Chettinad

Just returned from a quick eating trip in Singapore and we visited a Chettinad (apparently the part of the southern state of Tamil Nadu where all the best cooks come from) restaurant and it was delish. My partner, who hates Indian food, admitted it was quite enjoyable for him. It has long been verboten, but it would be delightful to be allowed to have Indian back home now if we can find a Chettinad place.

A search of the archives suggests we have Chettinad food (or at least a couple of dishes) in Chicagoland at:

Manpasand
644 East Golf Road
Arlington Heights IL 60005
Phone: 847-640-6446 847-640-6422

and

Priya Indian Restaurant
939 W Wise Rd
Schaumburg, IL 60193
847-301-2491
http://www.priya-restaurant.com

The former was discussed last in 2007 and the latter in 2009. Any developments in the last few years? Particularly any of the restaurants in the City have Chettinad cooks or menus?

Thanks!

jonathanlehman wrote:(apparently the part of the southern state of Tamil Nandu where all the best cooks come from)

Huh?

Gypsy Boy wrote:

jonathanlehman wrote:(apparently the part of the southern state of Tamil Nandu where all the best cooks come from)

Huh?

I don't usually cite Wikipedia, but perhaps this will clarify:

Chettinad (Tamil: செட்டிநாடு) is a region of the Sivaganga district of southern Tamil Nadu state, India. Karaikudi is known as the capital of Chettinad, which includes Karaikudi and 74 (traditionally its said as 96) other villages. Chettinad is the homeland of the Nattukottai Chettiars (Nagarathar), a prosperous banking and business community, many of whose members migrated to South and Southeast Asia, particularly Ceylon and Burma, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The people of Chettinad speak Tamil. Today there is a diaspora of Chettinad people, who live in the USA, Singapore, Malaysia, among other places.

Chettinad is well known for its Chettinad cuisine, mansions, and temples. Chettinad also means a social caste that specializes in the preparation of food. Chettinads can be considered as the master chefs who prepare food that reflects the excellence that people in Chennai/South India look for in the preparation and serving of food. Some cuisines have been renamed e.g. Chicken Chettinad (Spicy Chicken Curry), Veg Chettinad (a curry of selective vegetables) to reflect the speciality and care given during preparation of food.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chettinad 1/9/12)

Try Cumin in Bucktown. www.cumin-chicago.com

jonathanlehman wrote:

Gypsy Boy wrote:

jonathanlehman wrote:(apparently the part of the southern state of Tamil Nandu where all the best cooks come from)

Huh?

jonathanlehman wrote:I don't usually cite Wikipedia, but perhaps this will clarify:

No. What I was questioning was the assertion "where all the best cooks come from." Really? Even limiting ourselves to Indian food?

I obviously didn't mean that all the best cooks of all the myriad cuisines of the world are from a particular part of a particular state in southern India.

And I don't think that that's a realistic interpretation of what I wrote, considering I mentioned a specific south Indian state in a thread about a sub-cuisine of what could be loosely referred to as southern Indian. In fact, I think my use of the word "apparently" cautions readers to avoid concluding just what you did. Had I actually identified Chettinad cooks as the world's best according to a rigorous, objective, and quantitative process, I'd be writing a dissertation about it rather than starting a thread on an internet discussion board.

What I meant, and what I believe my posting of the Wikipedia excerpt clarified (leaving aside whether or not Wikipedia is a quality, objective source) was that people that live in southeast India (or who, for the purposes of LTH Fourm, otherwise consume and appreciate its cuisine) have a particular regard for the cuisine of Chettinad, as well as for the particular caste of people that create it.

I apologize if my desire to economize the length of my initial post and to avoid a discussion of the caste system has led to any confusion. For the record, I do not believe that Chettinad cooks are the best in the world, nor do I think that it would be possible or worthwhile to try to identify the particular group of people who might be.

