Lunch Series #24-Kongunadu Style Thali Meals

Being a Coimbatorian, its only fair that I share a Kongunadu style Thali meals as one of the posts in the Traditional thali series!

I have written about this land ,its people and cuisine in previous posts, but if you are landing here for the first time,read on..

Kongunad is the homeland of the Tamilians and dates back to the 8th centuary AD.It comprised of Palani, Dharapuram, Karur, Namakkal, Thiruchengodu, Erode,Selam,Dharmapuri, Coimbatore, Avinasi, Nilgiris,Pollachi and Udumalpet [All these places are in Tamilnadu-South India]

Not to be left out, we too have some brave souls who took part in the freedom movement.

Two brave men – Theeran Chinnamalai and Tiruppur Kumaran have given their share to the freedom struggle.

Theeran Chinnamalai [1576 – 1805] is said to have made the freedom struggle a people’s movement.Historians say he adopted the guerilla warfare against the invaders.He took part in three important battles and in the final battle he was betrayed by his cook and he was hanged to death.

Tiruppur Kumaran[1904-1932] ] born in Chennimalai [Erode district] was one of the youngest in the freedom movement taking Gandhi’s way at a very young age.Kumaran died from injuries sustained from a Police assault during a protest march against the British and died holding the flag of India.He is considered a martyr by the people of Tamilnadu and is referred to as ‘Kodi Katha Kumaran’ meaning Kumaran who saved the flag.

Now coming to the cuisine part,Kongunadu cuisine is extensive for the simple reason that kongunadu covers a vast area.

This cuisine does not involve marinating and has its own nativity and style.The use of turmeric,groundnut paste to curries give it a unique texture and flavor.This is a very healthy cuisine owing to the use of millets, pulses, sesame and less amounts of oil and spices.

The dishes are simple and quick to prepare but flavorful nevertheless! It has a whole lot of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes under its belt.

I love the vegetarian fare from this soil and have around 15 recipes from the Kongunadu Cuisine on the blog. Take a look at them too.

Today’s menu features some of the famous dishes from this cuisine and we enjoyed this meal to the fullest.

Let’s see the dishes that were a part of the Kongunadu Style Thali Meals

1. Uppu -Salt
2. Keerai Vadai – Fritters made of ground lentils and finely chopped greens
3. Muttaikose Porriyal – Cabbage Curry
4. Oorukai -Pickle
5. Sadam -Steamed rice
6. Arisi Paruppu Sadam – A one pot meal of rice and lentils
7. Pacha Puli Rasam – A no cook rasam that is to be had with rice
8. Pacha Payar Kadanjadhu – Mashed and seasoned Green Gram
9. Samba Ravai Payasam – Kheer made of broken wheat
10. Neer More – Buttermilk

The featured recipe from this menu is the Pacha Puli Rasam which is a no cook rasam that is to be had with steamed rice.

All the ingredients are added raw and allow the flavors to combine before serving. It tastes good as a soup too on warm summer days!

Take a look at the Pacha Puli Recipe…

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#116