In the lush hills of the Western Ghats grows a variety of beautiful crimson red tree tomatoes. Now, tomatoes usually grow on vines, but this eggplant-shaped version is a unique aberration. The locals say it is Tamarillo, which originally hails from South America; its journey to the Western Ghats remains shrouded in conjecture and mystery. Today, it is used to make hearty broths and delectable condiments in the hills.
This is among the anecdotes (and dishes!) that Indian chef, historian and TV show host Rakesh Raghunathan shares with us at Kurinji, a food festival at the Wild Garden Café, Amethyst, in Chennai. While discovering a treasure trove of ingredients in the Western Ghats, he set out on a journey to reimagine them in modern cuisine, and the result is a special menu of delectable hill delights.
“If you go back to the Sangam age in Tamil Nadu, there were different regions demarcated based on climatic conditions and topography,” he explains. “So we had Neydal or the coastal region, Marudam or the fertile plains, Palai or dry arid lands and Mullai or the jungles. Kurinji was the mountainous region – the modern-day Western Ghats. It stretches 1600 km from Goa to Kanyakumari. Today, it is one of the largest biospheres for incredible flora and fauna. Kurinji refers to the famous Kurinjipoo or Neelakurinji (Blue Kurinji), which blossoms only once every twelve years.”
Chef Rakesh has used ingredients unique to this biosphere to create a festival that celebrates the food traditions of indigenous communities from this region in association with The Kodai Chronicle Trust. As a child, he spent summers in Kodaikanal and interacted with indigenous communities in the Nilgiri hills as well. “Most people aren’t aware of the region’s produce. With this festival, I brought in elements of their traditional cuisine, such as bamboo rice and millets, which have been celebrated in Sangam literature, and pieced them together with modern ingredients like cherry tomatoes and avocadoes. It’s a crossover between the past and present.”
At the festival, the Pazhani Prasadam Deconstructed is his take on the Thenum Thinai Maavum and the Palani Panchamirtham, featuring honey and foxtail millet flour. Kodaikanal’s oldest inhabitants, the Palians and Pulians, are forest gatherers who gather the honey. The Panchamritam is made with mala vazhaipazham (a variety of local bananas) and milk from cows who are locally reared and gathered.
Yet another fascinating dish is the Smoked Hill Garlic and Cardamom-Scented Sweet Potato Roundel — sweet potato roundels infused with the aroma of smoked hill garlic and cardamom for an incredible flavour. “This smoked garlic is from a recipe seen in Mannavanur, a village near Kodaikanal,” explains Rakesh. “The farmers who harvest the garlic inhabit a small room. They sun-dry the garlic, tie it in bunches and hoist it up. The heat from the kitchen keeps them warm, while smoke from the firewood smokes the garlic on top. That way, it preserves longer, and the farmer, based on a first-in-first-out method and price fluctuations, hoists it up and down and sells it. It’s not overly pungent but has a smoky edge.”
Chef Rakesh has always been intrigued by food, spending time in the kitchen while his friends were out playing cricket. When he went abroad to study, it hit him that despite using all the right ingredients, the final nuances of the dish were missing. He realised that there were always recipes going away with the previous generation. Driven to document this slowly disintegrating food heritage, he returned and began his journey as a food researcher.
At the Kurinji festival, other delicacies included Cauliflower Soup with Local Pavazham Beans—a chilled blend of roasted cauliflower infused with spices and complemented with local beans and the Nilgiris Mutton Soup—mutton broth infused with hints of coriander, mint and spices, capturing the essence of the Nilgiris region.
The Kodai Buddha Bowl was a vibrant and nourishing bowl featuring fresh produce from the hills like avocados, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, roasted beetroot and millets, topped with a tangy plum-based vinaigrette, which is a must-try! We also loved the decadent Stuffed Mushroom Casserole — mountain-grown mushrooms tossed in a spice mix and baked with cheese and the wholesome Herbed Chicken, Broccoli and Bamboo Rice Bake—mountain-grown bamboo rice sauteed and baked with herbed chicken, broccoli and a cheese topping.
Chef Rakesh rues the fact that food traditions in the hills are disappearing. Indigenous tribes like the irulas and todas today eat biryani, rasam and pachadi on festive occasions instead of the dishes their ancestors prepared, preserved and passed on. Kodaikanal has become a hot spot for chocolates, instead of the seasonal greens and wild mushrooms that it has a wealth of. Using food as a storytelling medium, he wants to shine a spotlight on the true custodians of these food traditions.