In the past, the Tamilian Brahmin (Tambram) cuisine looked to their fields or the kitchen gardens that they faithfully tended tamarind, banana, mango, lime, drumstick and coconut trees. Tamarind, asafoetida, mustard, curry leaves are vital ingredients that flavour this seemingly simple fare. Tamil proverbs that are in use in daily conversation demonstrate the integral role of vegetables.
In a traditional family, one might well have heard a well-meaning elder enquire, “ponnai vallarthiya, peerkanga vallarthiya?” that can be translated as “has your daughter grown up to the stage of the ripeness of a ridge gourd?” The wild son of a family was compared to the snake gourd - “kallu kattaadha podalangaayum, sollu kaekkaadha pillayum vallaraadhu,” which means, “ just like a snake gourd that curls up if a stone is not tied to its tail, a boy will be undisciplined if he is not taught obedience.”
The stronghold of the trading community of the Chettiars, Chettinad’s terrain is searing and sparse, in stark contrast to its rich and flavourful cuisine. Traders from the Chettinad region travelled frequently to neighbouring Sri Lanka, Burma and Indonesia and came back with a strong yen for the spices used in those countries. Back home in their kitchens, grandmothers or aachis supervise cooks as they pound black peppercorn, star anise, fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and curry leaves on stones pestles, freshly before use; their proportions guided by intuition to add piquant flavour to traditional dishes.