Topic started by karthikdevan (@ sb.nic.in) on Fri Oct 25 02:59:01 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Some of our old food items have disappeared from the Menu.

I am reposting excerpts from the posts i made in

Rice Eating


Vidyadhar,

yes.But, the foods that grow in the land and during the season are usually the most suited things for the ppl inhabiting the place as these things are linked to a cycle in which we form a part.

So, keeping in view of the climatic conditions etc, its okay for the s.indians to eat rice.

But one pecualiar thing that has happened in tamilnadu in the recent past is that due to mistaken notions of 'culture' we have started neglecting other foods like the following:-

1.Kezhvaragu - disappearing very fast.When i visit home and ask for the kali or dosai to be made in kezhvaragu, other relatives or friends give me that 'pavam' look.

In their opinion , only a diabetes patient should take that! so much ignorant.

2.Kambu - Almost i dont see that anywhere now.Earlier in our house we use to prepare the kambu-adai. cleaning that is a big problem and our females nowadays shun that may be due to this!

3.Sola parai - Earlier times , the solam parais used to serve as a wonderful energy replenisher.They use to put the cooked solam soru in water and even that water used to be so much refreshing.Ofcourse nowadays, thanx to kellogs we have this food item and usually take it for breakfast in the name of cornflakes... u can say this is alive!

4.Panan koozh - The panan koozh made of the mavu of the roots used to be once prevalent.Now we ofcourse have that sometimes in a boiled form of the roots.Sometimes we used to burn it (suduthal) simply in hot coal.Now the roots are available but not so in plenty like old times and we boil it in seasons and take it as some sort of delicacy and not as a staple food.

5.Panam Pazham - another fruit which has almost disappeared is the panam pazham.We used to take the 'Sutta pazhams' in our younger days.sometimes we used to take raw and sometimes after boiling.Now this has almost disappeared.Recently when i visited our native village, i saw almost no one picked up the fruits which fell from these palm trees as it is again caught by the 'false notion' of tamils as being of the lower strata!

6.Pathani (Patha neer) - This used to be the extract of the juice from the flower of palm tree...we used to wait and take that in mornings in our childhood days..... if they add lime to the juice it becomes pathani otherwise it becomes kallu.

Its good for health..now in chennai , the government sells it in packets.

• From: karthikdevan (@ ub.nic.in) on: Fri Oct 25 04:31:25
  
  Correction:appam illai aappam.
  
  
• From: karthikdevan (@ ub.nic.in) on: Fri Oct 25 04:32:45
  
  correction.
  
  
• From: mmc (@ netcache.spectranet.com) on: Sat Oct 26 11:39:26
  
  repost:
  
  MV,
  
  yeah...you gave a good description.
  
  You know there is a particular type of fish which is generally available in pondicherry..its called kola meen.
  
  In pondicherry this fish comes in a grown size and is not that much tasty.But down below, its small in size and v.tasty.The fish has some sort of flying fins.It actually flies for a couple of feet.
  
  During the seasons, its available in plenty and is usually cooked with coconut paste.This particular type of fish comes to the villages in late midnight, the women folk buy it and cook in the night.
  
  This was my favourite item in younger days..pazhayathu with curd and kola(or cola) meen fry!
  
  There are many fish vareties which have gone extnct now...even the taste of vira(l) meen which is caught inland has changed due to use of excessive artificial manures and pesticides.
  
  Now, ofcourse they grow tiger prawns in farms ..but the cultivators tend to use excesive anti-biotics(due to which our consignments have been rejected in europe nowadays..earlier it used to be the quality of water , they asked us to use sea water for making ice which is used for packing he seafood)...but the ral(some places called era or prawns) caugh freshly from sea is no mach and the small ones are more tasty.
  
  My favourite kuzhambu in younger days used to be this ral kuzhambu ,which they make with very small prawns(called senna kunni - we make idli pod also out of it..and earlier i heard they used to make oorukai also from prawns) and kathirikai.
  
  Eluthumothey its tempting now......
  
  one particular meat dish we used to make in our houses earlier and which has disappeared now is the kola urundai (its made with chopped mutton and some paruppu..i think kadalai paruppu..ground together).Such items one doesnt get in hotels, so they may be lost in future.
  
  Among those which fly, we used to prepare 'madayan' .....i actually learnt oflate only that it comes from Russia(its usually available during november-december..it moves from russia to escape from the harsh winter there to end up in our lunch!) and its an endangered species.Our side , there is a beleif that its good for health..esp the cold etc.Since the arrival of these birds coincide with the rainy (and puyal) season, in almost every house this is found in the menu every week.
  
  Similarly another bird which we relished was the 'kuil'...after we grew, we prevented this from being cooked in our houses (last time when i took was when i was in the 12th std), being somewhat remnded by their sounds(kuil pattu).
  
  I heard that Sivaji Ganesan used to like it v.much and Lata Mangeshkar stopped eating at Sivaji's house when she learnt one day that kuil is there in the menu.
  
  Again coming to fish, there is a peculiar fish called 'vavval meen' ..it has a broad body and a long tail , it used to be a delicacy(and is now exported in great quantites..so smaller ones only come to the local market).
  
  
• From: Aishwarya. (@ acb343bb.ipt.aol.com) on: Tue Dec 17 05:43:01
  
  Hi,
  
  MMC i think u long for ur childhood days much.... atleast for having delecious food form ur mom.... i think i can help u in preparing KOLA URUNDAI. i'll soon send a mail to my mom and post u the receipe.
  
  
• From: padumai (@ adsl-66-73-173-90.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net) on: Fri Jan 10 22:03:34
  
  Good description of tamil food in the past..
  
  
• From: mmc (@ 203.122.42.221) on: Sat Jan 11 00:05:24
  
  Aishwarya,
  
  :)
  
  Actually these posts were made when i was abstaining from non-vegetarian foods.
  
  I came out of the resolution last month and enjoying everybit of the non-veg delicacies now.
  
  When we abstain from something , the desire for them increase all the more.Thats why repeated writings about Biriyani,kola urundai etc in unconnected threads too:-))
  
  
  
  
  

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