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India is known to be the home of many regional cuisines, and each of them has its own speciality. Talking particularly about South India, this region has given us a plethora of delectable dishes, from simple idli for breakfast to spicy gongura mamsam for dinner. But have you heard about the Chettinad cuisine of Tamil Nadu?
Belonging to the Chettinad region of the state, it is said to be one of the spiciest cuisines in India. The region is dominated by the Chettiar community, also known as Nagarathars or Nattukottai Chettiyars, a prominent Tamil merchant community who were known for their business ventures and trade networks in Southeast Asia, particularly in countries like Burma (now Myanmar), Singapore, and Malaysia.
They played a significant role in the development and preservation of Chettinad cuisine. The flavours come from the use of a variety of freshly ground spices, such as red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, and star anise, among others. Some popular dishes from this cuisine are chicken Chettinad, mutton chukka, meen kuzhambu, and kozhukattai.
If you also want to experience the mouth-watering flavours of Chettinad cuisine, here are two recipes shared by Chef G. Somasundaram, Executive Chef, Renaissance Hotel, Bengaluru:
Chettinad Mutton Kari Dosa
Ingredients
For dosa:
- 500 g of boiled rice
- 250 g of raw rice
- 250 g of urad dal
- 50 g of chana dal
- 10 g of fenugreek seeds
- Salt as required
For kari sukka:
- 200 g of minced lamb
- 75 g of refined oil
- 3 g of fennel seeds
- 50 g chopped shallots
- 2 g curry leaves
- 2 red chillies (whole)
- 75 g of ginger-garlic paste
- 300 g tomato (chopped)
- 5 g of red chilli powder
- 5 g of coriander powder
- 2 g of turmeric powder
- 5 g of pepper powder
- 3 g of saunf powder
- 5 g coriander leaves (chopped)
- 1 beaten egg
Method
- Soak all the dosa ingredients together for four hours.
- Make the batter with the required water.
- Now add the salt, mix well, and leave it for fermentation.
- Heat oil in a kadhai. Add fennel seeds, shallots, curry leaves, and red chilli, and sauté until the shallots turn brown.
- Now add the ginger-garlic paste and lamb mince, along with all the dry masala powders.
- When the lamb is half done, add the tomatoes and cook until the lamb is cooked. Chill it, mix it with coriander leaves and eggs, and keep aside.
- Now heat a dosa tawa and make the dosa.
- Top it with the egg and lamb mix. Cook on both sides and serve hot with salan or coconut chutney.
Chettinadu Eral Thokku (Prawn Masala)
Ingredients
- 100 ml of oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- Few curry leaves
- 550 g of onion (finely chopped)
- 3 teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste
- 220 g tomatoes (finely chopped)
- Few coriander leaves
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder
- 4 teaspoons of coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 500 g prawn
- ½ cup of water
- Salt to taste
Method:
- Marinate the prawns for about an hour with a blend of ginger-garlic paste, salt, and turmeric.
- On medium-high heat, heat oil in a pan until it is simmering.
- Add mustard seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves, and a finely chopped onion. Sprinkle some salt on them, spread them out evenly over the pan, and let them cook.
- When the onions turn golden brown, add ginger-garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell disappears.
- Add tomatoes and sprinkle some more salt to help it cook faster.
- When the tomatoes are well cooked, add chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and salt, and stir.
- Add the marinated prawn to this mixture and let it cook in its own juice continuously for about 20 minutes, until the reddish prawn curry turns into a thick, dark brown gravy.
- Finally, garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with hot rice.
