Umaiyal Kitchen

Cuisine

The Chettinad cuisine is one of the South Indias well know cuisines and it is said that one is blessed and lucky to eat like Nagarathars. Chettiars . Chettinad cuisine is familiar not only in India and even abroad. Apart from standard and traditional food Chettinad is also famous for its snack likets like Kandarappam, Pal Paniyaram, Thenkuzhal, Seepu Seedai, Kavanarisi and more.
History says Chettiars played a major role in spice trading with countries like Srilanka, Burma, Malaysia and singapore.
Chettiars at the beginning lived in Kaveripoompattinam so they used more of sea food for cooking like Crab masala, Meen kolambu, Chettinad prawn fry. World familiar Chettinad Chicken, Mutton pepper fry and more.
The traditional chettinad food was prepared using locally sourced spices like the pepper, kalpasi, star anise and maratti mokku. All the spices are roasted and grinded manually which enhances the flavour and the spicyness of the food. Chettiars used natural preservative techniques like sun dried meats, vegetables and pickels in brine also enriched the food delicacy.

Adai

This can be served any time for Breakfast, Snack or Dinner.You just needs an hour to prepare the dough. You can keep coconut chutney or Aviyal as an accompaniment.

Soak all the above said items for 45 minutes(including chillies and ani seeds) Put it in the mixie and grind it. The batter should not become very smooth .Adai can be prepared just by adding salt ,turmeric powder and asafoteda alone, if you don’t find time to cut onions or scrape coconut. If you have enough time and want a very tasty adai then continue reading

Ingredients to be mixed in the batter
Small or big onions nicely minced-1 cup
Curry leaf nicely chopped-1 table spoon
Coriander leaf nicely chopped-2 table spoons
Grated coconut-3 tablespoons
Mix the above items in the batter
Batter has to be thick when you make Adai it has to be thick in size like Uthappam. You can keep Jaggery as an accompaniment as well.

Soya Koftha Balls

Soya koftha balls are an easy to make dish and like by all genders. Soya can be replaced with Banana florets or Minced meat.

Procedure
Soak the soy in hot water for 20 min
Then mince in mixer roughly keep aside
Then add all other ingredients in the mixer and make it to coarse paste.
Then add both soy and the paste well and make in to balls
Fry the Soya Balls in oil to golden brown.
It can be served as a snack or as an accompaniment for Lunch.

Vellai Paniyaram

Vellai Paniyaram is the most famous dish for Chettinad. This is very popular during function times like weddings; this is normally very difficult to make, to get the correct texture. Youngsters now don’t prepare at home instead they buy in hotels

Soak both together for 1 hour and grind it to a very smooth paste. Add the required amount of salt while grinding itself.
Consistency of the batter can be little more watery than dosa batter. To make it watery use little milk

Keep a shallow pan to deep fry .Pour 1 ½ cups of oil.
Keep the pan oil in medium temperature. Use a small ladle to pour the dough.
Pour one spoon batter in to the oil dough will immediately rise. Turn the paniyaram cook evenly on both side and never over cook it should be soft in texture.
Allow the paniyaram to cool and now break the paniyaram and see that it is cooked inside also.
If not cook the next one little more.But the paniyaram should never be roasted.

Sometimes the paniyaram will rise like a ball, and then the problem will be either the oil is too hot or your batter is too thick. If you feel it is too thick pour little milk to make it watery.

Sometimes u may feel that the paniyaram drinks oil then the mistake is that u have added too much urudh dhal or your urud dhal is very good in quality. In that case you can add little idly batter, or rice flour.

Usually Vellai Paniyaram is accompanied with Small onion chutney. Kids love to eat with Sugar.

Chettinad Chicken

Well know dish all around the world to get the unique taste make sure you roast the whole spices in slow flame

Below items roasted cooled and grinded with above ingredients.

Marinate the chicken with above mixture and add little curd keep aside for 30 minutes minimum.

Procedure

Add the onions in kadai and saute with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes.
When the onions turn transparent add the garlic, sauté for some time
Add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté till the whole thing gets smashed.
Add the marinated chicken and cook it in on slow flame.
You can see lot of water coming out of the chicken. Reduce the flame and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
Once you find that the chicken pieces are almost cooked increase the flame so that the gravy becomes thick.
Once the curry gets thick add the masala grinded with the items given in No2 and mix nicely
Cook for another 5 minutes.
If you need the curry to be little watery add the masala little earlier.
Garnish with fried curry leaves and fresh chopped mint.

Chettinad Kurma

Coconut based creamy white kurma is an very good accompaniment for Poori, Chapathi and Idly. Also this can be served with Idiyappam or it can be served along with Rice but need to increase little spice to get along with Rice

Method:
Heat pan with oil season it with the above-mentioned ingredient
Add chopped onion saute till wet, add ginger garlic paste and garam masala powder.
Add veggies, tomato and salt saute for few minutes until tomato leaves its skin.
Pour water into the sauteed ingredients- 2 cups of water and coconut milk close and cook till the vegetables turn soft.
Finally, add the ground masala paste and cook for few more minutes.
Garnish with coriander leaves

Kavuni Arisi

Kavuni Arisi fills the place of desserts. This Rice is Served in all function and easy to make. This rice is only available in this region and it has got medicinal values as well.

Procedure
Soak the rice for 4 hours

Pressure cook the rice adding 3 cups of water in medium fire for 10 to 12 minutes.
The rice should be cooked very soft till the white pulp in the red outer shell of the rice comes out. After opening the cooker if you find it not properly cooked, Cook for some more time.
Try to smash the rice with a ladle when the heat is there. If there is excess water, strain it.
After smashing, add the sugar checking for the taste in between. Add the ghee and grated coconut and mix well.

Massi Sambal

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan add fennel seed, urad dal to slitter then add curry leaves,green chilli,onions.saute till onion change the colour brown. then add massi saute for one minute then add red chilly powder and salt to taste and cook in low flame for 5 mins after raw smell goes add coconut grated saute for 2 minutes then switch off the stove.serve with sambar rice or curd rice.

Nethali Meen Kulambu –Fish Curry Chettinad Style

Procedure

Heat oil in pan, sauté fennel seed, urad dal, greenchilly, curryleaves, garlic, small onions

When onion turns brown add the tomato. Once the tomato is cooked add red chili powder, turmeric

Powder, Coriander powder, sombu powder and cook for a minute. Add the tamarind water and salt to

Taste. Cook for 10 to 15minutes till the raw smell go and curry thickens. You can add water and adjust

The consistency to your taste. Add coconut milk and boil for 5mins.then add nethalimeen and cook for