BACK TO ANCIENT TAMIL CUISINE

Our Tamilnadu is a homeland of natural resources, heritages, besides the fragrant traditional cooking too. Every part of Tamilnadu is following the different cooking practices, here the cuisine and cooking is completely changing in every 100kms. Tamil cooking is well dignified by the use of secret and traditional masalas and abundant use of homegrown spices in cooking. In Tamilnadu, people give more attentions to their food what they are preparing at the time of festivals. The prepared food replicated the mood of festivals as well as the culture of people. Our cooking is praised around the globe due to the authenticity what we keeps in our cooking so far.

We are assumed that South Indian foods are not only Idli and Sambhar. South Indian cuisine catches the prime attraction among foreigners those who are visiting to South India. Dosa and Idli boarded their flight to USA, UK and many more other countries. Normally the foreigners are not fond of rice based fermented food, but today they enjoy to eat Idli, dosa, appam and many of our South Indian food items.

Ancient Tamil cuisine is the cooking between 3BC – 15BC, the Tamil sangam works like Perupanachupadai, Chirupanachupadai, Purananuru, Tholkapiyam, Kurunthogai, Pathichupathu etc., widely described the food and food habits of the ancient people. Sangam literatures clearly described the food that had been served in the laymen house and also the Kings palace in those days. Ancient times the South India was divided by chera, chola and pandya kingdoms. The ingredients what we are using now for our cooking was not available on those days cooking practice. The food culture had been transformed as per the land where they were dwelled. According to the Chirupanachupadai, a Tamil work, Raja Annam is the higher quality rice, this rice is used to bartering the products.

Sangam literature stated the course wise serving of food. The practice of eating food in course wise passed to European countries through our practices (Phrases on Kurunthogai). In sangam days, meat and alcoholic drinks like “Somabhanam” served to the courtyard poets. Those days, there were no restrictions to taste the meat and alcoholic drinks. Kuzhambu / Kalavai, Salna / Stew, Sambhar, Medu Vada, Dosa etc., were present in olden days in different shape and taste which were cooked with available items.

In king’s house there had been 160 varieties of dishes served for a single meal, 82 cooks worked in the king’s kitchen. In Maharaja’s kitchen, the series of secret recipes were so dear to the official kitchen. The recipes drafted on kings head cooks secret code. Histories noticed that the kitchen of Maharaja’s was famous for its exquisite and elaborate recipes.

Onion, Tomatoes, green chilly, garlic, cloves, refined oil, sugar etc., were not available in sangam age. Today we can’t imagine the cooking without the above said ingredients and sweets without sugar. Peppercorns, coriander seeds, Black Jaggery, Tender coconut, Honey, ginger, Turmeric, Tamarind, Mustard seeds, ghee are the ingredients used on early days. In 15 & 16^th century, many ingredients were introduced for the cooking through trade. After the introduction of groundnut oil in Vijayanagara dynasty that produced more deep fried foods. Temples play the active role for the evolution of food. Through the wake up of Bhakthi movements there had been the tremendous changes in the Tamilian food customs.

India has many cuisines to offer but our Tamil food is the premiere cuisine. Even the famous biriyani had its origin in South India, not from anywhere. According to Tamil works Pathichupathu and Purananuru which vastly describes the food and fermentation method done in ancient days. This Tamil works says that the warriors / soldiers were feeded with “Oonthuvaiadishil” or “Oonsoru” (Oon means meat) by the King before they were going to warfront and also the biriyani were served to soldiers whenever there were victories at war.

After we know our ancient Tamil cuisine through this script, we shall persuade our ancestors are great in cooking and their masterpiece in cooking should not be forgotten at any time.

Hope you are happily read… See you in next post…   

Why the Sesame rice is offering as Prasadham???

There is a good reason for every ritual customs:-

I just think of that Why Ellu Sadham (Sesame seeds Rice) is serving as neivedhyam in the Temple

In Tamil there is a say, “Ellaithavanukku Ellu”. Sesame seeds contain high iron which strengthens the human body and provide good stamina. The oil presence in the sesame refreshes the body from tiredness. Our ancestors were the hard workers in the olden days, so Ellu sadham kind foods are offered as Neivdhayam (oblation) to the devotees for the above said good cause.

Eppam puriyuthaaa, Ethukku Koduthankanuu….. Aduthaa thadava koil ponninganaa kandippa vangi sapittittu naan sonathaa yocingaa…

Elaneer Sarbeth

Nanari Sorbath (Sarasapilla Syrup) – 50ml

Lemon juice – 2

Tender coconut water (Elaneer Thanir) – 500ml

Ice cubes – as required

Mix all together in force. Serve it with few Tender coconut pieces.

