HISTORY OF CUISINE

2. WHAT IS CHETTINAD CUISINE?
 Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the
Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state
in South India. Chettinad cuisine uses
a variety of spices and the dishes are
hot and pungent with fresh
ground masalas.

3.  They also use a variety of sun dried meats
and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry
environment of the region. Most of the
dishes are eaten with rice and rice based
accompaniments such
asdosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and i
dlis. The Chettinad people through their
mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to
prepare a type of rice pudding made with
sticky red rice.

4.  Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of
vegetarian and non-vegetarian
dishes. Some of the popular
vegetarian dishes include
idiyappam, paniyaram, vellai
paniyaram,karuppatti
paniyaram, paal paniyaram, kuzhi
paniyaram, kozhakattai, masala
paniyaram,adikoozh, kandharappa
m, seeyam, masala seeyam, kavuni
arisi and athirasam.

5.  In Chettinad food, major spices
used includeanasipoo (star
aniseed), kalpasi (a lichen), puli(ta
marind), milagai (chillies), sombu
(fennelseed), pattai (cinnamon), l
avangam (cloves),bay leaf, karu
milagu (peppercorn), jeeragam(cu
min seeds),
and venthayam (fenugreek)

6.  The word "Chettinad" means a social caste
specialising in the preparation of food.
Consequently, the Chettinads are considered master
chefs, and Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest
and the most aromatic in India.[citation
needed] The dishes are usually topped with a hard
boiled egg. Meals also consist of cooked
lentils, Brinjal curry, drumstick sambar, ghee for
flavouring rice, and sweet meats
like payasam and paal paniyaram. For example, Kara
kolambu is a highly regarded South Indian sambar,
whileAadi kummayam is a sweet delicacy, made
from pulses. In general, beef and pork dishes are not
served. Some well-known local dishes are Chicken
Chettinad (Spicy Chicken Curry), Vegetable
Chettinad (a vegetable curry) and dishes featuring
seafood.

10. CHETTINAD
 In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many
residents of Chettinad emigrated to South and
Southeast Asia, particularly Ceylon andBurma.
By 2010, only 74 villages remained of the
original 96. According to Guy Trebay in
"Houses of the Holy" (New York Times, 17
November 2010), Chettinad now consists of a
network of 73 villages and 2 towns forming
clusters spread over a territory of 1,550 km2 in
the Districts of Sivagangai and Pudukottai in
the State of Tamil Nadu. It finds itself in the
UNESCO nomination for sites of historic and
cultural value.

11.  Life in Chettinad is relaxed. Barren
streets make way for random scooters
or a passing animal. In the dead heat of
the day you’d swear you’d landed in a
ghost town. The whole area is an odd
juxtaposition of crumbling buildings
next to beautifully renovated mansions
and dry narrow streets running in front
of lush green fields of vegetation.
Chettinad is indeed a captivating place.
Something out there draws you in,
enticing you to discover more.

14. • C H E T T I N A D is a region
of the Sivaganga district of
southern Tamil Nadu state,
India.
• K A R A I K U D I is known as
the capital of Chettinad,
which includes Karaikudi and
74 (traditionally its said as
96) other villages.
• Since Chettinad was strategically located
on the
old trade route, the Chettiars to work as
traders
and moneylenders in Burma, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam and other South-East
Asian
countries.
• They prospered, returned home & built
massive
homes made of Burmese teak that gave
them
name 4 Culture & Architecture

15. 􀂙 SOCIAL LIFE OF NAGARATHARS
􀂙 SALIENT FEATURES OF A CHETTINAD HOUSE
􀂙 TRADITIONS IN ARTS & CRAFTS
􀂙 SPACE, FUNCTION & CLIMATE RESPONSIVENESS
􀂙 COLUMNS, PARAPETS AND CORNICES
􀂙 RAJAS’ PALACE IN KANADUKATHAN
􀂙 NAGARATHAR HOUSES IN KARAIKUDI

16. CHETTINAD CUISINE
• Chettinad is known for its Culinary
delicacies
• Traditionally, meals for Chettiars are
served on a large banana
leaf with rice, vegetables, pickles,
papadams, along with meat
dishes.
• Chettiars are very superstitious with
numbers, dishes have to be
served in odd numbers (i.e. seven or nine
dishes per meal).
• Although the Chettiars are well-known for
their delicious
vegetarian preparations, their recipes
include fish and meats
also.
• Chettinad can be considered as the
master chefs who prepare
food that reflects the excellence of South
Indian look for in the
Chettinad cuisine traditionally eaten on
a
preparation and serving of food.

17. CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS
The community is organized around 9 clan
temples. Each
member of the Chettiar community belongs to a
clan and
each clan has its own temple.
• A Y A N N A R S H R I N E S
Ayannar is the Tamil God “of everything ": rain
maker, god
of children, cattle, villages, earth, nature and
villagers. He is
present in rural areas. His abodes are not
necessarily
temples but outdoor shrines that are filled with
terra-cotta
offerings.
• M A R I A M M A N T E M P L E S
Mariamman, the Goddess of smallpox, is the
deity of life,
especially of women and children. She grants
children and
cures them. The main festivals take place during
the months
of March and April. There is great fervour during
these
f i ii i h h d f d h i i h

18. FESTIVALS
• D E E P A V A L I - On Deepavali day, there is
a grand festive lighting of traditional lamps
by the achis (the Chettiar wives). The lamps
are placed with other consecrated offerings
on banana leaves.
• N A V A R A T R I - Navaratri is the
celebration of Goddesses Lakshmi, Saraswati,
and Durga, the manifestations of Shakti
(Female Energy or Power). Customarily, the
Navaratri festival or ‘Nine Nights festival’ is
the culmination of nine days and nignts of
joyful celebrations when the women of a
h hld ti l l l b t d
Culture & Architecture
household are particularly celebrated .

19. TYPICAL NAGARATHAR HOUSES
public reception area abutting the street.
• The basic floor plan of a Chettinad house
consists of an outside verandah (thinnai)
for
• They later expanded vertically into
twoconsists
storeyed structures, and horizontally
through
guests,
• with a room for conducting business on
one or both ends;
the addition of numerous halls and
courtyards that could accommodate guests
at
marriages and other ceremonies.
• an interior courtyard to be used in
ceremonies, with a raised seating area at
one or both ends;
• The rear hall served as the women’s
domain
where the women of the community reared
children, engaged in food preservation and
• a series of small double rooms opening
off

20. CHETTINAD HOUSES
• Chettinad houses are signs of successful
joint
families that existed in the older days.
• Buildings are divided into portions -‘Kattu’.
• Each house in chettinad is made up of
Mugappu, Valavu, Irandankattu, Moonankattu
&
thottam
• Mugappu – The reception; entrance of the
house
• Valavu – Living area of the house
• In the valavu, there are 4 platforms that are
called as Pattalai, each at 4 corners of the
valavu.
• Pattalai – Living halls of each family

21. • Nadai – Corridor
• Irandankattu – used for dining
/ with
“Mugappu" held by pillars
made of granite
Irattai veedu.
• Irattai veedu – rooms used by
each family to
storerooms for storing
crockery/kitchenware
• Moonamkattu –
Kitchen(adukala)
• – Culture & Architecture
keep their belongings(2 rooms
connected by a
single door)
Thottam Garden
• Stables, cowsheds etc.,

22. Chef Sunil Kumar
Research Scholar & Teaching Associate
IHTM MDU Rohtak and IHM Rohtak Haryana
124001 ph.no. 9996000499
Facebook id: ihmsunilkumar
THANK YOU…