As Indians, Spice is a common commodity found in our Kitchens and our cuisine, black pepper was once a highly precious commodity, having attracted traders and invaders to India who came with the sole intention of taking back with them this “black gold”.Black pepper, was first mentioned as a cooking spice in Tamil history dating back to 300 BC. Tracing the origins and evolution of this spice, JW Marriott Chandigarh is organizing a Black Pepper Food Festival, a unique exploration of the Tamil cuisine across the Sangam, Medieval and Contemporary eras of Tamil history. The festival will explore how, Tamil cuisine got infused with other spices, by outsiders who were attracted to India by this unique spice.
To create an authentic experience, renowned food historian and chef, Sridevi Balasubramanian- popularly known as Shri Bala, has been invited to curate the Black Pepper Food Festival. An epicurean initiative to trace the journey of spices in India through a culinary sojourn of Southern Deccan region of Tamizhagam, Bala, who has a keen interest in the evolution of food from pre-historic times to the present day, has recreated an entire menu of Tamilian dishes covering three eras spanning 3,000 years. On the menu are dishes prepared with just black pepper as the spice, but offering a variety of flavors owing to use of other ancient ingredients and cooking techniques.
For instance, Druva grass smoked meat in which Druva grass is used to smoke and cook mutton is spiced only with black pepper, but the smoke of Druva grass lends a peculiar spicy flavor to the meat comparable to the modern day garam masala. Chilies and tomatoes were introduced to the Indian cuisine during this time and it was during this time that red curry recipes flourished in Tamizhagam. Soupy curries like Mutton Paya, the Goat leg curry soup or Pallipalayam, a spicy gravy, are part of the festival, with both having a liberal use of chilies in the gravies. Explaining the contemporary Tamizhaga cuisine, Bala says the Mughals and Britishers have had major an influence over Indian cuisine in the south.
Several spices like cloves, black cardamom, and star anise got introduced from Mughlai cuisine. The focus of the festival is on authentic food from the ancient Tamizhaga region that spread across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. A must try from the Sangam Era is Mukkani Payasam, a combination of jackfruit, banana, and mango. For meat lovers, there is Manga Meen Kuzhumbu, fish with raw mango gravy and Eral Keerai Kuzhumbu, prawns with amaranth gravy. For those with an insatiable sweet tooth, Serki Bath or the Cotton seed and rice pudding from the Medieval era and the Kavuni Arisi Halwa or the black rice pudding from the contemporary era are must-haves.
