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Photos: K. V. Srinivasan and S. R. Raghunathan

Gourmet’s delight At Nageswararao Park, Mylapore, at Natesan Park, T.Nagar, and at the Independence Day Park, Nungambakkam

Five star street food, however, is a totally different kettle of meen fry. Presented by the South India Culinary Association, as part of the ongoing Chennai Sangamam festival, the city’s fanciest hotels and most high profile chefs are switching from caviar to kal dosais at the ‘Tamil Unavu Thiruvizha’.

The main idea is to showcase Tamil Nadu’s rich culinary traditions by bringing well-loved food from the small towns and villages into Chennai’s public spaces: recreating obscure recipes and popularising local specialities. But like any good idea, it has resulted in a shower of benefits. The chefs are sharing their expertise — culled from many years of academics and practical training — with talented, but underprivileged, women to help them sustain hygienic, efficient businesses through the year. Oriental Cuisines, which is supporting the festival, has designed 14 trolleys (each costing Rs. 65,000) for deserving street vendors. Since none of the hotels are participating for profits, all the money made goes to charity. And the Chennai public gets acquainted with fascinating foods and places they might never have heard of, even if they aren’t actually further than a five hour train ride away. (Ever heard of Murruku from Manapparai? Or Palkova from Srivilliputhur? Or Seerani from Sathur?)

And, of course, Five Star Hotel food — for a short time at least — stops being the privilege of people with Gold cards in their pockets and uniformed chauffeurs in their cars. Handed out on paper plates, for an average of Rs. 25, the food admittedly does not have that addictive street food flavour (probably created thanks to lovingly administered cups of oil, handfuls of salt and generous showers of MSG), but it is still a tasty, if sophisticated, rendering of basic, rural food.

The famous Jigardhanda, for instance, which is made in just one shop in Madurai, gets queues of about a thousand customers on busy days, according to the proprietor. Over cups of the rich concoction, served with a velvety scoop of ice cream, he talks of how they stir about 2000 litres of milk into a creamy thickness, slowly adding nuts, sugar and finally ice. Local specialities such as this are precisely what the festival hopes to popularise.

At the GRT Grand stall in busy Natesan Park, T. Nagar, chefs dish out blistering scoops of muscoth halwa, as part of their ‘Nadar Food’ theme. Artfully spiced, moderately sweetened and lolling in aromatic coconut oil, this halwa’s a low-profile cousin to the celebrated Tirunelveli halwa. Another chef rhythmically drums on the tawa with steel tumblers, skilfully shredding the kothu paratha. At the neighbouring ITC Park Sheraton stall, chefs — who seem slightly bemused by the hungry, forceful crowds — adjust quickly to the chaotic atmosphere, cheerfully singing out orders and chatting with customers as they flip dosas and ladle out peppery chicken Chettinad.

Quality Inn Sabari at Independence Day Park in Nungambakkam, meanwhile, is celebrating Kongu Nadu food from the hills, making neat ‘veg and non-veg meals,’ with delicate Poondurainadu biriyani teamed with a Pollachi kurma, chunky with vegetables, and spicy chicken curry. Onstage, a man does a flamboyant fire eating act, in time to shrill whistles and adrenalin-thumping drumming.

Kanimozhi, co-ordinator of Chennai Sangamam, says the festival is important because “Chennai needs to celebrate itself.” Pongal seemed like the best time to do it, so the Sangamam could plug into the already existing festivity. She adds, “The idea is to revive folk arts…. And, of course, any celebration is incomplete without food.” Since most people only think of Chettinad food, when it comes to Tamil Nadu, the chefs decided to research and present different kinds of cuisine. Since the food stalls are in locations ranging from Nungambakkam to Kodambakkam, people in different parts of the city have easy access to the food.

Chef Jugesh Arora of the Raintree says an important focus is to make street food safer. “When you go abroad, like Singapore or London, you can confidently eat at hawker’s centres and food courts,” he says. So, the hotels are obsessively practising what they preach — hygiene-wise. The food stalls are clean and organised. Dustbins are accessible and regularly emptied. And drinking water is freely available.

Chef Nabojit Ghosh, of the Taj Coromandel, which is doing Kumbakonam food in Mylapore says the success of the stalls has surprised even the chefs. “We were prepared for about 375 meals on the first day — but were sold out by 7 p.m.!” he says. (The stalls function from 5.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.) Chefs across the city reported similar reactions from the public. He adds with a laugh, “There are people coming to us and asking what tomorrow’s menu is!”

(Tamil Unavu Thiruvizha is on till January 16, 2008.)

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