The coolest drink Elaneer Sarbeth is a great refresher and provides chillness to your body. It avoids urination difficulties in the summer season.

Tips for Tasty Soup

How to prepare the nutritious rich Soup in your weekend, lets share the Essence of Soup…

1. Use little oil in soup and you take note that too long sauté of vegetables destroy the carotene content of the vegetables.
2. Use required amount of water to make soup. Use the pounded spices rather than using masala powders.
3. Pound and use the ginger and garlic
4. Start from cold water.
5. Use simmer fire to bring the essence of soup
6. Try to add seasonal available ingredients
7. Add lemon juice at the final stage, the mild pinching taste brings extra taste to the soup
8. If you want some additional ingredients to make the vegetable soup thicker, you use Barley, boiled dal water, coconut milk, mashed rice, corn paste.
9. Making traditional Tamil style soup, you could add pounded mixture of coriander seeds, pepper corns, dry redchillies, fenugreek seeds, Jeera seeds
10. Do not forget to use coriander leaves stem

Today’s Household Tips

Today’s Household Tips

1.Put dry redchillies while boiling dals, this will make dal boils faster.

2.Add little sugar when you are cooking greens (Keerai). If you do like this the green’s colour and flavour will not change also it keeps the greens taster.

3.Apply little oil over the egg to protect it from spoilage.

4.Put dry curry leaves in storage box of dals which will keep away the insects. 

5.Whenever it possible try to use curd to clean plate, it easily removes the deposit of oil substance over the plate and makes your plates as new one.

6. In case if you prepare the curd very late and it not reach to that ferment taste, put some broken green chillies or dry redchilies on top and keep it for few hours. This method faster the fermentation.

Yellow Fried Rice - South Indian Fried Rice

Refined oil – 50ml

Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

Ginger, chopped – 1 tsp

Garlic, chopped – 1 tsp

Onion, sliced – 2nrs

Carrot, chopped – 3nrs

Capsicum, chopped - 3 nrs

Beans, chopped – 5nrs

Spinach, chopped – 50g

Cabbage, chopped – 100g

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Spring onions – a few

Lime juice – 3nrs

Coriander leaves – a few

Basmathi rice, boiled – 1 Kg

Salt to taste

White pepper powder as required

Green chillies, chopped - 5

Method of preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, ginger,garlic and green chillies. Add the onion, vegetables and greens one by one, stir fry all together.
2. Add turmeric powder, salt and white pepper. Combine all and add lime juice, stir it.
3. Add basmathi rice, toss it and be clear the flavour mixture must combine with rice. Check the seasonings.
4. Put some coriander leaves on top. Serve immediately in hot.

Spicy Butter Biscuit

Maida Flour (Refined Flour) – 250g

Butter – 50g

Chilli powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp

Salt – as required

Baking powder – ¼ tsp

Vanilla Essence – 5 drops

Egg – 1

Ajawain Powder – ¼ tsp

Oil for deep frying

Method of Preparation

1. Cream the butter. Beat the egg with Vanilla essence. Put turmeric powder, chilli powder, ajwain powder, salt, Baking powder into the Maida flour, sieve the flour then.
2. Add the creamed butter into the sieved flour. Add the beaten egg into the flour, start knead the mixture. If you need water just sprinkle it little. Ensure the kneaded dough is somewhat tough.
3. Spread the dough into sheet and fold the sheet. Allow it in rest for 10 minutes. Again repeat the same process for three times.
4. Finally spread the dough and cut into square. Deep fry the pieces in the hot oil till it is cook and golden colour.
5. Drain and serve. Now the spicy crispy biscuit is ready.

Kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai - Peanut Chikki

Groundnut is called as “Poor men’s Cashewnut.” Protein content in the peanut is equal to the cashewnut, so groundnut has the space in our traditional food habit. Groundnut should eat properly otherwise it might create disturbance to our body. Always it is best to eat the groundnut either roasted or steamed. Nutritionist says Steaming will loss the nutrients in the groundnut. In the villages, roasted peanuts are eaten along with jaggery, this practice was the follow up of making Kadalai Mittai.

Kadalai Mittai is available in all the petty shops of Tamilnadu. Kovilpatti is often suffixed to its name Kadalai Mittai. The tongue which tastes the kovilpatti Kadalai Mittai will not accept other place Kadalai Mittai as “Kadalai Mittai.” Splitted peanuts are hold by vellam pagu or jaggery syrup, the wringling colourful coconut shreds on top of Kadalai Mittai says “I am a Kovilpattian.”  

