FOOD. Any Indian wedding is incomplete if the palate is not catered to! While there has never ever been a letdown as far as the plethora of dishes are concerned (one even wonders if all guests even TRY the varieties of food on offer!), finding the same old idlis and dosas that are a regular on the home menu may sometimes be unappealing or unappetizing. There’s a growing demand for a traditional yet off-beat menu. So here’s to bringing back some of your grandmothers recipes into a wedding menu. We’ve come up with some traditional foods that would definitely be interesting options in a wedding banquet; you can even look here for the recipes before you decide (http://southindianfoods.in/ancient_recipes.html)
Breakfast choices:
If you want to keep pongal on the menu, go for moongilarisi pongal or varagu arisi pongal or samai pongal; not only are they tasty but they also turn out to be healthier options; the usual dosa can be replaced with those made of ragi, or kambu or cholam; instead of utappam, try adai made from kambu or samai; or some delicious ragi puttu that will fill the tummy and keep it healthy too; not only will we bring back age old good, wholesome food back into use, we can also give ourselves some really new options on the menu; and the chutneys don’t stay far back either; instead of plain coconut chutney, we now have peanut chutney or curry leaves chutney as accompaniments.
For Lunch,try small changes like ennai kathrikkai kozhambu, or a little bit of moongil arisi sadham(bamboo rice) or some lip smacking thinai pudina biryani.
Desserts can be refreshingly different too; if you want to say no-o to regular kheer, try pineapple rava payasam or elaneer (tender coconut) payasam Kerala style; or use seasonal fruits like jackfruit to make payasam or halwa.We spoke to Mr.Sabarinathan of @paramparika#, third generation wedding caterers since 1986. Here are his top picks about what would fit the bill from traditional food:
- Anjarisi Pongal : Made of raw rice, boiled rice, semiya, rawa and samai arisi, this pongal is a fantastic substitute for the regular pongal on your breakfast menu.
- Uppuma Kozhukkattai : A favorite with Brahmin families, Mr.Sabari says, these scrumptious rice balls made of broken rice and some seasoning are fast becoming a favorite on the wedding menu for other communities too; light, yet filling, and very easy on the stomach as far as digestion is concerned!
- Kathirikkai Puli Gotsu : A super tasty dish, kathirikkai gotsu and pongal (and uppuma kozhukkattai too), are apparently like Romeo and Juliet with a happy ending!
- Mysore Rasam : Replacing the usual rasam in the menu is this variety of rasam.
- Padhir Peni : A yummy dessert made of puris soaked in badam milk with a generous sprinkling of sugar on top, definitely a must try for a different dessert!
Just writing about so many different options was mouth-watering. Sigh! We hope you have great fun in deciding your wedding banquet menus and wait for those accolades from your guests.