Margazhi food gets creative with music themes, exotic ingredients

At Thaligai restaurant, a Margazhi festival saw the patrons relishing the cuisine, which has been crafted around a specific ‘ragam’. The concept has found favourites among the city’s sabha goers, said Nalina Kannan, owner of the restaurant, who received a great response.

“I got the idea while perusing through my mother’s paatu-book (song book), which had all the ragas, passed on to the next generation.

There were close to 300 songs and that was when it struck me that I could actually design a menu on a daily basis, based on a particular ragam.” Each day of the food festival saw stellar Carnatic musicians performing for the diners. Speaking about the menu, Nalina explained,

“For example, the Amr̥itavarṣhiṇi ragam menu saw the use of amrutham (or nectar), where we used honey. We used honey dressing for the salads and a sweet based on honey. With reference to Kamala Manohari raga, we used variants of lotus – lotus stem pakoras, lotus seed soup and a paal payasam with lotus petals.” This time, art was added to the heady mix of music and gastronomy.

At the Forum Art Gallery, art and traditional fare came together seamlessly. Rakesh Ragunathan, who has curated the Food Culture Collective, spinning experiences around food and Margazhi, had put together an evening where art related to Margazhi was inspired by the cuisine of the season.

The idea is to celebrate Margazhi through food and art, said Rakesh Ragunathan of Puliyogare Travels and a food historian.

“We are trying to bring alive Margazhi through art, music and predominantly food. For example, along with a selection of traditional and contemporary art themed on the Margazhi season, I had a cooking demonstration at the gallery, while also giving a short talk on the history of food and even, sing,” he said.

There is a growing interest to know the history of food, he added. “I think space in Chennai is growing for something offbeat. People are curious to know the connection between food, art and culture. This is an audience which goes to the sabhas to attend concerts, but they are also eager to know the other side. For example, when I am demonstrating the making of a particular type of rasam, they want to know the history and significance behind that dish,” said Rakesh.