We at South Indies will be having the Tam-bram (Tamil Brahmin) Food Festival from today till the 27th of September. Since a lot of people who’ve heard of this were asking what is it all about, we thought we should share the concept behind the event with everybody.

Annam or food is a form of the almighty (annam parabhrahma swaroopam). According to Hindu scriptures, all beings are born and live by food then they ultimately go back to the earth and merge in to become food.
The Brahmins of the south, specifically Tamilnadu (famously called “Tam-brams”) are very particular about how food is treated, cooked and served. Food occupies an important part in the rituals of the tambrams. Food is offered to ancestors during rituals, to Gods during religious ceremonies, to deities in temple, to animals & birds and to the poor. Children are taught not to disrespect food.

The ingredients for cooking were sourced from agricultural land and gardens in the back yards of homes. Tamarind, mango, banana, lime, drumsticks and coconut were grown by the family. The Brahmin family had many generations living under one roof the women were involved in power plays and yet managed to accomplish a great deal in the kitchen.
The importance of vegetables in daily life apart from food can be seen in tamizh proverbs that are in use in daily dialogues as follows.

• The wild son of a family was compared to the snake gourd “kallu kattaadha podalangayum, solly kekaadha pillayum valaraadhu”, (a boy will be indisciplined if he is not taught obedience just like a snake gourd that curls up because a stone was not tied to its end to straighten its growth.)

• A person who was trying to hide the truth in his statements was compared to a person trying to hide a whole ash gourd in a pile of cooked rice on a plate. “Muzhu pooshanikkaya sothulae maraikaide”.

• “Yettu sorakkai karikku udavaa” was said to bring people back to reality. (The bottle gourd in a picture or printed matter was useless as it could not be eaten.)

The different spices played an important role in the dishes, fenugreek as a digestive aid, cumin for its multiple usage, dried legumes and beans as natures tiny capsule of protein, pepper for cold and cough, turmeric as a healer of wounds, in fact every ingredient used in the tambram cuisine ha a purpose that goes beyond taste and texture.

Last season we celebrated the Navratri Food Festival, this season we celebrate Navratri at the SouthIndies and explore the exotic cuisine of the tambram as our master chef recreates the magic that was experienced only at traditional Tamil Brahmin homes.

Please let us know what you feel regarding this in comments.

Update : You can view a few pics of the festival here.

Update 2 : A few people requested the menu for the festival, we listen to our patrons and hence you can download the menu here.