Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Hindu
The Hindu
Lifestyle
Esther Thomas

Chef Damu curates a food festival featuring recipes from rural Tamil Nadu

Tamil food, fragrant of local spices, and the rhythmic beats of live music set the tone for the launch of Thalaivan Virunthu, a food festival curated by popular city chef K Damodaran. The 15-day festival, that focusses on age-old recipes and forgotten ingredients, is a medley of seasonal produce and slow-cooked delicacies.

It features dishes such as varamilagai chicken, prepared by simmering tender pieces of chicken in a rich curry infused with dried red chillies. The multi-course buffet, according to Damu, has at its core the philosophy ‘Food is medicine‘. “These recipes are from villages in Tamil Nadu that I travelled to; I have given all of them my own touch as well,“ he explains.

Meen kozhambu (Source: Special arrangement)

There are traditional curries such as meen kozhambu, chicken chinthamani, Athangudi kari chops, and maa inji paruppu urundai kozhambu, and vethalai rasam to choose from. For dessert, there is litchi elaneer payasam, kavuni arisi karupatti halwa, ragi simili urundai, among others.

Chef Damu’s cooking is all about going back to one’s roots, and he is all for documenting old recipes that have been in families for generations.

Thalaivan Virunthu is on till July 9. The dinner buffet, from 7.30pm to 11pm, is priced at ₹2,300 per person. At Grand Chennai by GRT Hotels, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T Nagar.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.