The Chettinad Cookbook
Red rice payasam (Kuruvai arisi payasam)
One of the joys of travelling for me is about learning about local ingredients. I learned about Wayanad Thondi red rice when I visited...
Mixed vegetable mandi
I was asked to make a light curry of mixed vegetables for a close friend who is on a very limited diet. I wanted to stay away from the...
Curry leaf curry (Karuvepilai kuzhambu)
The curry leaf is omnipresent in most Indian dishes. However, it is used a few leaves at a time adding a mild flavor. This curry is all...
Chettinad spicy drumstick (Murungakkai masala poriyal)
Chettinad cuisine is a very distinct style that has evolved in Tamil Nadu. It comprises of a region of 2 towns and 76 villages inhabited...
Chettinad spinach mandi (Keerai mandi)
A mandi is the water used to wash rice, not the superb Yemeni (now more Arab) rice dish, in this case. As you allow polished rice to sit...
Green mung dal payasam (Paruppu payasam)
Today is Pongal, also called as Sankranti, Lohri and Bihu in different parts of India, a significant festival in our culture, the end of...
Chicken Chettinad pepper masala (Milagu masala kozhi)
Chettinad, the land of the Chettiar community, is a collection of 76 villages and 2 towns in Tamilnadu, in Southern India. The Chettiars...
Chettinad yam curry
I have become a touch obsessed with Chettinad cuisine, complex, spicy and lots of diverse flavors. Yams, and there are quite a few...
Snake gourd curry — Chettinad-style
A snake gourd is one of those vegetables that you look at in the grocery store and wonder "What do you do with that?" It is between 3-5...