Kongunadu
EH&C: How did Kongunad cuisine come into existence? Did the cuisine go through various stages of development before getting its final shape?
Saravanan: 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.
What are the various aspects that make Kongunad cuisine special? Why? Some of the aspects that make Kongunad cuisine very special are as follows:
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 Chettinadu cuisine, which is the food of only one city of Tamil Nadu, called Karaikudi)
- 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
- Addition of roasted groundnut paste in curries and Khormas creates a very different flavour.
- 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
- Kongunad cuisine is not very spicy and oily, which is not the case with other cuisines
- 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, and 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, and 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 conceptualized in Kulithalai and Pollachi because plantains and dates are grown extensively there
- esidents in Karur, Kangayam, Erode and Palladam prepare a special dish called 'Kali' from cereals like jowar, Raagi 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. 'Chef Saravanan 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, Chettinadu 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 savera hotel -Chennai, This apart; we conducted a Kongunad Cuisine festival ' at MALGUDI, and MIHMCT campus wherein over 2,500 guests were served a selection of Kongunad cuisine delicacies.
The response has been stupendous from both hotels and consumers. In fact, we are in the process of finalizing some more food festivals with leading hotel and restaurant chains in the country. By doing this, we intend to motivate restaurants to open speciality restaurants on the Kongunad theme in near future.
Our future plans include conducting research on the following topics:
- Parsi food culture and habits
- Cuisine of the Konkan coast
- A general study on the food of temples, mosques and churches
- The cuisine of Thondai Kingdom and
- The tribal cuisine of south India.