FROM ROMANS TO ARABS, WORLDS COLLIDE IN MADURAI
Romans, Arabs, Saurashtrians and Indian deities — these four themes meet in the Storytrails culinary walk in Madurai. The city’s recorded history goes back to the 3rd century BC, so the stories are rich and the food, varied.
“We walk through the bylanes of old Madurai, starting near the Meenakshi Amman temple,” says Swarnaprada Jayaraj, regional head of Storytrails. Along the way, guests sample dishes from restaurants and street vendors as Jayaraj tells tales seeped in history.
There’s the iconic Murugan Idli Shop famous for its mallipoo idli, known to be ‘as soft as a jasmine blossom.’
Next comes Jigarthanda (literally, ‘a drink that cools your heart’), at a shop called Famous Jigarthanda. “They say the Arab traders who came to Madurai for business wanted a drink that resembled their faluda and had a cooling effect in the tremendous heat of the city. Jigarthanda was made for them with sugar, almond gum, sarsaparilla root syrup and ice-cream. It’s unique to Madurai,” Jayaraj says. Also on the menu, a dish that the Saurashtrian traders brought to Madurai in the 16th century. Made from deep-fried spinach, it became the keerai vadai and remains a specialty of Madurai. “Ancient records show that the people of Madurai have always loved to eat and drink,” Jayaraj says.