Puthandu, the Tamil New Year falls every year on the 14th of April of the Gregorian calendar and is celebrated worldwide by Tamilians. Some Indian states also celebrate New Year on the same day or a day after, depending upon their regional calendars.
I was invited to experience a traditional Puthandu feast at a Brahmin Iyengar family recently, for today’s special feature. I feel so privileged and blessed when as a culinary writer, I am welcomed by various families into their homes and kitchens - latter definitely considered a sacred space for some.
No garlic, no onion ...
I knocked on my neighbour Akshaya Vikram’s door, a fashion designer and mum. “We could do a Tamil New Year fare. But I would need help from my mother-in-law!” She promised me traditional Tamilian cuisine belonging to her Brahmin Iyengar family, which was devoid of any onion and garlic.
I caught Akshaya Vikram in her kitchen on the day of the invite and watched her cook through the entire menu that she had planned. Her parents-in-law who lived in Pondicherry, were visiting them and used to having lunch at 11am. I reached her place deliberately at 9.30am instead of the planned 9am, wanting to give her some extra time in the morning. She worked at jet speed, using all burners and cooking multiple dishes almost simultaneously.
Apart from a few chopped vegetables and ingredients that required prolonged soaking, I found Akshaya Vikram doing everything from scratch - be it roasting and grinding spices or steaming and cooking vegetables. I dived into a new world completely - cooking processes that were drastically different from my familiar Bengali kitchen. The aromas from spices and oils drifting out of the hob space were both hard hitting and tempting.
There were clear instructions from her not to take her pictures while she was cooking. I watched her cook as if I was attending multiple master classes in the multiverse - a tempering here, a sautéing elsewhere, different ingredients going into different cooking pans as various dishes were being cooked - almost simultaneously.
Amidst all the activities, a hyperactive Great Dane puppy - Loki, lay on the kitchen floor, seeking her attention once in a while.
I was already decided in my mind that my hostess was quite a multitasker! Apart from being at the helm of the kitchen, she seemed to have her hands full. From maintaining a beautiful house full of pets she tended to with great care - an African grey parrot, two cockatiels, one guinea pig and an untrained Great Dane puppy, she was also a very ‘hands on’ mum of two ebullient primary school kids.
The ancient art of cooking
She learnt the art of traditional cooking from her mother-in-law, only after her marriage to Akshaya Vikram, who also hailed from an Iyengar Brahmin family. I was introduced to her beautiful mother- in-law Revathi Raghavan, who seemed very happy to share her culinary knowledge with her daughter-in-law.
She was resplendent in a bright green saree and was keen that the tradition of home cooking should continue and be carried forward to the next generations. “My wish is that Tejas and Yajur learn to cook our traditional food,” she revealed as she mentioned her grandchildren. As I chatted to her about the Tamil Brahmin food, especially the Iyengar style of cooking, she invited my friend and lunch companion, Beena and myself to her home in Pondicherry. Akshaya Vikram mentioned how she cooked certain dishes that were such an integral part of traditional offerings at temples.
Once the food was ready, Akshaya Vikram went for a quick change and draped on a saree. As she stood at the head of the table, she was quite a stunning vision. Like a conductor of an orchestra, she directed Beena and myself to our seats and served us an array of food on freshly washed banana leaves.
Our Puthandu lunch menu consisted of the following:
Mavadu pickle - tender mango pickle made from a special variety of mango.
Medu Vada - Crispy fried donut shaped savouries made from lentil batter.
Kandanthippili Rasam - A medicinal rasam made with the roots of Indian Long Pepper.
Two types of Appalam - deep fried papads and roasted papads.
White rice
Curd rice
Across the banana leaf
From left to right on the top row of our banana leaf, we were served two types of Appalams, Manga Pachadi, Mavadu pickle, Paruppu Usili, Medu Vada and Akkaravadisal. The bottom part of the banana leaf was reserved for a generous serving of steaming white rice. She poured a generous spoonful of ghee on the hot rice. The two types of Rasams and Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu were placed on the centre of the table. The Mavadu pickle was store brought and Akshaya Vikram confided in us that her mother-in-law made amazing Mavadu pickles at home.
She shared that the roasted papad tasted very good with both the rasams. The ritualistic start to a Puthandu feast was with the Manga Pachadi. The six different flavours that came with its six ingredients, were a symbolic representation of the different emotions that the New Year heralded. A very similar concept that is the crux of the Manga Pachadi, Beena had introduced me to, a few days earlier on Ugadi, the Telegu New Year. The Tamilian version of the Manga Pachadi looked and tasted completely different to the Telegu style Manga Pachadi.
As Akshaya Vikram, Beena and I chatted food, we discovered how different cooking techniques and eating habits differed across the neighbouring two states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. While she mixed multiple dishes together with rice, Beena took separate servings of rice with each dish. Akshaya Vikram liked finishing her meal with the curd rice while Beena liked finishing off her rice with Mor Kuzhambu.
As a Bengali onlooker, a lot of things were new to me. Bengalis loved their desserts but that always came as signature sign offs rather than an auspicious starters to a meal, unlike in some regions of Southern India. I learnt how rasams differed not only by regions and states but also by individual households. So did sambars. I fell in love with some of Akshaya Vikram's traditional kitchen utensils - like the Eeya Chombu, the unique trapezoid shaped tin vessel used exclusively for rasams. Or the spice display in a circular brass spice container.
Rasams have recently been globally accepted as the magic immunity soup, and amongst the many varieties of rasams, Akshaya Vikram particularly highlighted the Kandanthippili Rasam. This is a popular medicinal staple at her household for coughs and colds.
A tomato and lentil rasam that my mother used to make as a child, is definitely my comfort food, even today
“A tomato and lentil rasam that my mother used to make as a child, is definitely my comfort food, even today,” she said. Her sentiment resonated with me too. Although it’s not rasam, but how simple and the most basic home cooked food like dal-bhaat or lentil and rice also brings back very strong memories of childhood for me.
Long after I had come back home, I rewound my lunch memories by casting the photos and videos on our television. I watched them together with Akshaya Vikram's daughter, Tejas, who was visiting our younger daughter Ilaakshi - both fourteen year olds, immersed in their world of K-pop.
Tejas exclaimed, “Mama is such a liar! She says she doesn’t like cooking. Then why does she have to spend hours in the kitchen?” I said to her, “Mama wants your brother Yajur and you to experience the rich heritage of your traditional food and eat home cooked food.”
The next morning I received a message from Akshaya Vikram. “Tejas said last evening, ‘Ma I saw the videos. You made so much of an effort?’ She then decided to make breakfast for me this morning at 5am. She couldn’t get what she had in her mind and broke down in tears. But, what a precious thought!”
A precious act
It’s precious indeed - the thought that goes into making food for a loved one. “It doesn’t feel like an effort, my dear,” as Dida, my maternal grandmother or my mother-in-law whom I call ‘Ma’, would say!
‘Precious’ is the art of making food too - a tradition that has been passed on from one generation to another and hence should duly be passed onto the next - much like a legacy. ‘Precious’ is also the manner in which food connects to people and brings people closer… be it amongst family members or strangers - across countries and geographical borders!
Happy New Year to all of you! May the myriad flavours and tastes of life, all assimilate together and blend in evenly to make your lives beautiful!
