Straight from the farms of Dindigul to Chennai

CHENNAI: As we enter a newly renovated building in the bustling main road of Ashok Pillar, we are invited by the rustic aroma of Dindigul biryani. A well-lit and minimalistic ambience gives a comfortable feeling, which is hard to find in many restaurants across the city. Dindigul Ponram is a new diner in Chennai, is traditionally rooted to south Tamil Nadu.

“This is a 50-year-old brand started in Dindigul by my great-grandfather. Initially, it was a four-seater and then developed into a 12-seater during my grandfather’s period. In 2014, we opened a 240-seater diner in Dindigul,” says Maniram, Ponram’s grandson and director of the restaurant chain.

The brand has seven outlets in Dindigul and one in Bengaluru. They recently opened a new diner in Chennai, offering authentic delicacies from Dindigul. “Our flavours stand out because of the ingredients we use and how it is prepared. We source our ingredients in and around Dindigul for all our outlets like we get garlic from Poombarai and cardamom from the hills of Thandikudi. Moreover, the masalas we use are ground using the traditional grinding method, giving the rustic flavours,” he adds. The restaurant uses only sheep, sourced from Dindigul and they have their own butchery as well.

Talking about opening the outlet in Chennai, Anand Krishnan, one of the directors of the outlet, shares, “The city has always welcomed new concepts and is open to experimentation. After Covid, people’s knowledge about food has increased and they prefer not just good flavours but great experiences. The main USP of Ponram is the use of their own raw materials in all their outlets, which helps in maintaining the same taste. As most of the youngsters are moving towards international cuisines, what we cater will be a never-before-seen experience for them as we are taking them back to our roots.”

Dindigul Ponram’s non-vegetarian dishes have a separate fan base. “Every part of a meat has different flavours and we try to make the best use of it. For example, the meat used in chicken nenju chops is slow-cooked with masala, allowing the flavours to seep into the meat,” Maniram states. Keeping in mind that ‘Food Is Medicine’, the diner tries its best to use apt ingredients, for example, most of their dishes have small onions rather than the usual ones and they use only cold-pressed oil.

Not just by words but the flavours of the dishes in Dindigul Ponram restaurant also had south Tamil Nadu’s unique touch. The pepper flavour in the mutton soup was perfect and well-balanced. The mutton kola urundai was soft. However, a bit of the mutton flavour was required as it was overpowered by the garlic and ginger.

A 35-year-old signature dish of Dindigul Ponram, mutton muttai varuval, which is also termed as Ponram’s scrambled eggs, was tasty. Coming to the vegetarian dishes, the paneer nei chukka had fluffy paneer pieces with delicious masala. Coming to the main dish, the mutton biryani, the succulent pieces with seeraga samba rice transported us to an authentic diner in Dindigul.

Even in the desserts, the diner has maintained the traditionality. The consistency of the ashoka halwa provides the perfect, happy ending with a subtle sweetness.