Vataara Samaiyal:
I have always been amused to see certain dishes which have the name of a place attached to it and have wondered why??? In the beginning I was not bothered to know what goes in the dish, let alone go around asking why the dish has been named that particular name.
If the dish was tasty I ate it without complain.Once I started cooking and trying out dishes from various cuisines, I kind of understood the basic "Chemistry of Cooking". Especially in Tamil Nadu you have dishes like Karaikudi Mutton Chops, Nellai Sothi, Madurai Muttai Dosai, Arcot Biryani etc.
My assumption is that the dish might have originated from that place or would have been developed to a better form in that place.
What influences the outcome of a dish: the type of soil, the local produce, the spices, the occupation of the people, culture and tradition of people, the climatic conditions in that place, the cooking methods, the utensils used to cook and store the food and for whom the dish is being cooked.
The 2 most important factors that I think that influences the outcome of the dish : the local produce and for whom the dish is cooked.
During those olden days, travelling from one place to another would have taken days and there was no way of easy quick communication between people residing in different places. So if a recipe is cooked in one particular place especially if it had a different taste, a new way of cooking, addition of new spices, it would have taken days for people to know about the dish.
The reputation wether good or bad would have spread "Word by mouth" and people would have to travel to that place to taste the dish. Moreover it would have been difficult to reproduce the same taste and texture without the availability of those certain ingredients.
In the present day where crossing the distance between two continents is like going to the next town, the culinary boundaries has expanded.By the click of a button we are able to look at recipes of cuisines like Russian or Ethiopian which would have been impossible a couple of decades ago. Nearly all the malls and high streets in Cosmo and Metro cities are dotted with restaurants which serve all sorts of food.
Eating out has become a daily routine and people are eating dishes outside their comfort zone of home cooked food. Ingredients like lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, bulghar wheat and all spice berries are available at ease in local super markets.
Thanks to the "Overgrown forest of. WWW" and media the culinary boundaries between two states and two countries have diminished. Traditional recipes which were kept in a box for a long time are being made global.
Authentic recipes have been adapted to suit individual tastes and preferences which has given rise to a whole new "Genre of Traditional Fast Foods".
The reason for me to have a seperate page for such a topic is my curiosity. I am just curious to know how many dishes I can find and cook and write about in this page.
Chettinad Cuisine:
Poondhu Puli Kuzhambhu-Chettinad Style
Chettinad Chicken Biryani
Kongu Samaiyal:
Ven Pongal - வெண் பொங்கல்
Foxtail Millet with Honey - தேனும் திணை மாவும்
Foxtail Millet with Horsegram Mash - திணை அரிசி சாதமும் கொள்ளு மசியலும்
Kongu Mutton Biryani
Arisi Paruppu Saadham - அரிசி பருப்பு சாதம்
Enjoy....
Scribbled by Reva.
I have always been amused to see certain dishes which have the name of a place attached to it and have wondered why??? In the beginning I was not bothered to know what goes in the dish, let alone go around asking why the dish has been named that particular name.
If the dish was tasty I ate it without complain.Once I started cooking and trying out dishes from various cuisines, I kind of understood the basic "Chemistry of Cooking". Especially in Tamil Nadu you have dishes like Karaikudi Mutton Chops, Nellai Sothi, Madurai Muttai Dosai, Arcot Biryani etc.
My assumption is that the dish might have originated from that place or would have been developed to a better form in that place.
What influences the outcome of a dish: the type of soil, the local produce, the spices, the occupation of the people, culture and tradition of people, the climatic conditions in that place, the cooking methods, the utensils used to cook and store the food and for whom the dish is being cooked.
The 2 most important factors that I think that influences the outcome of the dish : the local produce and for whom the dish is cooked.
During those olden days, travelling from one place to another would have taken days and there was no way of easy quick communication between people residing in different places. So if a recipe is cooked in one particular place especially if it had a different taste, a new way of cooking, addition of new spices, it would have taken days for people to know about the dish.
The reputation wether good or bad would have spread "Word by mouth" and people would have to travel to that place to taste the dish. Moreover it would have been difficult to reproduce the same taste and texture without the availability of those certain ingredients.
In the present day where crossing the distance between two continents is like going to the next town, the culinary boundaries has expanded.By the click of a button we are able to look at recipes of cuisines like Russian or Ethiopian which would have been impossible a couple of decades ago. Nearly all the malls and high streets in Cosmo and Metro cities are dotted with restaurants which serve all sorts of food.
Eating out has become a daily routine and people are eating dishes outside their comfort zone of home cooked food. Ingredients like lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, bulghar wheat and all spice berries are available at ease in local super markets.
Thanks to the "Overgrown forest of. WWW" and media the culinary boundaries between two states and two countries have diminished. Traditional recipes which were kept in a box for a long time are being made global.
Authentic recipes have been adapted to suit individual tastes and preferences which has given rise to a whole new "Genre of Traditional Fast Foods".
The reason for me to have a seperate page for such a topic is my curiosity. I am just curious to know how many dishes I can find and cook and write about in this page.
Chettinad Cuisine:
Poondhu Puli Kuzhambhu-Chettinad Style
Chettinad Chicken Biryani
Kongu Samaiyal:
Ven Pongal - வெண் பொங்கல்
Foxtail Millet with Honey - தேனும் திணை மாவும்
Foxtail Millet with Horsegram Mash - திணை அரிசி சாதமும் கொள்ளு மசியலும்
Kongu Mutton Biryani
Arisi Paruppu Saadham - அரிசி பருப்பு சாதம்
Enjoy....
Scribbled by Reva.