Saturday, April 25, 2009

Simple Kongunadu Recipes

Kongunadu Cuisine:
 Ancient Tamilnadu ( Nadu : Country) was divided into  Chera Nadu ( South west, famous for its elephants), Chola Nadu (centre- famous for its rice) , Pandiya Nadu (South east, famous for its pearls) , Kongu nadu ( North west, famous for its cows) and Thondai nadu (North-east,  famous for its poets). Cheras ruled from around Thrissur, Pandiyas from Madurai and Cholas from Tanjore. Kongu nadu (The land of honey) belonged to one or other of these dynasties over time. Later it came briefly under the rule of Delhi Moguls, Vijayanagara empire, Madurai Nayaks and finally the British.  Surrounded by mountains, Kongunadu was able to maintain its identity and cuisine over time. Blessed with Bhavani, Noyyal Amaravathi and Cauvery rivers, Kongunadu cuisine reflects the richness of its land.

Extensive use of copra (dried coconut), lentils, millets (samai, thinai, kambu, ragi), roasted groundnut paste and fresh ground spice mixes are hall marks of Kongu cuisine. Use of coconut shell as a  meat tenderizer, use of drumstick leaves to clarify ghee & Panchamirtham  are some of Kongunadu’s culinary innovations. 

This cookbook lists 10 Kongunadu recipes given below. They are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them. For detailed recipes and great pictures, check out my fellow bloggers below..

1.:  Pacha puli Rasam ( Raw tamarind thin curry)

2.:  Panchamirtham (Mixed fruit Jam ) 

3.: Ragi Kali  (Red millet porridge ) 

4.: Kamban Koozhu (Pearl millet gruel) 

5.: Easy Elaneer Payasam (Coconut water pudding ) 

6.:  Arisi Paruppu Sadham (Lentil Rice) 

7.: Kollu Masiyal (Mashed Horse gram ) 

8.:  Payaru Thirattal (Lentil & Ground nut  curry)  

9.:. Kadamba Sadham ( Mixed lentil rice) 

10.:  Kadanja Paruppu (Mashed lentils)  

2 comments:

FewMinute Wonders said...

Hi Ramki,

Good to see your report on Kongunadu cooking. Hailing from the region I fell so happy to read about the recipes from that region.Thank you.

onno david said...

Hello Ramki,

I love Kongunadu Cuisine. This is a great and different recipes. This is really a well laid out website. I like how you have presented your information in excellent detail. You seem to really love your site. Keep up the great work. I can’t wait to try some of your tips. I really appreciate it. thanks for the wonderful entry.

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Okay, let me start from the very beginning. 1500 crore years ago, with a Big Bang, the Universe is born. It expands dramatically. Hydrogen forms, contracts under gravity and lights up, forming stars. Some stars explode, dusting space with the building blocks of life. These condense into planets, one of which is Earth. Over time, self replicating molecules appear, multiply and become more complex. They create elaborate survival machines (cells, plants, animals). A variety of lifeforms evolve. Soon, humans arise, discover fire, invent language, agriculture and religion. Civilisations rise and fall. Alexander marches into India. Moguls establish an empire. Britain follows. Independence. Partition. Bloodshed. The license raj is in full sway. I'm born. India struggles to find its place. Liberalisation. The Internet arrives! I move from Tirupur to Chennai. Start a company. Expand into Malaysia, Singapore and the Middle East. Poof! Dot com bust. Funding dries up. Struggle. Retire. Discover the joy of cooking, giving, friendships and the pleasures of a simple life. Life seems less complicated. Pizza Republic, Pita Bite and Bhojan Express bloom !

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