Earlier time, palm tree based by-product business was the main occupation of the people here. Initially, the palm jaggery of this region and the peanuts of Toothukudi region are combined then sold as “Karupatti Kadalai Mittai.” Later, the demand in sourcing palm jaggery made them to use the sugarcane jaggery for the Kadalai Mittai preparation. Now the groundnut cultivation is also declined in this region, at present peanut is sourcing from Aruppukottai and Dindigul.

The jaggery is brought from Salem area. Kadalai Mittai preparation seems to be easy, if the attention of preparing jaggery syrup lost for few seconds it will wipe out the taste and flavour of Kadalai mittai. Right proportions of Sugar, vanilla essence, Liquid glucose are mixed with jaggery syrup or vella pagu to obtain the taste and consistency. Some says two or three types of Jaggery are melt to get the syrup. Put the shelled and roasted peanuts in the bubbling jaggery syrup.  Stir swiftly and the peanuts embedded in hardened syrup. Plunk it on a board and flatten it with a rolling pin. Cut the peanut bed with Knife.

If the peanut bed is cut with knife, the smell of Kadalai Mittai will gathers the people near around.

The time you have been in this post brings the feel that “you have eaten the Kadalai Mittai”… Say “Thanks for me” anyhow don’t forget to taste the real Kadalai Mittai.

Mutton Dhilrubha

Mutton, boiled –  500g

Ghee – 50ml

Cinnamon –  1nrs

Cardamom – 3nrs

Cloves – 4nrs

Bay leaves – 1 big

Onion, chopped – 2nrs

Tomato, Chopped – 3nrs

Green chillies, chopped – 2nrs

Chilli powder – 2tbsp

Coriander powder – 1tbsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp

Ginger & Garlic paste – 2tbsp

Curd – 50ml

Salt – as required

Mint leaves and Coriander leaves, chopped – a few

Basmathi Rice, boiled – 1 kg

Cashewnuts, golden fried – 30g

Method of preparation

1.     Heat oil in a pan, add the whole garam masala ingredients one by one, allow to splutter.

2.     Add the green chillies now. Add the onion, fry it until golden colour. Add the tomatoes. Saute’ till onion and tomato merge well. Add the ginger and garlic paste.

3.     Add the masala powders. Stir all around. Now add coriander and mint leaves. Stir and add the salt and mutton pieces. Mix well and add little water, let it boil for few minutes.

4.     Add the beaten curd, stir all around. Add the basmathi rice. Mix well. Put mint leaves and cashewnuts on top. Cover the pan with tight lid or something. Open it after 15 minutes, mix and serve with your favourites.

Chicken 2014

Chicken – 500g

Riceflour – 100g

Saunf (Aniseed) – 2g

Lemon juice – 1

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Chilli powder – 2 tbsp

Ginger and Garlic paste – 2 tbsp

Cashewnut bits – 50g

Refined oil – 1 litre

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Green chillies, chopped – 2 nrs

Salt as required

Pepper powder – ½ tsp

Curryleaves – a few

Thick curd – 50 ml

Method of Preparation

1. Take one broad kind vessel and put riceflour, aniseed, lemon juice, masala powders, fine ginger & garlic paste, salt, cashew bits and red color. Drop the chicken and mix well, ensure the masala mixture coat well with chicken. Rest it for half an hour.

2. Deep fry the marinated chicken in hot oil after the said time. Drain it.

3. Heat oil in a pan, pop the mustard seeds. Add green chillies, curryleaves. Add the beaten curd, stir it nicely. Put salt, pepper powder and deep fried chicken pieces. Toss the mixture gently. Serve hot.

Traditional Cookwares in Healthy Food

The heading makes you understand that the taste and healthiness in food is associated not only by the skills, the utensils what we are using to prepare the food is most important one to determine the above said fact. Nowadays we mostly like to go with convenient methods. That’s the reason the use of cooking utensils was changed from mud pots followed by bronze, Brass, Iron and Eversilver. At present we are widely used to cook the food in modern non - stick cookwares, these cookwares received the arouse welcome among women. Non stick cookwares are available in different colours, so it is the centre of attraction to makes the kitchen more colourful.

