Uppu Kari & Karaikudi Chicken ( Chettinad Cuisine )

Chettinad cuisine reflects the lifestyle of the Nattukottai Chettiars, who come from one of the driest regions of south India and belong to the most peripatetic of trading communities; merchant bankers who roamed through the countries of South East Asia, living frugally but making enormous fortunes.

Their cuisine, on the one hand, is the main branch of south Indian cuisine that specialises in the preparation of non vegetarian food, hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is somehow considered essential for a proper meal. At the same time, there are a number of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, stored by the achis or the Chettiar housewives, who make use of every seed, fruit or legume that grows in their dry countryside.



As with many communities in the South, most of the dishes such as dosais, appams, iddiappams, adais and idlis have a rice base. Through their contact with Burma, the Chettiars have also learnt to prepare certain dishes with the sticky red rice that is cooked into a rice pudding or made into a red tinged string hopper. Even the Chettiar adaptation of the ubiquitous fruit salad is delicious, as besides the fruits, they add milk, saffron, ground almond and cream.

In a Chettinad family, the utensils used are brass, sliver, stainless steel and aluminium. Side dishes are carried in a thooku (a four-compartment dish with a handle).Gravies like sambar and rasam are served from a thooku kooja (a container with a handle and side projection). Water stored in man koojas (clay pot) are served in silver tumblers. Food is served on green banana leaves. Dried banyan leaves are also used as plates.

In Chettinad food, the most important spices are marathi mokku (dried flower pods), anasipoo (star anise) and kalpasi (dried bark). Apart from these, tamarind, whole red chillies and saunf are predominantly used. The other spices used are cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorn, cumin seeds and fenugreek.

Varuval: There are crisp fried vegetables, which have been sun dried. In Chettinad, an array of vegetables and meats are used. Fried fish (meen varuval) is popular.

Kozhambu: a gravy made from delicate spices of the Chettinad region in which fish, meat or vegetables are cooked.

Kurmah: a coconut-based gravy, which is mildly spiced. Green chillis are sauteed with fennel seeds in oil and ground to a paste using a little water.

Mandi: The water in which rice has been soaked before cooking is known as mandi. Vegetable mandis are prepared in the same water adding tamarind pulp to it.

More kozhambu: Curd based preparation in which vegetables are used. This gravy has predominant use of green chillies and asafoetida.



Source - The Hindu, Chef Chandrasekhar - Taj, Chennai , Hotel Karaikudi & Hotel Savera - Chennai

Mutton cubes (small) - 1 kg
? Green chilli -10
? Red chilli whole - 20
? Garlic ginger paste - 30 gm
? Whole garlic peeled - 80 gm
?Peeled small onion (shallots) -100 gm
? Saunf - 7 gm ?
Curry leaves - a few
?Salt to taste
Cinnamon sticks - 3 gm
? Cooking oil - 70 ml
Coriander powder - 200 gm
? Mustard seed - 10 gm ?
Tomato - 300 gm

Boil the mutton cubes with coriander powder salt, ginger-garlic paste, half the red chilli and crushed green chilli till it is 90 per cent done. (Use minimum water as far as possible).

Heat oil, add deseeded whole red chilli, mustard seeds and saunf. When the saunf crackles, add sliced garlic and sauté till golden brown. Then add the sliced shallots and sauté till it turns brown. Now, add the curry leaves. Add the boiled mutton along with the water present. Cook till dry and mutton is done.

Chicken cubes - 700 gm
?Small onion - 100 gm
? Tomatoes chopped - 100 gm ?
Curry leaves - a few
? Chilli powder - one and a half tbsp
? Coriander powder - three-fourth tbsp
? Jeera powder - half tbsp
?Saunf powder - half tbsp
?Turmeric - 1 pinch
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
? Garam masala whole - 5 gm ?
Coconut paste - 40 gm
?Khus-khus paste - 10 gm
? Cashew paste - 10 gm
? Salt to taste ?
Coriander leaves
? Oil - 20 ml
? Ginger-garlic paste - one and a half tbsp

Heat oil, add whole garam masala, chopped onion and cook well. Add the ginger-garlic paste, sauté and add the chicken pieces. After a while, add the tomatoes, salt and turmeric, chilli and coriander powder. Add jeera, saunf and garam masala powder, add coconut and khus- khus paste and cook well. Finish with chopped coriander leaves.