Chettinad Cuisine

Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of a community called Nattukottai Chettiars from Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu in South India. Chettiar community is a trading community and their trading activities had expanded into South east Asia in the 19th century. One should be lucky to eat like a chettiar, they say in South India. Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes adapted from various countries. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes include idiyappam, vellai paniyaram, karupatti paniyaram, kolukattai, masala paniyaram, aadikool, kandharappam, cheeyam, kavuni arisi and adhirasam. Kavuni arisi (black rice) came into chettiar’s households from Burma.

Some popular side dishes with vegetables are milagai mandi, kaaikari mandi, Vendaikkai Mandi, Vendaikkai mochai mandi, Venga kosu, breakfast sambar, katharikkai kosumalli, maangai pachadi, maangai Vella pachadi, thakkali pachadi, kari vadagam, Kola urundai kuzhambu, Poondu puzhi kuzhambu, Milagu thakkali vathal, midhukku vathal, Vaalaipoo Vadai and many more varieties.

Chettiars have traditionally been vegetarians. Their feast at lifestyle ritual functions remain vegetarians. Non- vegetarian influences became entrenched in Chettiar food habits from the 18th century after they established business in Ceylon, Burma, the Dutch East Indies, Malaysia and Singapore.