Chettinad chicken

THE FOOD CLUB

Legend has it that the Chettinad community of Tamil Nadu started out trading in spices. Though relatively few of them have stuck to the trade, it's certainly the core of their fortunes.

It was the spice trade that took them to countries in South-east Asia, where their own cuisine was influenced by a host of other cuisines. Today, Chettinad food is a dramatic departure from the cuisines of the rest of the state, and for that we have the association with spices to thank.

All over north India, Chettinad chicken tends to be a one-size-fits-all preparation, which may or may not have any or all of the following: chillies, coconut, a fistful of spices, and ground coriander leaves.

It comes in a variety of colours, ranging from angry red to fiery orange to green, but such is the cachet of the very name that it outsells every other dish on the menu.

The best Chettinad chicken that I've had the good fortune of tasting is undoubtedly the one in Taj Coromandel, Chennai. Though I was told to try the version at Punnuswamy's, also in the same city, I didn't have the time. However, I doubt whether the Coromandel version can be bettered. For one thing, it is not on the menu and has to be ordered specially "" that too in advance.

The kitchen grinds into action. Kalpasi, Marathi mukku, Nellore chillies, fenugreek seeds, cumin, javitri, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, fennel and pepper corns are all put into a metal basin and left to gently roast over a very low fire.

This leaches out any moisture, and makes them brittle, and hence, easy to pound. Every other spice is commonly available in kitchens around the country, but kalpasi and Marathi mukku are available only in speciality spice shops in Tamil Nadu.

Both have musty, herb-like fragrances, and it is these that are the defining features of Chettinad chicken. Without them, you may as well give up before you start.

Kari patta, ginger, garlic and grated coconut add body to the dish, but it's the spicing that has to be just right. It is imperative that you roast them gently, so that their flavours intensify. This will give the final product the punch that is the hallmark of a brilliant Chettinad chicken.

Chef de partie D Sathish, of Southern Spice, Taj Coromandel, says that out of all the communities in Tamil Nadu, it's the Chettiyars who make the most intelligent use of spices. To him fell the task of painstakingly pounding the spices with a mortar and pestle. Use an electric grinder and you've lost the essence of the dish.

A brilliant Chettinad chicken is like a symphony. You can just about sense the presence of a panoply of spices, but they're supposed to work in concert "" one should not shout down the other.

And the mood of the orchestra is meant to be dark and brooding, which is what roasting will achieve. Just don't try to buy kalpasi and Marathi mukku anywhere else in the country "" I've already tried!