What makes Kongunadu veeran soru and naatu kozhi saaru so unique?

The ongoing Kongunadu food festival at Gokulam Park showcases some most-loved dishes and culinary traditions from the region like flavourful veeran soru and naatu kozhi saaru

In western Tamil Nadu,Kongunadu covers the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Pollachi, Udumalpet, Avanashi, Mettur, Palladam, and Tiruppur, and as many as 40 other towns. Kongunadu cuisine derives its name from this belt, and is an ode to the rich culinary traditions of the region where the use of certain ingredients is distinct. For example, coconut is preferred in the form of dry copra, roasted and ground or added in curries as thin slices. The cuisine derives its unique flavours from the extensive use of sesame seeds, groundnuts, dry ginger and roasted turmeric.

“Pallipayalam chicken, named after a town near Erode where the recipe originated, is a simple dish made with chicken, copious amounts of shallots, red chillies, and coconut that is added as small slices to lend volume to the dish,” explains Arul Selvan, corporate executive chef at Gokulam Park Hotels and Resorts. Bytes, the 24/7 multi-cuisine restaurant at Gokulam Park is hosting a 10-day food festival that showcases traditional recipes of the Kongu region. Over crisp vethalai dosa (betel leaf dipped in rice batter and spread as dosa) and steaming, fluffy idiyappams served with flavourful stews ( attukal paya or vegetables), Arul says Kongu chefs go easy not only on oil but chillies too and that sets apart the cuisine from the spicier Chettinad fare. The focus of the festival is local food.

One can find robust flavours of millets — ragi, bajra, and jowar — in dishes like kelvaragu kali (served with mochakottai (field beans or garlic kuzhambu), siru dhaaniya pongal, kambu thayir saadam and many dosa varieties doled out of a live counter. “Curries like muttai paniyara kuzhambu, something on the lines of egg kofta curry, kudal kulambu (made from goat’s intestines) or a kadamba sambar made with local, seasonal vegetables is a specialty at the festival,” explains Arul.

The region produces gingelly oil in copious amounts, and plenty of turmeric too which is reflected in their cuisine. The nutritious ulundhu kali, a Kongu specialty is made with rice, urad dal, fenugreek also has generous amounts of gingelly oil and palm jaggery.

Chef Arul along with R Jegan, executive chef, and N Srinivasan, general manager of Gokulam Park toured villages in Mettupalayam, Palladam, Pollachi and Satyamangalam, talking to elders to revive traditional and forgotten recipes. “That’s how we perfected the naatu kozhi rasam,” says Srinivasan, adding that the festival is an opportunity to showcase dishes that have less oil and spice, that are rarely talked about in the same breath as chicken Chettinad or Dindigul biryani. “We also learnt the recipe of veeran soru or white mutton biriyani made with fragrant short-grained seeraga samba rice using minimal spices but is high on flavour,” adds Arul.

Regional specials like the mangai meen kuzhambu (a tangy fish curry with raw mango) and chicken chintamani (a delicious, roasted chicken preparation that comes with bite-sized pieces of fried chicken cooked with chilli flakes, and curry leaves) are offered in the main course along with nandu thakkali perattal (crabs tossed in a tangy tomato gravy). “We added starters like karuveppilai kozhi (chicken tossed in roasted and curry leaves powder along with other masalas) and nethili tossed in a spicy-tangy masala from the multi-cuisine menu to cater to the in-house guests.”

To round off the Kongu experience, there is delicious ellaneer payasam, made with chilled tender coconut water.