CHENNAI: Food is our common ground, a universal experience,” said American chef James Beard. In this series ‘Food Funda’, let’s make it our common ground. This series will cover multiple food-related tales. The cuisine of the ancient Tamils dates back to antiquity and is much beyond idli, dosas, and sambhar as commonly believed. Today, we will delve into the Nanjil Nadu cuisine, which is one of the unique traditional regional cuisines of Tamil Nadu.
According to Sangam literature, food was divided based on the geography of the region: marutham (field), palai (desert), neithal (coast), kurinji (hills), and mullai (forests); people ate what was abundant in that region. The division is now more regional and includes Kongunadu, Chettinadu, Thanjavur, Pandyanadu, Nanjil Nadu, and Tamil Muslim cuisines. Additionally, there are foods specific to communities like Saurashtrians, Devanga Chettiars, Rawthers, Brahmins, Mudaliars, and others whose food is very different from the food of that particular region. Let’s take a virtual food tour of Nanjil Nadu.
Nanjil Nadu has a vast coastline along with fields, and forests and hence, it is an eclectic mix of seafood and vegetarian dishes. The Nanjil cuisine sports influences from Kerala and Sri Lanka and uses some not-so-common ingredients from other parts of Tamil Nadu. Among them, a common and unique ingredient is maasi or a Maldivian fish which is smoked, and dried tuna fish. In this region, one can spot boards of shops selling nayam maasi. Maasi is frequently used to make sambal and to flavour curries and poriyal. In the place of grated coconut, maasi powder is used to flavour vegetable poriyals, enhancing the taste multi-fold.
Palm trees grow abundantly in and around Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli and hence, palm jaggery and padhaneer or palm extract are commonly found. Palm jaggery is used as a sweetener in a variety of dishes including ulundu kali (pudding), mundiri kothu (paniyaram), yeni muttai. To this day, these dishes can be found only in this region. A few decades earlier, palm jaggery syrup flavoured with dry ginger and cardamom was given to children instead of jams and now we understand it to be a healthier sweetener.
Black urad dal with the husk is used for ulundu soru and ulundu kali — staples of the region — served with ellu thovayal made of black sesame seeds. This is especially given to girls during their menstruation to help strengthen their bones. In most other regions, the ulundu skin is washed and removed but it must be noted that whole black urad dal contains protein, fibre, and minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron. The multitude of Nanjil Nadu curries is also dominated by the distinct taste of coconut oil, predominantly used for tempering purposes. According to recent studies, coconut oil is one of the best vegetable oils and is recommended by doctors across the world.
For those searching to sate their night cravings, sarbath and pazharasam stalls, and nightclubs serving hot crispy poricha parottas with mutton can be found on every corner. Any mention of Tirunelveli is incomplete without halwa. It is believed that washing and soaking wheat in the waters of the Thamirabarani River imparts a special flavour and is considered to be the secret ingredient. An equally popular dish is the Muscoth halwa, from Mudalur, made from coconut milk. Every bakery in Thoothukudi claims to whip up the best macaroons, kuchimittai, and plumcake and each has its army who swear by the taste.
When it comes to home food, nothing beats the Nellai sodhi or Mapillai sodhi as it is specially made for the special occasion when the groom first visits the bride’s home. The thick coconut milk along with the mashed moong dal makes it creamy and the subtle spices turn it irresistible. Among non-vegetarian dishes, the dishes include Nellai fish curry, elumbu kozhambu, chalameen avial, maasi kozhambu are all specific and unique to this region.
(Dr Nithya Franklyn is a paediatrician, chef, and MasterChef Tamil finalist)