The time was the Sangam period. The individuals of historic Tamilakam ate what the land provided. Food was primarily grilled and flavoured with components discovered regionally. However, as centuries handed, commerce routes opened, and international flavours tiptoed into the pantry, historic traditions slipped out the again door, making house for pillowy idlis and fiery Chettinad gravies. But may they redefine Tamil delicacies?
Curious to find what his ancestors feasted on, Harish Venkatasubramaniam, resort supervisor, Mjantra Koodam by CGH Earth in Kumbakonam, turned to the verses of Sangam literature, the oldest surviving physique of South Indian textual content. With Chef Maruthavanan Kumarasamy translating these findings into edible tales, Aatrupaduthal was born. Set beside the river, this dinner expertise takes visitors on a culinary journey throughout the 5 landscapes of Sangam-era Tamilakam.
Culinary Excavation
“When I joined CGH Earth, I was tasked with defining Tamil cuisine,” says Harish, recalling the way it started. Coming from a household of Tamil students, he instinctively turned to Sangam literature, the gathering of historic Tamil poems as soon as recited at literary gatherings.
A view of the restaurant
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Special Arrangement
Penned in outdated Tamil, the Sangam verses demanded scholarly assist for Harish to crack their culinary clues. “It took me more than a year to understand that aambi means mushroom, and kurumpuzhil refers to quail,” he says.
According to Sangam texts, historic Tamilakam, which included present-day Tamil Nadu, components of Kerala and Karnataka, was imagined as 5 ecological landscapes. Kurinji meant the mountains, Mullai, the forests, Marutham, the agricultural plains, Neithal, the coastlines, and Palai the arid stretches. For Harish, it was non-negotiable that every of those terrains discover illustration on the plate.
To flip these cryptic verses into one thing edible, Harish teamed up with Chef Maruthavanan, whose previous work on Cholanadu delicacies had already proven his knack for weaving historical past into meals on the similar resort. “Food wasn’t the central theme in Sangam literature but love and war were,” Harish explains. “So we had to read between the lines, pick up on mentions of dishes, textures, cooking styles, or what the meal tasted like to develop our dishes.”
They dominated out later imports like chilli and tomato, and leaned on components that have been native, like gooseberry, pepper, ginger, shallots, and tamarind. “That’s why we say it’s reimagined,” Harish provides, reflecting on the impossibility of recreating actual recipes and the necessity to depend on historic context and style cues woven into the verses.
Sangam Era on a plate
The meal begins with a zesty lemon-pepper salad from Kurinji, made with groundnuts, bottle gourd, and coconut. The mutton liver starter on the meat menu comes with a singular foxtail millet masala. The mixture of mushroom, yam, and seeraga samba rice is reassuring.
The Mullai area presents a protein-rich adai served with horse gram and garlic sauce. For diners who go for the meat menu, a smoky charcoal-grilled mutton dish leads the best way, adopted by a rustic hen curry the place the meat is marinated and cooked in a garlic-fennel gravy.
Mutton rice as part of the Marutham course
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Special Arrangement
Marutham, introduces a vegetarian starter of stone-grilled nation greens with the sweetness of liquorice. The dal-and-rice pancake, shallow-fried and served with butter jaggery combine, feels extra like a dessert masquerading as a starter. For seafood lovers, a spotlight is the grilled crab, a particular from the Uzhathiyar WHO ARE THEY ladies.
As anticipated, the seafood menu leans closely on Neithal, the coastal belt. There is squid grilled with native spices, mackerel seasoned in the type of the Thondinagara Neithal ladies, and tiger prawns stone-grilled with lemon and ginger. Main programs embrace murrel fish cooked with seeraga samba rice, anchovies in a coconut-based gravy, and angel prawns in a daring pepper-cumin sauce. The solely look from Neithal on the vegetarian menu is the nation greens, grilled and flavoured with carom seeds.
Palai would possibly contribute the least to the menu however leaves the largest impression. The sesame-flavoured quail, fried in ghee, stands out because the star of the course. Following carefully is a young mutton curry, carrying the warming spice of ginger.
A dessert plate
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Special Arrangement
Desserts draw their mild sweetness from jaggery and liquorice. Whether in kodo millet milk halwa, pongal fabricated from black urad dal, steamed moong dal preparation or the foxtail millet payasam, every calls again an period earlier than refined sugar entered the kitchen.
Aatrupaduthal is situated inside Mantra Koodam, CGH Earth, Kumbakonam, and is open from 7.30pm to 9.30 pm. The vegetarian meal prices ₹2,000 plus taxes, the meat choice is ₹2,500 plus taxes and the seafood meal is at ₹3,000 plus taxes. For reservations, name 7530083613.
