Eelam Tamil Food Festival in Chennai showcases Sri Lanka’s rich vegetarian heritage

Chennai is a city with a deep relationship with Tamil food. But the Tamil table is broader than most people have had the chance to discover, and Cookgramam’s Eelam Tamil Food Festival is a reminder of that. Drawing on the culinary traditions of the Tamil-speaking regions of Sri Lanka, the festival presents vegetarian recipes gathered from Eelam Tamil families.

This Chennai food fest celebrates Eelam Tamil veg heritage

We settled in and began with the Rambai ilai thengai paal saru, a coconut milk-based soup that opened proceedings on a calm note. This was a fragrant one, thanks to the pandan leaves in it.

The starters further introduced the vocabulary of Eelam Tamil cooking clearly. The Mallung salad, a Sri Lankan staple of finely shredded greens with grated coconut and spices, was fresh and well-balanced. The Seeni kilangu cutlet with the fillings of yam was a warm and homely dish that was rightly crispy. For the best result, pair it with the accompanying honey dip. If you are looking for a sweet starter, then go for the Lanariya or the idiappam that is served with a jackfruit paste on top.

We were then greeted with Navara kanji. This red-rice based porridge was comforting to say the least. With gotu kola sambol mixed in it, this gave away a warm start before moving to the broader meal.

Honestly, the vibrant thali was overwhelming at first. But we quickly warmed up to it and found ourselves truly enjoying the food. Starting off on a fragrant note, the Sangu poo kiri bath with the conch flower giving the milk rice a subtle floral character. Next up, we tried the soft Yaalposanam vella puttu with the creamy stew or sodhi.

The meal further had two types of rice—mattai sivappru arisi and thuyamalli arisi—that rewarded eating them alongside different curries.

Gravies were the core of the virundhu and they performed accordingly. The Eelam paruppu curry was deep and well-spiced, and the Eelam thakkali milagu rasam was bright and properly peppery.

The sides added texture and variety throughout. The Yaalpaanam vendakkai milagu varuval had a confident pepper finish, the Maravalli kilangu fry was crispy and satisfying, and the Beans mallaung was clean and coconut-forward.

Desserts came soon after that. The Karuppu kavuni payasam was dark, rich and deeply flavoured, the black rice giving it character. The Pazham pori with jackfruit dip on top was lighter and more playful, and the Roasted pineapple with Ceylon cinnamon syrup was a light-hearted dessert snack. But the standout was the Mattakalappu pani pol, a Sri Lankan delicacy, which came as a caramalised coconut-stuffed neer dosa.

From August 1 to 9. Meal for two: INR 2,400++. 12 pm to 3.30 pm. At Cookgramam, Anna Nagar.

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