CHENNAI: I have an organic vegetable farm in Coimbatore, so you can call me a farmer-cum-chef. We don’t use any pre-packed powders or masalas; everything — from our vegetables to spices — is farm-fresh. I grew up watching my grandmothers (both maternal and paternal) cook tasty and authentic Kongunadu dishes every day, and that fuelled my passion towards food. The flavours, texture and simplicity intrigued me.
In Kongunadu cuisine, we use simple masalas and locally used ingredients like pepper, turmeric, patta, grambu, etc. We don’t use garam masala and no ‘English vegetables’ like broccoli or butternut squash. We don’t use refined oil; we use coconut, groundnut and sesame oil predominantly. None of the ingredients or raw materials are exported from anywhere. We keep it all simple and local, and that is what we are trying to promote as well.
The most commonly used ingredient is a mix of chinna vengayams (shallots), karuveppilai (curry leaves), and coriander — either as a paste or powder. When you add curry leaves to a dish, people waste it. This one leaf has so much flavour in it and sometimes when you are cooking it fully, the flavour gets lost. So I usually chop it and add it in as a powder or even a paste, and it imparts a unique flavour.
I am trying to get a place in my kitchen to have an aduppu (stove), because that’s how my grandmother used to cook. I want to bring that tradition back. Moreover, slow-cooked food always has a different taste. When you cook on the stove, you can simmer and increase temperature. You cannot do that on an aduppu; it has a standard way of cooking. In my kitchen, I use small burners only, and I make it a point never to do bulk cooking. I don’t cook in the morning and serve in the evening, because it will lose its taste.
We don’t use much of fish; it is mostly chicken, eggs and mutton, fresh from the farm. Apart from that, Kongunadu is primarily a rice-based cuisine. We don’t have any kind of breads and rotis.
When I started the restaurant, some parents told me to serve fried rice and other such items so that the kids could enjoy it as well. When I served it, they asked me: ‘why are you making all this?’ (laughs). So now, we are trying to formulate a kids cuisine, so that they can enjoy the food here and not ask for fried rice.
Inside the kitchen, my colleagues probably think I have a split personality. I am a fun person but I can be a terror also (laughs). I want them to learn the fundamentals properly. I believe that if you are doing something, you have to do it correctly.
Karivepillai pepper prawns
Ingredients
Tiger prawns: 100 gm
Cold pressed coconut oil: 2 tsp
Karivepillai podi (made with dried curry leaves, pepper, red chillies and salt)
Lemon: ½ tsp
Fresh curry leaves: A few
Method
Sauté the prawns in the coldpressed coconut oil in a frying pan, on a high flame.
Add the curry leaves powder and sauté for about 30 seconds.
Add lemon juice to this and mix well.
At the end, add the fresh curry leaves and serve it fresh and hot.
Chicken Sevai
Ingredients
Sevai: 150 gms
Onions: 2 tbsp
Chicken keema (can also use mutton keema): 150 gms
Eggs: 2
Coriander leaves: 3 tbsp
Salt: to taste
Cold pressed groundnut oil: 3 tbsp
Method
SSauté the onions in a frying pan for a few seconds.
To this, add the chicken kheema and the coriander leaves. Sauté this mix for about 10 seconds.
Add the eggs and salt, and make it into a small scramble.
Add the sevai and toss it well.
Serve it hot along with onion raita.