Chef Arul Selvan C loves experimenting with exotic ingredients in a five-star kitchen as much as he enjoys finding age-old recipes from household kitchens in the countryside. Curating a menu featuring dishes from villages across the Kongu region — Palladam, Sulur and Erode among others, the Kongu Samayal food festival will include rustic favourites like Pollachi nandu masala, ellaneer idli, kollu dosa, arisi parruppu sadam and murungai keerai adai. “These are dishes that found their way into our tiffin boxes when our grandparents were still around,” shares the corporate executive chef of Gokulam Park. Apart from the culinary delight, the restaurant decor is also set to take one on a rustic journey, we learn.
On a mission to make a healthy menu, the 39-year-old chef tells us that he has incorporated a range of millets into the buffet. Look out for chef favourites like the Thenai Arasi Biryani and Ragi Chola Kambu Kali.
Chef Arul Selvan shares with us a recipe for his signature Vethalai Poondu Samai Arisi.
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Ingredients:
Vethalai - 70 gm | Samai Arisi - 230 gm | Mustard seeds - 10 gm | Red Chilli - 5 gm | Curry leaves -
3 gm | Refined Oil - 100 ml | Onion - 60 gm | Garlic - 75 gm | Salt to taste
Method
• Wash and soak the samai rice for half an hour.
• Cut Vethalai leaves coarsely and keep it aside.
• Peel garlic and cut into thin slices
• Heat oil in a deep pan and temper mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.
• When it crackles, add chopped onion and garlic.
• Add in the vethalai and samai rice, and then add water in a 1:2 ratio.
• Keep closed until cooked, stirring occasionally.
• Serve hot with a spicy kulambu or chutney.