Vengaya Kosu .....(Chettinad Special)

 

 

It had been a long time since I posted anything.I had  been busy at fixing things after a long vacation.I always admire at the way nagarathars cook and also plan things..One of my friend had been asking me to post some information regarding the nagarathars..I happened to get in more information about them from a TV show .And I am happy too to share a few before getting into the recipe.

 

Nagarathars(which means city dwellers) are the people from the chettinad region(Sivagangai and Pudukottai districts) who are known for their Philanthropy,building styles,trading and of course exotic cooking style ..They are also referred as Nattukottai Chettiyars (which means people with palatial houses in the countryside).I always adore at the big palaces of Chettinad and their craftmanship at building houses.It is said that during king's period they had very close relationship with kings and that is the reason why their houses are as large and as beautiful as a palace.

 

They are the one who introduced banking system too.Indian Bank,IOB were all established by Nagarathars.They have close association with Burma and that is why most of the houses have doors made of Burma teak.It is said that long back a sector of people got settled in Burma and they were the backbone for the civil administration of the Burmese society.They became more powerful money lenders and prominent businessman.Over the years the native Burmese developed a hostile attirude towards them and Nagarathars were forced to leave Burma.So those nagarathars left Burma and settled around places which is now called Chettinad..They used thick teak (Which will not get destroyed in salt water ) as a mode to travel from Ceylon and Burma and  showed their craftsmanship in  teak at making attractive doors..

 

Chola king had encouraged them to travel a lot and they travelled Srilanka,Burma,Vietnam,Malaysia  and Indonesia to spread their business.So in most of the palatial houses you can find burma teak,chinese porcelain things,vietnam glass etc.

 

A nagarathar lady is addressed as Aachi and Nagarathar lord as Chettiar with respect.

Nagarathars belong to one of the 9 temples (Vairavan koil,Ilayathakudi,mathur,Iraniyur,Pillayarpatti,Soorakudi,Iluppaikudi,Nemam,

Velankudi)

People within the same temple are considered as siblings.The marriage of the Chettinad people is celebrated in a majestic way.They always prefer the marriage to happen only in their native town.Some of their marriage formalities include Pen Paarthal,Pesi mudithu kolludhal,Muhurtha kaal unrudhal,podhu padaippu,mapillai azhaipu,pen edukki kattuthal,Thirupootuthal,Vaevu Irakkuthal,mamiyar Sadangu,Poo manam Choridhal,Manjal Neeru Aduthal,Saman Parapudhal,kumbuttu kattikolluthal,Mana pen solli kolluthal,Kattu soaru unnuthal,Pen azhaipu,nathanar Sadangu..

 

Coming to the Chettinad cuisine..they are just mouth watering delicious food.As they had gained business contacts throughout the world they used different types of spices.The kavuniarisi dish is the one which they learnt from Burma..They basically use marati Mokku(Dried flower pods) ,Anasi poo (Star Aniseed)and Kalpasi in their dishes.

 

(Ref:nagaratharworld)

 

 

Coming to the dish Vengaya Kosu..It tastes like Kurma and it is a perfect sidedish for Idlies and Dosas.This is a gravy made with lots of onions,potato and coconut

 

Palak Paneer Bhurji

 

 

 

 

Want to finish off making the sidedish for  roti within few minutes..??Then this one is for you..which is a perfect combo for the Roti and also it takes very short time to prepare...They taste yummy too and a healthy balanced dish which a combo of greenies and protein...

 

 

Try this and have it with Roti...It will become a part of your dish at home..

 

Chicken Curry...Restaurant Style

One of my readers requested me to post some non vegetarian side dishes for Roti.Only then I realised that I had not posted any chicken gravies.My friend visited us last weekend and I made this gravy to have with Roti.This is a simple to make dish but the taste is similiar to the ones that u get at big restaurants..

 

Try it out and let me know how it tasted too..If any modifications or improvements please drop in the comments so that I too may incorporate the same!!

Safed Paneer/Paneer in white gravy

 

 

 

 

Are u bugged of eating the red tomato based paneer gravy?Don't have tomatoes with u??Then try this gravy..For a change u will love to have this with the Phulkas.The taste of the pepper imparts an exotic taste to the dish.This dish can be made within minutes.

 

So try this white based paneer gravy and let me know how it tasted too..

 

For the recipe n instructions click READ MORE below:

 

Shahi Paneer

Paneer is my family's favourite item and they finish it off with no complaints.I had already posted many paneer side dishes like Paneer Do Pyaza,Butter Paneer masala,Palak Paneer,Mutter paneer masala,Paneer Jalfrezi etc.In this lane here adds the shahi panner which is a slight variation with the paneer butter masala.

They both taste little bit same except the fact that paneer butter masala tastes little sweet than the shahi paneer.

Try out this paneer sidedish which tastes very good with a simple roti..

For the recipe please click READ MORE below:

Dum Aloo

Fry it,Bake it,cook it,Mash it,make a curry,make a gravy,or just write potato on paper ;) Call it Aloo Dum or Dum Aloo ....Potatoes are always my favourite...And they are the first love to my  kids.So I keep cooking potatoes very often at home.

 

Dum Aloo is a typical North Indian dish(Kashmiri).It is named so as it is cooked under Dum or pressure .Though my way of cooking is not the authentic way of making it(Dum it),the taste still matches the one cooked in that method..

 

Dum Aloo with Butter Naan/Romali Roti/Roti is a tasty combination...Scrumptious!!Dum Aloo is a lip smacking side dish.We can keep on scripting about the Aloos(Potatoes in hindi).

 

For the recipe please press READ MORE below

 

 

VadaCurry

 

 

 

 

 

This is the dish which is very famous here at my hometown-Vellore.People  from in and around South Tamilnadu are aware of this dish.This is a delicious dish which I love the most...It goes very well with Hot steamed idlies and hot pooris.In Some hotels they serve Set Dosa with Vadacurry.I learnt the recipe of this dish from my mother who makes this in a very delicious way.Infact her love also had added the extra flavour...There is a famous saying that any food that is cooked with lots of love  tastes lovely....Our mood gets replicated in the taste of the food too!!!

 

 

In the olden days during the festivals they make vada in large quantities.That time when there was no refrigeration facilities,they used this vadai to make a sidedish..And hence the name VadaCurry!!!They never wasted food and I feel we should bring  this habit to our kids.

 

 

For the recipe of this sidedish please press "Read More" below:

 

Kumbakonam Kadappa

It had been always a challenge to make a sidedish for Idly,dosa or poori...My kids always wanted a variety and most of the mornings I  break my small brain what to make for the sidedish...I don't want  them to get addicted with Nutella spread for the dosa...U cannot name a kid who don't like potatoes...Suddenly I remembered this dish which we tasted it in a small hotel at Thanjavur(Tanjore) when we were there for a trip

 

Say......Kadappa... or....Cuddapah....One can visualize either the blackstone used for making slabs or a place in Andhra....But for the people in Thanjavur district...they could oly visualize the tasty kadappa dish being served with hot steamed Idlies...

 

Kumbakonam is famous for temples,betal leaf and also for the tasty kadappa.Don't miss to taste the dish when u visit kumbakonam...It is very popular in Tanjore too..

 

As Hari doesn't like the taste of it I don't make it very often at home...The taste is between sambhar and Kurma...

 

For the recipe pls press READ MORE below....