It is the day after the wedding. The entourage, reduced to just the immediate relatives of the bride and groom, are on the final leg of the many rituals that constitute the Tamil Brahmin wedding ceremony. The wedding hall will be emptied in a few hours, but not before the last important ritual. The bride’s family, that plays host, seek out each attendee and lovingly hand over food parcels called ‘Kattu Sadham’ which translates to ‘packed rice’. This signals the end of the long ceremony, and the mood turns sombre as the groom’s party and the other guests leave.
The wedding ceremony and food
In Tamil Nadu, the Brahmin community is known for their many traditions and rituals, one of the most elaborate being the wedding ceremony. It is an almost three-day affair marked by rituals, many of which are a callback to customs prevalent for over a century. Food plays an important role, but unlike other festivals, the wedding menu does not have one signature dish. The first 2 days usually see a potpourri of items being served, with 4 meals everyday - breakfast, lunch, tiffin (evening snack) and dinner. The menu on the third and final days is usually a mishmash of left-over perishables. The other one is Kattu Sadham.
An egalitarian menu – Kattu Sadham
Irrespective of how grand or humble the wedding ceremony is, the menu for Kattu Sadham remains the same. It consists of 3 primary items: the steamed rice cakes called Idly, a tangy rice called Puliyogare and the ubiquitous curd rice. One characteristic feature of all these items is that they taste better as they sit for a few hours in the package. The Kattu Sadham idli is slightly harder than the typical fluffy ones that taste good only when consumed fresh. The idli is packed after being slathered with the spicy gunpowder paste and oil, which acts as a preservative. The Puliyogare rice hits the right balance between sour and spicy, and the right texture between dry and soggy. However, it is the curd rice that is the litmus test for the Kattu Sadham. Rice well-cooked and mashed with milk, just about enough curd and salt, lets the fermentation to start within the parcel and the taste to develop gradually. It is usually packed with a little bit of pickle on the side or a thick syrup called vatha kuzhambu (a tangy stew) to elevate the taste. Together, these three items constitute a simple but delicious menu called Kattu Sadham.
The packaging of Kattu Sadham
As the name conveys, Kattu Sadham is packed or packaged food. The preferred packaging is the eco-friendly banana leaves, which are bought in bulk for the wedding, since most meals are served on banana leaves (buffets with plates are reserved for possibly one meal, usually the reception). The leaves are cut deftly and used to pack the idli, puliyogare and the curd rice in three different packets, tied with a string and placed in one set. While the norm is to take one set for each member of the family, it is a sign of abundance and grace from the host to offer many more to each of the attending family.
As the items marinate in the banana leaf packets, they acquire their signature aroma and divine taste. Opening the packets sends out a characteristic unmistakable waft, accentuated by the earthly aroma of the banana leaf. It is claimed to immediately whip up an appetite even in an unsuspecting spectator.
Origin of Kattu Sadham
The tradition of Kattu Sadham goes back a long way. In earlier days, an entire village would come together to contribute to wedding preparations. As per tradition, the groom’s party is supposed to arrive at the wedding venue a day before the wedding, whether or not he’s from the same village. Kattu Sadham was served as a replenishment for tired brides and grooms who would have to trudge to their new homes. It also perhaps provided a much-needed respite from the chore of cooking the meals on the third day or after returning from the wedding.
Although takeaways has become ubiquitous, and how we travel has changed drastically, Kattu Sadham continues to dominate Brahmin wedding ceremonies. The purpose has become more of a tradition than utilitarian, but that has not taken away the charm from it.
The significance of Kattu Sadham
The Kattu Sadham is the ‘underdog’ in the wedding menu. However, it has an exalted position in the ceremony mainly because of its simplicity. It is detox food, that calms taste buds and stomachs after the bevy of dishes served in the first two days of the ceremony.
Kattu Sadham is also the memory of home carried by the bride, as she leaves her maternal home. For her family, it is comfort food, soothing their tired body and soul, and assuaging their bittersweet parting with their daughter. For the groom’s party and other guests, the Kattu Sadham allows them to relive the raucous wedding ceremony. It thus allows a gentle transition for both the body and the soul, letting the stomach slip back to its routine, and the families to adjust to acquiring or letting go of the bride.
Kattu Sadham is a fitting closure to the magnum opus of the Tamil Brahmin wedding ceremony.