This simple stuffed bhindi dish has amazing flavours
WHEN a beautiful, young actress describes her passion for life with food as a major component, you know you are talking to an avid foodie. Ammu Ramchandran is not only a committed, motivated and talented artist but aims to excel in different fields like cooking, research and furthering her formal education. Knowing languages is an art, which helps her craft, dubbing and acting career. Born and brought up in Chennai, Ammu feels she is a true Chennaiite who knows every nook and corner and every great eating joint. When she visits the Kapaleeshwar temple, idlis and coffee in the ancient Brahmin mess is a must. From anchoring to stage production, she has done it all and is proud to have learned to survive well in a competitive industry. Her movies, be it Majnu, Mariyathai or Mandhira, or TV soaps like Ananda Thandavam, Villali Veeran and several others, have helped her to grow as an individual with a deep insight into life. Philosophical and spiritual, she feels destiny is behind every single thing that happens in her life.
Temple and festival prasadams, especially sakkara pongal are special for her and so is her grandmother’s food, who cooked on firewood and grounded masala on stone slabs
(ammikal). She not only cooked the food but used to take hot lunch packed and wait outside Ammu’s school at lunchtime and returned only after feeding her. The taste of the food remains unforgotten in her memory and even now her mouth waters when she recollects the food. Even though Ammu loves seafood, her favourite is south Indian vegetarian dishes. A few include curd rice with vathal kuzhambu, paneer butter masala, spongy idlis with small onion sambar. Out of all the dishes, one of her top favourites is a bhindi (vendakkai) dish which is made with masala stuffed and fried crisp. Stuffed bhindi masala is her weakness and she ensures that the dish is there on the dining table whenever she invites people over. She loves cooking for her friends. Her exposure to world cuisine and traditional food was because of her work. According to her, film unit food in south India is irresistible and the taste and quality are unparallel.
Bhindi or okra or vendakkai was mentioned during the reign of King Bhulokamala Someshwara 111 of the Western Chalukyan Dynasty who ruled between 1126 to 1138 AD. A dish describing the crispy bhindi in a bowl of whipped curds seasoned with salt was a dish fit for the emperor, which was created in the royal kitchens. Charaka the historian writes of a vegetable called bhindi and its several uses. It was first grown in Eritrea and the highlands of Sudan and said to have travelled with the Bantu tribe who migrated from Egypt around 2000 BC. Soon it was growing along the great river valleys of India and China. Today, Ammu shares her recipe of stuffed bhindi masala which she makes for her special guests. — Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of Festive 4ƉJWNSLX YT YMJ ,TIX )N[NSJ 8TZQ 7JHNUJX