CHENNAI: Festivals in India are incomplete without food. While kozhukattais signify Vinayaka Chaturthi and a plethora of savouries and mithais are synonymous with Deepavali, sundals with a side of sweet dishes dominate homes during Navaratri in Tamil Nadu. The nine-day menu of this protein-packed snack is prepared days prior to ease the job for home chefs so that the offering to the Devis is done smoothly.
Further simplifying the process, Umesh Vaidyanathan, founder of T Nagar-based House of Idlies, and popular home chef and influencer Shanthi Ramachandran (@shaanthram) put their heads together to curate a Navaratri Neivedhyam menu consisting of a sundal, a sweet, and a rice variety.
For the duo, whose lives revolve around food, mutual admiration drew them closer. The result was this home-grown brand. While Umesh has been one of the thousands of Shanti’s avid Instagram followers, the latter, a banker-cum-chef, appreciates the traditional, homely offerings of the House of Idlies. Shanthi, who is not one to collaborate with brands, accepted this offer as it was “a subject close to my heart. I couldn’t say no as it was not out of the box, but something I generally do,” she says.
“We, as a restaurant, want to give a platform to Indian kitchens and home cooking. I felt Shanthi ma’am was apt for this — the way she cooks is like storytelling, it’s so inspiring to see how she does all this. Navaratri is about celebrating women, and we wanted to show how one can balance their career and keep up with the traditions,” says Umesh.
Growing up in an environment that upholds the tradition of kolu and prasadams, Umesh was aware of the navagrahams, the days they represent, and the pulses that must be offered to them on a specific day. The daily menu follows suit. He notes that they stick to recipes that are not time-consuming and can be replicated at home. “The list has simple dishes we make at home. We wanted to emphasise the concept of neivedhyam or prasadam. Nothing is complicated, and can be done in 15-20 minutes,” he adds.
While Umesh noted down the nine dhanyams (pulses) for each day and curated a rough menu, Shanthi added her suggestions. “We rounded in on one mixed rice and sweet in the morning and sundal in the evening. For sweets, there are multiple varieties, and some modern ones too. We can add anything as per our interest. But for the mixed rice, there are some limitations on ingredients like onion and garlic which cannot be used. Based on this, I added a few, deleted a few, and finalised the menu,” she explains. Shanthi helped Umesh’s team with recipes. The delicacies are whipped up daily, offered them to the restaurant’s in-house kolu and then sent out to customers.
Umesh believes business builds in community, rather than a mere marketing initiative. “We need to have the right kind of people around us to have the right kind of business,” the founder says. The customer response in the past six days has been overwhelming, and the restaurant looks forward to serving three more daily curations.
The Navaratri Neivedhyam will be available at House of Idlies till October 11. For details, call: 9551604056, 9025102879