The research says that the type of utensils which we used for cooking the food will determine the presence of nutrients. Another recent study made by the scientist in Uppsala University, Sweden says that the people who consume the food which are cooked in Non –stick cookwares will linked to the high risk of diabetics development. Non stick vessels have a chemical substance so called “Perfluorinated compounds,” while cooking the food in non stick cookware this chemical substance will engage with the food and changes the food into unhealthy. Perfluorinated compunds disrupts the secretion of insulin from the pancreas and could leads to diabetics. 

Ultimately we cannot say that the reason for diabetes is only because of cooking the food in non – stick cookware. The other causes for diabetics are unhealthy food habits, genes, less exercises and depression.

When we speak about the cookwares, it is must to see the uniqueness in our Traditional Cookwares -

1.     The food which is cooked in mudpot will increase the taste and flavour. The food which is cooked in mud pot will not be spoiled for long time and makes the digestion easy. It brings you healthy and long life. The water which is poured in mud pot will develop the unique taste and chillness. The poured curd in mud pot will not develop tart taste. These much uniqueness enriched mud pot is not at all there in our home for usage, nowadays it is just be as the showcase material.  

2.     Our ancestors used gold, silver, bronze, copper, Iron as metal for making cookwares. Silver metal regulates the body temperature and keep always cool. The food which is prepared in copper and bronze cures the stomach ailments. It has the efficiency to reduce the ulcer. If we drink the copper vessel stored water regularly, there will be no coughing and long breathing. Iron metal increase the amount of blood and strengthen the body. It increases the eye sight and protects the eye from any possible ailments.  

What we will do is, as much possible try to use the traditional cookwares to make you healthy. Lets I leave now, see you soon.

Bread and Butter Pudding

Sultanas – 50g

Bread, spread with butter – 5

Eggs – 3

Sugar – 50g

Vanilla Essence – 3 drops

Milk – ½ litre

Method of Preparation

1.     Place the sultanas in a pie dish. Remove the crusts from the bread and cut each slice into four triangles. Neatly overlap the bread pieces in the pie dish.

2.     For an egg custard – whisk the eggs, sugar and essence. Pour on the warmed milk and continue whisking. Add little grated nutmeg.

3.     Pour on to the bread, dust lightly with sugar. Cook in a oven at 160 degree C for 40 minutes – 50 minutes.

Sodhi Pongal - Pongal recipe

A great sweetened pongal wishes to all !!!!

Pongal day Special recipe - SODHI PONGAL

Fry ½ kg of rawrice and 75g of moong dal in ghee, now add thin coconut milk which enough to cook both. Once both cooks well then add sugar and yellow kesari colour. Stir all, finish with thick coconut milk and ginger juice. Mix all around and remove from fire. Just top it up golden fry sultanas and cashewnuts. Serve hot.

Happy Pongal.... CRM

Karumppu Pongal / Sugarcane Pongal

Sugarcane is the most honourable gentleman in Pongal Celebration; it is the symbol and joy of Pongal celebration. How shall it be good to omit this personality from cooking?, so add his flavour in your Pongal and named as "Karumbu (Sugarcane) Pongal." 

Sugarcane juice – 2 ½ litre

Peeled big chunk of sugarcane - ½

Rawrice – 500g

Moong dal – 30g

Ghee – 100ml

Cashewnuts – 30g

Cardamom Powder – 30g

Dry ginger – 1 tbsp

Raisins – 2 tbsp

Method of preparation

1.     Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, put cashewnuts, raisins, dry ginger and cardamom powder. Fry it.

2.     Add the water soaked and drained raw rice and moong dal. Fry it ghee well. Add the sugarcane juice and wait till boil. Add the sugarcane pieces, stir. Next close the cooker with lid and wait for 4 whistles.

3.     When you remove the lid, pour enough ghee and stir all around.

Sarkarai Pongal / Makarasankarathi Pongal

Raw rice – 1 Kg

Jaggery- 2Kg

Cardamom Powder – 1 1/2  tbsp

Dry ginger – 1 tbsp

Ghee fried coconut shreds – 4 tbsp

Ghee – 200ml

Cashewnuts – 30g

Sultanas –  20g

Water – as required

Method of Preparation

1.    Heat Ghee in a pressure cooker, add cashewnuts and sultanas. Once it is golden colour, add the rinsed raw rice. Fry it in ghee.

2.   Add the water now, let it to boil well. Once the rice slightly cooks, add the broken jaggery in to it. Mix it well.

3.   Add the cardamom and dry ginger powder. Mix it then close the lid of pressure cooker and wait for four whistles.

4. Turn off the fire and wait till the pressure of the cooker gone. After that open the lid, add ghee and ghee fried coconut shreds. Mix all well gently. Serve now.