I thought the huh was because the boyfriend doesn't like Indian food but likes this type of food. My personal experience has been that I used to say I didnt like Indian food, but what I didn't like was bad Indian food and especially curry. What I found after I had curry in Southeast Asia, was that what I had before wasn't authentic and some lame version at a bad restaurant here.

jonathanlehman wrote:What I meant, and what I believe my posting of the Wikipedia excerpt clarified (leaving aside whether or not Wikipedia is a quality, objective source) was that people that live in southeast India (or who, for the purposes of LTH Fourm, otherwise consume and appreciate its cuisine) have a particular regard for the cuisine of Chettinad, as well as for the particular caste of people that create it.

I know that similar things have been written -- by Bourdain in particular -- about cooks from Puebla, as it pertains to Mexican cooking.

=R=

nicinchic wrote:I thought the huh was because the boyfriend doesn't like Indian food but likes this type of food. My personal experience has been that I used to say I didnt like Indian food, but what I didn't like was bad Indian food and especially curry. What I found after I had curry in Southeast Asia, was that what I had before wasn't authentic and some lame version at a bad restaurant here.

I'm still trying to get to the root of the boyfriend's anti-Indian thing. He has the genetic cilantro issue, which may play a part, considering how ubiquitous coriander is in that type of food. He's okay with Thai/Cambodian/Malaysian curries, as well as Chinese/Japanese interpretations. Our meal in Singapore didn't actually seem all that different to me from better meals I've had at southern Indian places stateside (I haven't been to the sub-continent), except for the fact there was meat and seafood on the menu, which we both appreciated. But he thought it was the bees knees so I'm trying to find something in Chicago.

It's based in Chennai, but the restaurant we visited in Singapore also has locations in New Jersey and the Bay Area, so at least we can recreate it without a passport and a long-haul flight!

Believe me I understand. I also have the cilantro adversion, it's a real bitch to pick out of salsa. Give Cumin a try before you board a flight to the east coast. At the very least I don't see why he'd have a problem with any tandori items, and they have really good nepalanese food. Momo's are delicious.

I am not trying to be difficult. Really. On the other hand, I DO have a reputation to uphold.

I jest, I jest.

The "huh" was not because I thought that you were claiming that all the best chefs (of "all the myriad cuisines in the world") came from that area. The "huh" was because I was astonished (oh, ok, surprised) that you would say that all the best Indian chefs (meaning chefs cooking "Indian" cuisine) came from Chettinad. (And yes, Ronnie, I agree with you in believing that Senor Bourdain said that, too). I thought it was overstating the case to claim that Chettinad chefs make, to pick a handful, the best Kashmiri or the best Andhra or the best Bengali food in India. That seems like such an enormous leap to me that I find it not worthy of credence. I find Bourdain's claim equally implausible.

Apologies for the misunderstandings...I wasn't trying to be difficult...just incredulous.

(FWIW, I "apparently" misunderstood your use of "apparently." I thought it referred to...oh, never mind, but how you intended it is not how I read it.)

jonathanlehman wrote:

nicinchic wrote:It's based in Chennai, but the restaurant we visited in Singapore also has locations in New Jersey and the Bay Area, so at least we can recreate it without a passport and a long-haul flight!

was it Hotel Saravanna Bhavan by any chance? we should petition them to open one in chicago.

Gypsy Boy wrote:The "huh" was not because I thought that you were claiming that all the best chefs (of "all the myriad cuisines in the world") came from that area. The "huh" was because I was astonished (oh, ok, surprised) that you would say that all the best Indian chefs (meaning chefs cooking "Indian" cuisine) came from Chettinad. (And yes, Ronnie, I agree with you in believing that Senor Bourdain said that, too). I thought it was overstating the case to claim that Chettinad chefs make, to pick a handful, the best Kashmiri or the best Andhra or the best Bengali food in India. That seems like such an enormous leap to me that I find it not worthy of credence.

