a selection of Kongunad cuisine delicacies. The New Delhi Television Network visited our department for a news update of our research work on Kongunad cuisine which was transmitted in their daily news. These are a few key measures being taken to publicise the cuisine.

The response has been stupendous from both hotels and consumers. In fact, we are in the process of finalising some more food festivals with leading hotel and restaurant chains in the country. By doing this, we intend to motivate restaurateurs to open speciality restaurants on the Kongunad theme in near future.

What are your future plans with respect to R&D activities in the institute?

We have completed three more research projects on different cuisines of India, viz. 'The Ethnic Cuisine of the Moplah Muslims', 'The Authentic Cuisine of the Ancient Kingdoms of Tamil Nadu' and 'Redefining Chettinad Cuisine'. Except the third topic, the other two have already been published as booklets for the hotelier fraternity.

Our future plans include conducting research on the following topics:

a. Parsi food culture and habits

b. Cuisine of the Konkan coast

c. A general study on the food of temples, mosques and churches

d. The cuisine of Thondai Kingdom and

e. The tribal cuisine of south India.

A Few Popular Dishes

In all there are 188 recipes in Kongunad Cuisine, which are a combination of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some of the most popular dishes are given below: Pachaipuli Rasak - It is a spicy, assembled rasam made of tamarind pulp and small onions Karimeen Kolambu - This is a basic fish curry added with mutton cubes and stock Keeranoor Kolambu - A basic vegetable gravy added with chosen country vegetables and mutton Pallipalayam Chicken Fry - A very special dry preparation prepared using Pallipalayam Masala, (a hand pounded masala made by a family in a city Pallipayalam near Erode) Pathanir Halwa - A uniquely flavoured halwa which can beat the taste and texture of the presently famous Tirunelveli Halwa. It is made from Pathaneer (the toddy before fermentation) Kollu Masiyal - A breakfast dish made out of mashed horsegram accompanied with a watery salt-fish gravy. The dish is very nutritious and is consumed by farmers and the likes as an energy drink Pollachi Mutton Kolambu - A medium spicy mutton preparation made with equal quantity of small onions to mutton Nila Kolambu - This curry is prepared from four varieties of vegetables which grow under the soil, namely potato, colocassia, yam and sweet potato Benian - A white flaky poori like sweet made only by the housewives of Muslim families in and around Dharapuram Aathur Koli Kolambu - This chicken curry, though made without using tomato, ginger and garlic, tastes much better than any other chicken curry ever made in India Payaru Thirattal - This is a 'Kootu' like preparation where groundnuts are pasted and added to the mashed pulses and cooked in a peculiar masala paste made of small onion and pepper corns

Kongunad Special

The residents of Kongu region were the first to: Use Copra (dry coconut) in curries and gravies rather than fresh coconut Use mangoes to prepare various sweets Cook delicacies using various cereals such as rye, bajra, jowar for their main course Assemble gravies Shun marination Make gravies and kootus using potatoes without removing its skin Use milk to prepare curries and gravies Prepare 'Hung Meat' from mutton and beef and fry them as 'Vadagams' Use only small onion in their preparations Cook hard-fibred meat by adding coconut shells in the liquid used to cook meat Prepare various kinds of pickles using 'Gingelly Oil' Practice the tawa frying method instead of deep fat frying Prepare white pongal (a breakfast dish) which is a mixture of rice and pulses Consume butter milk and sweet as the second last course and rasam as the last Use drumstick leaves to clear butter while making ghee Invent the very popular 'prashadham' - Panchamritham, which is offered in the temple of Lord Muruga in Palani Conceive 'Jasmine Idlis', which has a special character of regaining its shape and texture even if anybody presses or squeeze it - the recipe of which is still a secret Invent 'Kootu', a preparation of vegetable and pulses mixed together and tempered in little oil Derive new sweets such as 'Elanir Payasam', 'Pathaneer Halwa', out of sago