Photos by Content Volunteer, Pritika.
HOST
CO-HOST
CONTENT VOLUNTEER
We had an array of dishes to sample—the Navaratna veg salad, flavoured ghee to enhance the wonderful flat bread, pakode, roti to chew and coconut rice to fill up, not to forget the sides like smoked red bell pepper, Harissa mushrooms, Canned Fish Stew, and Raita to cool us at the end.
Anita
It is so wonderful to see you all. My mouth was watering just reading what you all ate on the LFC Chennai group. I hope I will join you all in the next get-together.
Usharani
The ‘Unlikely Friendships’ game where we developed recipes using unusual ingredients was great! I think we should share the recipes here and try them out. I’ll go first: Keeran Boli using Red Amaranth Leaves and Jaggery This, I think, is something that should definitely be experimented with!
Srinidhi
Ragi Manni is a Karnataka-style dessert made with finger millet, jaggery, and coconut milk. This pudding, with its jelly-like consistency, is easy to make and tastes great when served chilled.
A Coconut Pulao recipe card crafted by Sowmiya and Ani, capturing the comfort of slow-cooked rice flavoured with coconut milk and spices.
Anita’s Navratan Veg Salad combined mango, cucumber, corn, capsicum, boiled lentils, onions, mixed seeds, and more into a colourful mix that was as refreshing as it was hearty.
MEET YOUR HOST
What does local mean to you?
To me, ‘local’ is anything that grows around us without harming the environment.
The strongest olfactory memory I have of something local is the Varikka jackfruit. It reminds me of summer breaks from school and the endless supply of summer fruits, especially jackfruit, wax apples, and semi-ripe mangoes from Idukki. Even as an adult, every time Amma visits me in Chennai armed with steel dabbas of jackfruit she has painstakingly picked, I feel a sense of comfort.
Raw marinated crab and roe in soy sauce. I’ve never had something so savoury, umami, and fishy at the same time.
I’m too lazy to make anything other than khichdi when I’m unwell. If I had a choice, I’d get kanji, payaru, and chammanthi.
I think our LFC has so much potential. I hope we can learn about more Tamil Nadu-specific seasonal ingredients and explore opportunities to arrange food walks or cookbook clubs in the city.