I took it to me (which is actually the truth IMHO) that the best Chettinad-cuisine-cooks come from the Chettinad-region of Madras

(OK, maybe some of the better Tamil-Nadu-state chefs in general.. but thats about as far as it goes. And a lot of "Chettinad" cuisine isnt even representative of the best Tamil-Nadu food, because of dietary reasons... a lot of TN is purely vegetarian for religious reasons, while a lot of Chettinad cuisine does include chicken and fish... they do very good idlis/dosais etc in Chettinad too, but the region of Udipi in Southern India is probably most famed for their versions..)

c8w

nicinchic wrote:Try Cumin in Bucktown. http://www.cumin-chicago.com

I dunno about Cumin - havent been, so cant really say much (but the menu didnt impress me as particularly Chettinad at all.. looks mostly Nepali, frankly... and thats a whole different country, only about 1200 miles away

Its not easy to find Chettinad-style exclusively (or very well done) in Chicago - there is plenty of "Tamil Nadu style" cuisine (Dasaprakash, Udipi, Woodlands etc), but theyre all generally purely vegetarian - and Chettinad does often include chicken and fish. (If youre willing to go purely vegetarian, try those mentioned above... its not "stereotypical" Indian food, in that it isnt chicken-tikka-masala or "butter chicken" et al... its from the south, more coconut-based rather than yougurt-based curries etc).

Or give a place like Manpasand in Arlington Heights a shot (http://www.manpasandchicago.com/manpasand-menu.php). You'll notice "chicken 65 madras" and "chicken chettinadu" on the menu for example... there seem to be quite a few "Tamil-nadu-items" on the menu here (curd-rice!), it might do a closer-to-authentic job with some of the menu-items you might be looking for. (Devon's "chicken 65" for example, will almost always be "Hyderabadi style" - which isnt the same).
Another might be Priya Restaurant in Schaumburg (http://www.priya-restaurant.com/).. a menu that looks like it might have something in this style, IMHO (though its primarily Andhra-style). But they might at least be close..

c8w

So we schlepped out to Priya this weekend for dinner and it was definitely a hit, for both the boyfriend and for my recent Chicago transplant Indian-American friend that has been lamenting the quality of the south Indian food on Devon.

We had some meat dishes (Shrimp 65 and Chicken Fry) some Indo-Chinese dishes (Gobi Manchurian and Chilli Chicken) and a sampling of idli, vada, dosa (rava and moong), and utthapams. All were quite tasty.

No Chettinad dishes on the menu (maybe just for the buffet), but we'll be back. Hopefully for the weekend buffet or all you can eat dosa night. Worth a trip!

hmmm, if anyone knows of a real chettinad place anywhere in drivable range, I'd like to know, honestly I don't know of one and I've looked hard ever since coming back from chennai and posting ona meal there (see this link:)

it's funny that saravana bhavan was mentioned as a chettinad place because that is actually a dosai/sweets place of which we have many in the area, though not as good as those in madras/chennai.

I'll refrain from comment on "the best cooks in India", but only note that chettinad is a very specific cuisine, and not really one of the major ones in India

Just returned from a quick eating trip in Singapore

I think it would be a dream come true to make a statement like that!

interesting thread

Chettinad is a very esoteric cuisine in India, almost exclusivly found in Chanai. like somebody posted, its a caste of bankers and merchants, and there may be some resteraunts on Devon, or in the western burbs that make chettinad food. I've enjoyed Chettinad food, but it's not something that I've ever thought about searching out. good luck finding it. If I was looking for it, I'd probably start with the various souther indian places on Devon and maybe ask if they can make a chettinad dish, or recomend a place that can. I have seen a lot of southern indian non-veg places that have one of two dishes that they call "chittinad".

not to throw fuel on the fire, but most indians that I have known have refered to hyderabad as the place where the best food is from.

jonathanlehman wrote: a Chettinad (apparently the part of the southern state of Tamil Nadu where all the best cooks come from) restaurant and it was delish.

You weren't wrong.

I have been researching (and cooking) Indian cuisine for the last two years, and I've seen comments about the fabulous food from Chettinad in all sorts of cookbooks.

Madhur Jaffrey describes one dish after another from the Chettiar community as "exquisite" in her books, especially in Flavors of India.
Lachu Moorjani, author of Ajanta and owner of the restaurant by the same name in Berkeley writes that "Chefs from the Chettinad community are well known all over India, and food from this area is highly seasoned, very aromatic and rich" ( Ajanta, p. 184)

These are just two of the many references that I have read. I hope you find some good restaurants nearby. The recipes are indeed, amazing. Lamb (or goat) with fennel and coconut and chicken in a black pepper sauce are on regular rotation at my house.