Vairavan - Chettinad kitchen : food and flavours from South India

westland ltd
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47, Brij Mohan Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002 First published by westland ltd 2010 Copyright Alamelu Vairavan 2010 All rights reserved 10 987654321 ISBN: 978-93-80283-88-3 Typeset by Art Works, Chennai Printed at Manipal Press Ltd, Manipal This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, circulated, and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers. Table of Contents Dedication To my beloved mother Umayal Palaniappan, and to the loving memories of
my father AVM. Palaniappa Chettiar, my in-laws RM. Kasivisvanathan Chettiar
and K.

Valliammai Achi and my maternal grandmother VE. Unnamalai Achi,
for their unbounded love and inspiration I would like to express my deep gratitude to my husband Dr K. Vairavan, for his love, encouragement and guidance throughout the writing of this book. Despite his busy schedule, he advised me and provided the inspiration and support that kept the project progressing. Thanks are due to my mother, Umayal Palaniappan, and my sister, PL. Lakshmi, for their support and encouragement.

They also assisted me with specific clarifications and suggestions for several of the recipes in this book. I would like to acknowledge the helpful advice I received from my friends, Thangam Palaniappan and Amirthum Kumarappan. I am grateful to my uncle, Dr A. Alagappan, my nephew, R. (Ammu) Ramanathan and my cousin, M. Solaiappan, for introducing me to Editor S.

Muthiah in Chennai. Mr Muthiah was instrumental in paving the way to my meeting author Chandra Padmanabhan and her son, Gautam Padmanabhan, of Westland Limited, the publishers of this book. I was honoured to be asked to write a book on Chettinad cooking for publication in India. But having just published my third book in the US, I was hesitant to take on another book. I must thank my family, as well as my dear neighbour, friend and the co-author of my earlier three books, Dr Patricia Marquardt, for encouraging me to accept this project. They convinced me of the importance of making Chettinad cuisine easily accessible to people throughout India and in the overseas Indian diaspora.

Once I started work on the project, Gautam and Mrs Padmanathan continued to provide support and valuable suggestions for which I am grateful. I must also acknowledge Renuka Chatterjee, Chief Editor at Westland Limited, New Delhi, for coordinating my work with the editorial staff. My special thanks go to Sherna Wadia for her thorough editing of the manuscript. It was a pleasure working with her. I would also like to thank Malvika Mehra, in Chennai for her creative art design work and for the layout of this cookbook. I would also like to express my deep appreciation to Linda Gumieny for the food photography in this book.

My acknowledgements would be incomplete without recognizing the fact that I learnt Chettinad cooking from a talented and patient teacher, the famous Chettinad chef, Nedungudi Natesan, at my aunt Visalakshi Alagappan's home in New York shortly after my marriage. During my regular visits to India, Natesan continued to supply useful suggestions to expand my knowledge of this great cuisine. Finally, the support of my son, Ashok Vairavan, daughter, Valli Gupta, and her husband, Dr Atul Gupta, has been invaluable in my exciting culinary journey. I was born and raised in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, South India. I grew up in a large household that had a professional cook, and shared regularly in an abundance of delicious Chettinad foods. I distinctly remember my father fondly arranging for a broad array of delectable dishes prepared by the skilled cook who would indulge my every whim.

I also recall enjoying great meals at the homes of relatives, especially those of my grandmother Unnamalai achi, aunt Karuppayee achi, and my uncle and aunt Mr and Mrs VE. Ramanathan Chettiar. Thus I owe a debt of gratitude to my parents and relatives for initiating my appreciation for the wonderful world of Chettinad cuisine. I learnt the great art of Chettinad hospitality and entertaining from my mother. She welcomed relatives and friends graciously, and enthusiastically hosted meals at our home. Should a casual guest drop in around mealtime, she would persuade them to stay for lunch or dinner.

Her warm hospitality and kindness to family and friends had a lasting impression on me. I also immensely enjoyed the company of relatives and friends and sharing meals with them. After my marriage, I accompanied my husband to the US as a young bride. At the time, while I enjoyed eating, I knew nothing about cooking. This worried my mother and my mother-in-law. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention.

I learned cooking from a professional Chettinad chef, Nedungudi Natesan, employed at my aunt Visalakshi Alagappan's home in New York, while my husband completed his Ph.D at the University of Notre Dame, in Indiana. Following my cooking lessons and orientation to the American way of life in New York, I joined my husband. To my surprise, I soon developed tremendous joy in cooking. Trial and error, patience and encouragement from my husband and, more importantly, regular phone calls, letters and visits to India, allowed me to master the many Chettinad dishes I had so enjoyed eating while growing up. This positive process and the many compliments I received from friends who tasted my food inspired me to expand my culinary repertoire considerably. My husband and I settled down in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he began his academic career at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

I attended the university as a student in Health Sciences while raising a family. As my culinary interests and skills grew, I started giving cooking demonstrations in the community and university outreach programmes. I also enjoyed entertaining friends and family from around the world. A blessing that enriched my life considerably was the special relationship I developed with my neighbour, Dr Patricia Marquardt, Professor of Ancient Greek and Latin, who also had a great fondness for India, Indian culture and cuisines. Our friendship not only led to happy family get-togethers and shared meals, but also to Indian cooking lessons in which I became the teacher and she the pupil! Pat soon learned to prepare several Indian dishes extremely well. Our joint cooking sessions led to three South Indian cookbooks published in the United States.

An article in the local newspaper, entitled: Aromas, Friendship and Cookbook' captured the true essence of the friendship that led to our first cookbook, Art of South Indian Cooking. Through my books, cooking classes and television, radio and print media presentations, I found great joy in teaching the American public healthful ways to prepare and enjoy South Indian food. An important highlight of my activities was a sold-out workshop entitled 'Enticing Indian Flavours' that I presented in April 2009 in New York at the James Beard Foundation (JBF). The JBF is a prestigious American culinary organization in Manhattan, New York, that regularly sponsors major culinary events and brings top chefs from around the country to New York for culinary presentations. In 2009, I felt honoured when I was invited by Westland Limited to write a book on Chettinad cooking for publication in India. The aim was to make the unique Chettinad cooking easily accessible to modern cooks throughout India and overseas.