The Best Of Samaithu Paar

It has been said, if all the cookbooks ever published were lined up, they would stretch all the way to the moon. This is a reflection of the immense popularity of this genre today. However, this was not so back in the fifties in India when my mother S. Meenakshi Ammal first published
Samaithu Paar
Traditionally, cooking skills were handed down from one generation to the next by word of mouth and referring to a cookery book would probably have been considered sacrilegious. Born into a traditional Tamilian family, this was the environment in which the author grew up and lived. Considered an expert cook in her family, she was constantly besieged with requests for recipes by her relatives. Having to write out the same recipes endlessly made her think of writing a book. But her idea met with resistance. Many were quick to discourage. The only encouragement came from her uncle, Shri K. V. Krishnaswami Iyer, a leading advocate, ex-president of The Music Academy, Chennai, and considered to be the father of the Library Movement in Tamilnandu. With his support, Meenakshi Ammal published the first volume of
Samaithu Paar
in Tamil in 1951. The simple style of writing, the easy-to-follow directions and the attention to the smallest of details found immense favour with the public. The second and third volumes were published in quick succession. Today, all three volumes have been translated into English and the first volume has also been translated into Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, running into many editions. The continued popularity of
Samaithu Paar
is borne out by its presence on the many lists (available on the Internet) of things to pack for students travelling to the US. It would not be an exaggeration then to say that the book has certainly ‘gone places’. Perhaps the ultimate tribute to Meenakshi Ammal came when the ultra-modern lifestyle magazine,
Cosmopolitan,
crowned
Samaithu Paar
the best in its category of classic cookbooks.

In the fifty years since the first volume was published, cooking has undergone many changes, and these changes have been incorporated into
Samaithu Paar.
For example, revisions have been made in the measurement of ingredients, from the original ollocks to grams to the now popular cups. Likewise, references to traditional utensils and kitchen appliances have also been modified. What has not changed is the basic recipes themselves. And, like in the original volume, one caveat remains: this book, as any other of its kind, can only be a guide. Perfection can be achieved only after attempting each recipe a few times. Also, individual tastes differ and need to be factored in when preparing any dish.

In this the golden jubilee year of
Samaithu Paar,
I take great pride in the fact that Penguin is bringing out this well-designed, definitive edition of the original, choosing the most-loved recipes and making them available to a much wider audience. I hope you, the reader, will enjoy trying out the various recipes as much as we did putting them together.

P. S. S
ANKARAN

Chennai
November 2001

Sambar & Rasam

S
AMBAR

A variety of vegetables—drumstick, lady’s finger, onion, brinjal, pumpkin, Bangalore brinjal, carrot, French beans, runner beans, etc.,—can be used to prepare sambar. Select any one vegetable. Cut into medium size bits and wash. Vegetables like onion, brinjal, lady’s finger, French beans, runner beans and cluster beans can also be fried a little before adding. Amaranth stems, radish, runner beans, cluster beans or pumpkin may be cooked separately with just enough salt and then added.

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water for 20 minutes. Squeeze it out, adding water little by little to prepare 1 cup of juice.

Choose a heavy vessel, e.g., stoneware, with a very narrow mouth. Wash the dhal. Clean and remove stones, if any. (If the dhal is cleanly husked, it need not be washed.) Boil 1-1¼ cups of water. Add the dhal, turmeric powder and 1 tsp oil. Cover with a shallow lid, filled with water. (A cup of water may also be placed on the lid.) Add this water to the dhal, if needed,while the dhal is cooking. Cook till very soft. (Some dhals do not cook soon. If so, add a pinch of baking soda. If baking soda is added, do not use turmeric powder, as the colour of the dhal will be spoilt.) Remove from fire and mash the cooked dhal. Keep aside.

Heat a vessel. Pour in the remaining oil. Pinch red chillies into halves. Slit green chillies. Fry the pinched
red chillies, mustard, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida to a dark brown colour (without blackening it). Add green chillies. Pinch curry leaves and fry for a few moments. Add the tamarind juice to the seasonings with salt. Add the cut and washed vegetable.

When the vegetable is cooked in the tamarind juice, add the mashed dhal. Allow it to boil well. Mix the rice flour in water. Add and stir well. Bring to boil once more. Boil for a few minutes. Remove from fire. Garnish with coriander leaves and a few curry leaves.

Ingredients

Vegetable ¼-½
kg

New tamarind
A lump the size of a small lime

Red gram dhal ⅔
cup

Turmeric powder ½
tsp

Gingelly oil
3
tsp

Dry red chillies
10 (Medium) or 6 (Large)

Green chillies
2

Mustard seeds ½
tsp

Fenugreek seeds ½
tsp

Asafoetida powder
A pinch or to taste

Curry leaves
(Chopped) 3 tbsp