Eral thengai aracha curry: A deceptively delicious Chettinad dish

THIS story revolves around a little boy named Subhash, who loved visiting his grandma’s place during his school holidays. The grandmother’s home was an ancestral house in a small village called Kanadukathan in Karaikudi region, famous for its Chettinad food. The two mansions next to each other were built for two brothers — the little boy’s grandfather and his brother. Both the mansions had an adjoining hallway. A massive decorated kitchen was right at the centre with all its beautifully carved nooks and corners and fireplaces. There were wooden tables in the middle of the kitchen, loaded up with fresh seafood, vegetables and meat to be cooked during the day. The kitchen was the largest room and was common for both the mansions. The bungalow’s senior most, Subhash’s grandma, was the commander-in-chief there. Of course, it was also the little boy’s favourite place to be in the house. He loved the aromas of food and enjoyed helping out his grandmother in preparing the food.

The culinary traditions of the Chettiars reflect the interesting history of the community. Legend has it that a great flood in the 8th century prompted a mass exodus of Chettiars from the Coromandel Coast to the arid heartland of Tamil Nadu. The Chettiars resettled in the Karaikudi region from where they strove to re-establish their fortunes through trading with far-off kingdoms. History points to Chettiars playing a key role in south India’s spice trade with countries like Burma (now Myanmar), Khmer (now Cambodia), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Mauritius.

Having lived in proximity to the sea, the Chettiars used seafood to create many of their signature dishes like the meen kuzhambu (fish curry), nandu masala (crab masala), sura puttu (shark fin curry) and eral

thengai curry (prawn coconut curry). When the community later settled in the Tamil hinterland, they included wild game such as jungle fowl, quail, rabbit and turkey into their diets. Most of these predominantly non-vegetarian dishes were, and still are, eaten with rice and rice-based accompaniments like dosa, appam,

idiyappam, adai and idli. Traditional Chettinad dishes used locally sourced spices like star anise, pepper and stone flower. Preservation techniques learnt from the foreign traders were quickly adopted and the dishes introduced by traders like

kavuni arisi halwa (black rice pudding) has a Burmese influence, while the idiyappam (string hoppers) have a Sri Lankan touch. The cuisine of

Chettinad has an array of deceptively delicious dishes. Historically, due to famous traders, the spices used in most of the dishes became ingredients to marvel at. One such being

eral thengai aracha curry. Hence, keeping with the tradition, Subhash’s grandma prepared elaborate meals for the household. Kitchen maids hand-pounded the fragrant spices in stone grinders, and vegetables were chopped with an iron blade. Firewood was used to cook the food and develop specific flavours in food.

The cuisine is a complex blend of flavours, which Subhash learnt right from childhood. The young boy decided food was going to remain his passion and grew up wanting to be a chef. Today, he is one of the most sought after chefs, particularly for his south Indian specialties. Many actors and celebrities, who travel to Puducherry and tasted his food, often go back for more. My friend Rajeev got hooked on to his prawn curry and I thought it would be an ideal recipe for this holiday season. Chef Subhash’s prawn curry, which many say is worth dying for, is flavourful, spicy and unforgettable.

RECIPE

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 30 min

Serves: 4-5

Calories per serve: 380 cal per serve